Oh my God .... not exactly a Barn Find

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

If someone needs a few year project this might be it LOL

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-Mercedes-Benz-SL-Class-No-Reserve-Sold-on-CA-Acquisition-Bill-of-Sale/383539513749?hash=item594cbc8995%3Ag%3AGqcAAOSwH69etvI%7E&LH_ItemCondition=4&fbclid=IwAR3FD9PBSYvKoQtPzopKf_Z4gvUYcADvdnV-QZrDwnp2FrWVLssQ7aHuARY

Not for me ... I purchased something I can drive and enjoy from day one. Asking price is $4K on eBay I bet it is negotiable, perhaps someone needs parts, then the price would be fair I think. What say you? I see 3 fenders, a steering wheel, passenger door, trunk lid, gas tank and other small parts that could be usefull.

Dieter

[Pawel66]

I think this is "Where Eagles Dare" type of project...

But seriously - I think this is for the papers only. You will see this VIN emerge in a year or so with 30 000 original and documented miles.

[Cees Klumper]

This seller here in LA has multiple rare 'cars' for sale at very high prices. Porsche, Ferrari. I also think it's about the papers.

For example look at this short block

https://www.ebay.com/itm/MERCEDES-280-SL-ENGINE-SHORT-BLOCK-CRANK-113-280SL-13098312010569-1300109508/173874825723?hash=item287bbf49fb:g:KO4AAOSwJAtZOGcN

[Benz Dr.]

Papers?  Could you explain that?

[MikeSimon]

Don plays innocent....

[Bonnyboy]

In a different life when I was collecting pop cans to pay rent and go to university, I was also buying and stripping and selling BMW2002 parts.  I would pick up a beater for $500, tow it to my rental place, spend the weekend stripping it down and than having the shell hauled away before the land lady had a bird.    As part of each car I would have  an envelope with registration and the vin plates unrivetted from the car.  One beater turned out to be an early Tii (1971 I think)  that had a regular motor installed and I made more for the vin tags and registration than I dd for all the parts I sold separately for the whole car.   That was like winning the lottery.  That one broken car eventually paid for an entire term at University.   

[badali]

The VIN is very close to mine.  The car really has no useable parts to make it worth $4000.  This guy strips the cars of any good parts then tries to sell it as a project.  The missing parts would be a nightmare to source...

[Benz Dr.]

Don plays innocent....

Not this time.

[doitwright]

The seller of this car has offered numerous W113's in the same condition which have been discussed previously on this forum. A car like this would only likely appeal to a thief of another W113 who needs a legit title and VIN tags.

[stickandrudderman]

I'm very uncomfortable with this type of thread. Many of us know where the value in this car is, but why publicise it? You might be responsible for planting the seed that eventually leads to the theft of your car.

[MikeSimon]

Come on, Colin...Do you think the crooks out there need us to tell them...

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

This one we can safely call "Swiss Cheese"

Dieter

[Aaron h]

I'm very uncomfortable with this type of thread. Many of us know where the value in this car is, but why publicise it? You might be responsible for planting the seed that eventually leads to the theft of your car.

Because in this community we look out for one another.  This means publicising sellers who often try to take advantage of unsuspecting buyers through price gouging.  This particular seller has been on everyone's radar for a long time, and is well known as a seller not to buy from.  If someone isn't aware of the greedy, vapid nature of this seller then how is it a bad thing if a more knowledgeable person steps in to warn them before they make their decision to buy?  And how would any of this end up causing one's car to get stolen?!  That has to be one of the more far fetched things I've heard in a long while.  Regardless, you shouldn't worry this way.  It's not worth it.  There are other, more important things to worry about......like staying healthy! 

[stickandrudderman]

Well, to explain myself would be counter productive.
I once complained to the editor of a British newspaper because they included in their news report about a bombing in London the details of how to make explosives from Ricin.
Clearly, someone already knew how to do it because they successfully detonated their home-made bomb but publishing the method now gave the opportunity for all and sundry to repeat the exercise. There are some very strange people out there and I have no intention of propogating information that might plant the seed of extreme mischief in the mind of someone who hadn't previously considered such.
It's for you and your conscience as to whether you feel the same.
 

[Aaron h]

Well, to explain myself would be counter productive.
I once complained to the editor of a British newspaper because they included in their news report about a bombing in London the details of how to make explosives from Ricin.
Clearly, someone already knew how to do it because they successfully detonated their home-made bomb but publishing the method now gave the opportunity for all and sundry to repeat the exercise. There are some very strange people out there and I have no intention of propogating information that might plant the seed of extreme mischief in the mind of someone who hadn't previously considered such.
It's for you and your conscience as to whether you feel the same.

Either I'm not understanding you, or you're not understanding the intent of this post. What you said regarding the bombing in London makes perfect sense.  We certainly don't want other crazy people to know how to make a explosives from Ricin because of a news channel blabbing about how to do it. But how does that relate to this post?  No one is plotting a heist job, and there are no plans in action being talked about.  It's simply a post about a parts car for sale that is overpriced buy a seller that has a bad reputation for price gouging.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around how/why that would cause someone's Pagoda to be stolen.   

Saying that it would be counterproductive to explain yourself is a very condescending thing to say.  All of us on here are more than capable of understanding your point of view.  Please give everyone on here the benefit of the doubt, and don't assume all are "simpletons" that can't understand anything.  If you don't explain your point of view then how can we arrive at an understanding about anything?  That's what this post is for and about.....sharing a find, and then sharing what we all think and why we feel the way we do based upon all of our own experiences. 

[Cees Klumper]

I think what Stick is trying to say is that by pointing out that one can buy a wreck and then use the wreck's VIN tags and title to give a stolen Pagoda the wreck's identity, we are educating would-be thieves unnecessarily. I don't believe we have to worry about that myself. It does help explain why someone might be willing to pay a seemingly exorbitant price for a wreck, which is why that was suggested in this thread.

[stickandrudderman]

Thank you Cees.

[MikeSimon]

Cees and Stick: Again , I don't think thieves need any education from us or anybody else about that particular method. Falsifying papers of stolen cars with papers from wrecks has been as old as the "profession" of stealing cars. And it is not just stealing them. Because of the vastly different regulations in different countries, especially between the U.S. and Europe, it has been a long standing practice to use documents from legal cars to make "illegal" ones legal. I do not want to know how many Pagodas (or Mercedeses and Porsches, for that matter) in the U.S. were "dark" imports and have been turned into U.S. cars.

P.S.: don't know if all can read the words on the sign in front of Rolf-Dieter's "swiss cheese" shot. It says : Each and Every Pagoda is worth..(saving) Hah!
I would guess the car was under water. looking at the corrosion of the valve cover, may be salt water.
Our experts should give it a shot and guess what model it is. The coolant tank may be an indication.

[mbzse]

.../...I would guess the car was under water. looking at the corrosion of the valve cover, may be salt water

This is the so called "Neckar Pagode".  It was fished out of the river in 2006 (was dumped as part of some insurance fraud long ago) and the authorities and the Insurance company gave this 230 SL Pagoda to the German "Club Pagode".

We had it mentioned in our Forum previously:
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=5740.0

The Club displayed the car (wreck) at very many car shows, and it always attracted substantial interest from the audience
He he, perhaps there is something about decay that fascinates people...?
https://www.carscoops.com/2007/04/mercedes-benz-230-sl-found-after/

[waltklatt]

Well, that's nothing new.
See the original "Gone in 60 Seconds" movie with Halicki 'King of Junkyards' owner.
The newer version with Nick Cage is terrible.
The beginning there is a wrecked Camaro or some car in red that is bought from an auction and a perfectly good red car in same colors that is stolen...
You figure out the rest.
So the thought of the buying a wreck with legal papers and swapping to a stolen perfect car is not new.
Even a former friend of mine said that he buys semigood cars and replaces the perfect parts on them with slightly worn and damaged parts and sells them again for high prices.
Then sells the perfectly good parts at individual high prices separately.