Price difference of Mercedes 190SL UK vs. USA
Discussion
Hi,
Classic car newbie here, so go easy on me
I am looking at purchasing a Mercedes 190SL after seeing it at an event.
I noticed most of them for sale in the UK are left hand drive anyway and seem to be well north of £100k - e.g. https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1299774 at £125k.
However, in the USA, you seem to be able to pick them up at almost 1/2 that price (e.g. https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale...
I was wondering what I am missing here as the import duty I believe would be around 5% and then shipping costs etc, but it does not deter from being considerably cheaper.
Is there an underlying reason for the price difference or is it just a good opportunity?
Many thanks.
Classic car newbie here, so go easy on me
I am looking at purchasing a Mercedes 190SL after seeing it at an event.
I noticed most of them for sale in the UK are left hand drive anyway and seem to be well north of £100k - e.g. https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1299774 at £125k.
However, in the USA, you seem to be able to pick them up at almost 1/2 that price (e.g. https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale...
I was wondering what I am missing here as the import duty I believe would be around 5% and then shipping costs etc, but it does not deter from being considerably cheaper.
Is there an underlying reason for the price difference or is it just a good opportunity?
Many thanks.
On the basis of the two adverts, you are comparing two completely different cars.
The USA car is an older restoration/refurb that looks like it will blister all over the place as soon as it sees the UK weather, and probably needs at least £15k spending on bodywork to match the other once you begin to uncover whatever is going on under the current paint.
Then there's all of the other items which require time and money if you want it to be correct. The UK car is freshly trimmed in correct style materials, and has decent chromework. The original carburettors are also present, which add value assuming they are in full working order and improves the drive (retro-fitted Webers on these engines are difficult to set up for low rpm response).
I could easily see a garage charging the price difference to bring the USA car up to the standard of the UK one, so it depends on what you want to buy.
As 300SLs went up to the £1m mark in 2011-12 these were dragged up with them as they had similar visuals, from a £50k car to a £100k car. People started spending £50-80k restoring them, assuming the prices would end up nearer £200k, but restored examples have settled at £85-£140k.
Like for like, I doubt you'd save much bringing in one of these from the USA at the moment, so it depends if you want the experience of travelling to find a car and don't mind the risk of damage when shipping over putting a dent in the cost savings.
The USA car is an older restoration/refurb that looks like it will blister all over the place as soon as it sees the UK weather, and probably needs at least £15k spending on bodywork to match the other once you begin to uncover whatever is going on under the current paint.
Then there's all of the other items which require time and money if you want it to be correct. The UK car is freshly trimmed in correct style materials, and has decent chromework. The original carburettors are also present, which add value assuming they are in full working order and improves the drive (retro-fitted Webers on these engines are difficult to set up for low rpm response).
I could easily see a garage charging the price difference to bring the USA car up to the standard of the UK one, so it depends on what you want to buy.
As 300SLs went up to the £1m mark in 2011-12 these were dragged up with them as they had similar visuals, from a £50k car to a £100k car. People started spending £50-80k restoring them, assuming the prices would end up nearer £200k, but restored examples have settled at £85-£140k.
Like for like, I doubt you'd save much bringing in one of these from the USA at the moment, so it depends if you want the experience of travelling to find a car and don't mind the risk of damage when shipping over putting a dent in the cost savings.
No SL expert but they're available here for similar money, in fact the dealer with the £125k one also has a £75k one
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1328504
As far as I can see, US prices vary similarly so I suspect it comes down to condition and variant. Maybe that dealer is a good place to start, give them a call and ask why the prices so far apart on what both look to be beautiful examples, they're clearly a specialist.
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1328504
As far as I can see, US prices vary similarly so I suspect it comes down to condition and variant. Maybe that dealer is a good place to start, give them a call and ask why the prices so far apart on what both look to be beautiful examples, they're clearly a specialist.
Mellow Yellow said:
No SL expert but they're available here for similar money, in fact the dealer with the £125k one also has a £75k one
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1328504
As far as I can see, US prices vary similarly so I suspect it comes down to condition and variant. Maybe that dealer is a good place to start, give them a call and ask why the prices so far apart on what both look to be beautiful examples, they're clearly a specialist.
Just looking at the ad photos for both of those Autostorica examples, and you can very easily see why both are so far apart in price...!!https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1328504
As far as I can see, US prices vary similarly so I suspect it comes down to condition and variant. Maybe that dealer is a good place to start, give them a call and ask why the prices so far apart on what both look to be beautiful examples, they're clearly a specialist.
The 75k one would likely be the better bet though if you actually want a car to drive and enjoy, and perhaps not be too worried about if it gets the odd scratch or mark, rather than wanting a 'trailer queen show car', which that 125k one is bordering on being.
t yet don't really say anything about the car itself. rpmrpm said:
Thanks all for your help here.
I have a preference for it in silver. Firstly, does getting a respray alter the value of the car negatively at all? Secondly, how much (ballpark) do you estimate a good quality respray would cost here?
Buy one in silver then.I have a preference for it in silver. Firstly, does getting a respray alter the value of the car negatively at all? Secondly, how much (ballpark) do you estimate a good quality respray would cost here?
Yes, in most people's view a repaint in the non-original colour does significantly reduce the value. Not a problem if you don't care about the value and just want the car you want with no regard to future resale.
If however, if have an eye on future resale, as above, buy the colour you want in the first place.
Cost of respray.
Well, the cheap option of not doing it properly (i.e a full bare shell strip down to paint everywhere, so no trace of the original colour shows) will still cost you in excess of £5k I would think (likely more) plus wipe 20k+ off the value.
Doing it properly so only trace of colour change is via factory records, don't even think about it....!!!
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