W126 300se 1989 50k , whats this worth?
Discussion
If it's under 100K with cast iron history about £3-4000 private,on a specailist classic MB stocklist maybe just over £5K.It needs to be near perfect to get these sort of figures though.See here for average.
http://www.watersidemotors.co.uk/brochure.php?car_...
My fav colour but 4 owners average condition and the wrong wheels!
Heres another
http://www.candvcars.co.uk/getsix.php?pagenumber=3
http://www.watersidemotors.co.uk/brochure.php?car_...
My fav colour but 4 owners average condition and the wrong wheels!
Heres another
http://www.candvcars.co.uk/getsix.php?pagenumber=3
If it has velour instead of leather , that was a more expensive option and desirable even now , but it must be in perfect condition with no visible wear .
Good cars start at a couple of grand , and low mileage 'mint' examples ought to fetch more , but it all comes down to supply and demand . There will be people who appreciate these fine cars but many just think of them as 'old cars' and expect them to be cheap , I belong to the former group and chose mine in preference to later cars . You can get lucky with cheaper ones but there is a lot of rubbish out there . I looked at half a dozen others before traveling more than 100 miles to buy my 500SEL from a fellow MBOC member - even at £1300 , my car was a basically sound vehicle in good general condition and with a new MOT - nevertheless , I have subsequently spent more than the original purchase price on tyres , brakes , rear springs , stainless exhaust system to original pattern , replaced the pre-facelift leather with facelift seats ( the car originally had velour but a previous owner had put the 'wrong' leather in ) as well as routine servicing . I keep an eye on what appears in local breakers and have added various options which might have been in the car from new . Three years and 40,000 trouble free miles on it still never misses a beat , the bodywork now needs a little tidying , one rear wing in particular which is starting to bubble round the arch and near the fuel flap , but I suspect a previous repair to this one bad panel - elsewhere just a few stone chips , car park dents etc - but this is a useable daily driver and not a 'show car' . Thinking of getting a caravan next year as my young son is that sort of age - at present I only tow a small trailer , but am looking for a donor car to get the SLS system from before towing anything heavier : there is a long overhang at the back and the car does drop when the boot is fully loaded - even with new 'maximum points' springs and new pads ! I already have a pair of NOS hydropneumatic struts , just need the rest of the system .
At the beginning of last year , I also bought a 280SE for £100 , knowing that it needed work , but it was a basically good car apart from the rotten parcel shelf and damp boot - I've been practicing with my MIG welder and now feel just about competent to have a go fitting the repair section I cut out of a scrap car , I also have a good rear screen to replace the original which is delaminating . This car got the leather seats from my 500 , along with wiring looms from the donor to upgrade to both electric front seats - easy job to retrofit with both front seats removed .
I am now in the position of having a later facelift car , which I am using , and an early , pre-facelift car which I am doing some light restoration on - trying to preserve the distinctions between the early and late cars : different bumpers , 14" Mexican Hat wheels on the early car and 15" 15 hole wheels on the later one , the correct style of Mushroom leather for each car ( drivers bolster holed in the 280 , but I will replace the cover when I find a donor car with a good passenger seat in unworn condition ) , Zebrano with the older switchgear in the early car / Burr Walnut with later switches in the later one etc etc . Both cars have two electric front seats ( the 500 has electric rear bench , I'd like individual electric rear seats - still looking ) , cruise , air-con , OTG , HWW , illuminated visors , reading lights , electric rear blinds , leather steering wheels & gearknobs . Anytime I find donor cars with options missing from mine , I will remove and retrofit to my cars in such a way that it looks original . The only non-factory items in either of my cars are the period high-end Sony audio systems and Bury carkits .
I don't expect either of these cars ever to be 'show condition' but I do expect a good few more years of reliable use out of them . Once I get the 280 back on the road , I will probably run it as my daily driver , and keep the 500 for weekends , although I hardly expect to see much difference in fuel economy .
Good cars start at a couple of grand , and low mileage 'mint' examples ought to fetch more , but it all comes down to supply and demand . There will be people who appreciate these fine cars but many just think of them as 'old cars' and expect them to be cheap , I belong to the former group and chose mine in preference to later cars . You can get lucky with cheaper ones but there is a lot of rubbish out there . I looked at half a dozen others before traveling more than 100 miles to buy my 500SEL from a fellow MBOC member - even at £1300 , my car was a basically sound vehicle in good general condition and with a new MOT - nevertheless , I have subsequently spent more than the original purchase price on tyres , brakes , rear springs , stainless exhaust system to original pattern , replaced the pre-facelift leather with facelift seats ( the car originally had velour but a previous owner had put the 'wrong' leather in ) as well as routine servicing . I keep an eye on what appears in local breakers and have added various options which might have been in the car from new . Three years and 40,000 trouble free miles on it still never misses a beat , the bodywork now needs a little tidying , one rear wing in particular which is starting to bubble round the arch and near the fuel flap , but I suspect a previous repair to this one bad panel - elsewhere just a few stone chips , car park dents etc - but this is a useable daily driver and not a 'show car' . Thinking of getting a caravan next year as my young son is that sort of age - at present I only tow a small trailer , but am looking for a donor car to get the SLS system from before towing anything heavier : there is a long overhang at the back and the car does drop when the boot is fully loaded - even with new 'maximum points' springs and new pads ! I already have a pair of NOS hydropneumatic struts , just need the rest of the system .
At the beginning of last year , I also bought a 280SE for £100 , knowing that it needed work , but it was a basically good car apart from the rotten parcel shelf and damp boot - I've been practicing with my MIG welder and now feel just about competent to have a go fitting the repair section I cut out of a scrap car , I also have a good rear screen to replace the original which is delaminating . This car got the leather seats from my 500 , along with wiring looms from the donor to upgrade to both electric front seats - easy job to retrofit with both front seats removed .
I am now in the position of having a later facelift car , which I am using , and an early , pre-facelift car which I am doing some light restoration on - trying to preserve the distinctions between the early and late cars : different bumpers , 14" Mexican Hat wheels on the early car and 15" 15 hole wheels on the later one , the correct style of Mushroom leather for each car ( drivers bolster holed in the 280 , but I will replace the cover when I find a donor car with a good passenger seat in unworn condition ) , Zebrano with the older switchgear in the early car / Burr Walnut with later switches in the later one etc etc . Both cars have two electric front seats ( the 500 has electric rear bench , I'd like individual electric rear seats - still looking ) , cruise , air-con , OTG , HWW , illuminated visors , reading lights , electric rear blinds , leather steering wheels & gearknobs . Anytime I find donor cars with options missing from mine , I will remove and retrofit to my cars in such a way that it looks original . The only non-factory items in either of my cars are the period high-end Sony audio systems and Bury carkits .
I don't expect either of these cars ever to be 'show condition' but I do expect a good few more years of reliable use out of them . Once I get the 280 back on the road , I will probably run it as my daily driver , and keep the 500 for weekends , although I hardly expect to see much difference in fuel economy .
Edited by Pontoneer on Friday 22 July 11:13
W124Bob said:
If it's under 100K with cast iron history about £3-4000 private,on a specailist classic MB stocklist maybe just over £5K.It needs to be near perfect to get these sort of figures though.See here for average.
http://www.watersidemotors.co.uk/brochure.php?car_...
My fav colour but 4 owners average condition and the wrong wheels!
Heres another
http://www.candvcars.co.uk/getsix.php?pagenumber=3
The Waterside Motors car will have the correct wheels fitted from next week(had to hunt high and low to get a decent set of 15 hole alloys with the correct ET25 offset!-quite rare now).I'd say the condition is way above average but not show standard.Its quite a treat to get something like this in and nice to cruise round again in a big old Merc like the ones I remember so well from when I was young.A lot of ropey ones around now though.http://www.watersidemotors.co.uk/brochure.php?car_...
My fav colour but 4 owners average condition and the wrong wheels!
Heres another
http://www.candvcars.co.uk/getsix.php?pagenumber=3
Will
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