The amount of collector cars found in places like Miami and Los Angeles is sometimes a bit mind boggling. Obviously, these are areas with extreme pockets of wealth, so accordingly, there are vehicles that simply accumulate as part of the lifestyle, like beach-front property and extensive wardrobes. This W113 chassis Mercedes-Benz 280SL is what’s known as a “California Coupe,” shipped from the factory without a folding soft top, and instead came with a folding rear seat and removable hard top. This example listed here on eBay has been stored for 15 years and is offered with an opening bid of $60,000.
Once again, I will never understand the point of listing a car on eBay with an asking price that is going to spook most potential buyers away. The seller absolutely deserves better than $40,000 for this car, but I fear the lofty opening bid is just going to cause most suitors out there to consider the hardtop Pagoda too pricey for a project – and unfortunately, as nice as it appears to be, not running for that many years will make it a bit of a project. The oxblood interior is quite pretty and pairs nicely with the silver exterior, and I suspect it has been previously reupholstered.
Given it has been parked for 15 years, I can only imagine it will need a proper basic tuneup and reconditioning before starting. If the gas tank has any significant amount of old fuel in it, that will have to be dumped out and the tank reconditioned. Two of my vehicles that were sitting for some time both needed the tanks cleaned out and re-sealed, but the next owner may find with the tank fully drained, there’s no major sediment or other deposits. Whether or not the various fuel system components will still work remains to be seen.
When I see photos like these, I wonder if the vehicle in question is as-found, meaning it’s been parked in a subterranean parking garage beneath a luxury high-rise building. We see finds like those all over Europe where some globe-trotting playboy simply leaves the car behind, with its original purchase price barely a blip in their ledger. This 280SL could be a case of excessive wealth or given it’s sitting in Florida, a car that was left behind when an owner retired their driving gloves or otherwise passed away. The 280SL appears to be nicely preserved, but I suspect the opening bid price will need to be a touch lower.
having owned 2 of these persnickety gems, and knowing that prices for parts and restoration are outrageous by any measure, I would not consider restoring any Mercedes of that era, period. buy one that someone was foolish enough (with deep pockets) to restore. it will be his loss, your gain. this car is overpriced. period. (and I think the prices will correct, they are, frankly, stupid at these levels).
Side marker lights were mandatory on all 1968 cars, and front seat headrests were mandatory from January 1st, 1969. This vehicle has neither one of those items.The only year it could be is a 1967 (the 280 SL’s first year).
It’s a European model (covered headlights, metric instruments, “Automatic” script, rear bumper), not that that makes it special. Worth a look, but you’ll have to talk the seller down from the high-price. Call him in a couple of weeks.
loved these 190 – R/C107 (bent8 added) – R129 & so on. Seemed so odd to me after all the Italian I’d grown used to, seemed refreshing (even if not well known).
California Coupes are indeed a rare vehicle. Instead of having the folding cloth top that was stowed away under a steel cover, the area where the folding top would be stored had either a full width folding seat as this car, or a single seat that allowed someone to sit sideways across the back area, facing the driver. Because there is no top well for the folding top to be stored, a folding top cannot be added.
In 1986 I bought an identical silver with red interior 280sl California Coupe, it was originally sold in the south of France where it rarely rained, so the hardtop could be left hanging in the garage most of the year. It was also one of only a few 280sl cars sold with the 4 speed manual gearbox! Problem was, soon after it was sold the owner moved to northern Germany where the body promptly rusted out. It was imported to the USA by a US Army sergeant who got transferred to Korea, so I bought it for about $4k. After I bought it I learned what a 280sl California Coupe was, and that it didn’t have a folding top!
Was driving it with my girlfriend in the passenger seat when I drove over a water-filled pothole with the right front tire and due to the rusted body & frame, a torrent of water rushed up thru the floor, past the carpet, and sprayed her with muddy water. Put a for sale ad in the Washington Post classifieds the next day.
I sold it to what I can best describe as sleazy wholesale used car guy who often dropped by my old car shop to see what he could buy cheap. If it was a “2 top” 280 sl it would have been an easy sale at $20k. I was asking $12,000, and he counter-offered me $8,000. I pretended for a couple of minutes to be thinking about his offer real carefully, before reluctantly saying OK, [while trying to keep my happy excitement under control], and he paid me cash, took the title & car, and drove off quickly. Didn’t even want to wait for me to make out a bill of sale, but I made sure he left with one. Like the ad, the bill of sale said “Sold as-is”.
A few hours later he called me on the phone to tell me I had forgot to give him the folding top! I calmly explained that as the ad said, it was a very rare 280 sl California Coupe, and I explained they didn’t come with a folding top, nor could one be added to the car. To put it mildly, he was not a happy camper! He tried to force me to take the car back, but I reminded him the car was sold as-is.
I spotted it a couple of years later sitting in the back row of his used car lot in Arlington, VA. I’ve not seen it since.