This is an interesting listing for a few reasons: the seller has this rare Mercedes 600 as well as a dusty BMW M6, in what looks like a private collection turned into a museum. In fact, the seller’s eBay name is “ntxautomuseum” so perhaps this is a fledgling operation that needs to cut down on inventory. These are massively expensive cars to own, so the opening bid of $33,000 – with no reserve – seems quite reasonable. Find it here on eBay in Richardson, Texas.
Whether this is a museum or a collection, nothing seems to have moved in quite some time. Tarps are tossed over cars somewhat carelessly and Mercedes of all eras are seen in the background. The 600 is a four-door sedan, making it a short-wheelbase variant, and the seller explains its made rarer still due to the fact there’s no divider between the driver and rear seat passengers. Paint is claimed original but with 118,000 miles, who knows – it looks a little too good for a driver quality car.
Other assets in the collection are captured in the background, including more Mercedes and what looks like a BMW E9 coupe. These 600s, in any configuration, are massively expensive to restore. Even running cars like this one will set potential owners backs tens of thousands of dollars for even the smallest component. Fortunately, the seller has confirmed the air suspension still powers up and down, but for how much longer? I do give the seller credit that the current opening bid is more than fair for a non-basketcase 600.
Few pictures of the interior are offered, but what we can see isn’t spectacular. Carpets appear tired and missing in places, and there’s a photo capturing what looks like a severely sun or-water damaged rear parcel shelf beneath the back glass. The seats look acceptable, but that’s not surprising considering the durable nature of Mercedes’ seating surface materials. Overall, like so many other project-grade 600s, this car has plenty of needs, but the opening bid seems reasonable if you’ve got pockets deep enough to set it right.
It appears, at first glance, that carpet/furniture pads are holding up the car on a failed air suspension system. Never a good sign for these beautiful cars….
At $33k its not a bad price. However when it comes time to work on it the new owner better have a bottomless bank roll because this car will eat him out of house and home. I have an upgraded 70’s equivalent in a 450SEL 6.9 and its not for the faint of heart. The hydro pneumatic suspension work will cost you $2500 a corner.
There’s a reason these are called Hitler’s revenge.
Check out Karl Middelhauve http://www.mbgrand600.com and Leno’s website. 3 tons of luxury with the power and complexity of an F1 car.
How about a Hydraulic Trunk Repair Kit for that special MB 600 owner on your Christmas list?
Only $4200!
The seller is wrong… The short wheelbase version did not come with a divider. As much as I love these, plan on refinancing your house just to replace the hydraulic window switches and locks which cost a couple thousand dollars a piece…
Someone accustomed to working with hydraulics can likely rebuild what’s there for half that… ;)
Regardless, your bank account still goes into the penalty box.
Idi Amin only drove it on Sundays.
I remember reading that these 600s were mostly sold to heads of state, oil sheiks, and dictators. It’s interesting to hear about the cost of parts from the people commenting above who know.
I’m not sure that black is rare on these, as the seller claims. The ones I recall seeing in photos pretty much all seemed to be painted black.
A bit of information to help the seller:
‘grocer’ = a guy who provides you with food in a store that sells groceries
‘Grosser’ = a term often applied to the Mercedes 600. I believe it means ‘grand’ in German.
Yes ….large or great as to size.
Seems on the ebay portal link; the steering wheel has been replaced with a white coded 230 SL one?
I wonder if it has bullet proof bits on it?
I think the steering wheel is correct.
After owning just about every German made car, I always laugh when people proudly remark about “German Engineering”. With exception to VW, most German made cars are crap that do not hold up to wear and many of the people that own them just get off on remarking how expensive it is to repair as if the car is somehow desirable because of this. Not my version of the sport at all, I’ll gladly take my American Muscle of that crap any day.
Jim,
A little friendly ribbing about VW.
My son’s first car was a 2001 Jetta VR6 which was a “gift” from a friend who parked it for 4 years out of frustration at 75000 miles. We got the car for free…had it “sorted” all fluids, brakes, plugs, new tires and rims etc. Then the fun started…every 2-3 months…$500 to $800 every time…water pump, coil packs, heater core, timing chain, PLASTIC timing chain guides.
It was a sharp car and very quick.
Long story longer…we listed it and got $4,500 from a young adult from out of town. We gave him full disclosure on repairs.
Did we learn our lesson? Hell no…we are now into Saab 93 Sportcombi wagons.
I should of prefaced the early VW bug, bus, etc. I can see other VW products being the same sink holes that other German cars are. You need to give an American Classic a go, I’ve never been dissapointed with the results and being able to source parts from junk yards helps the pocket book immensely especially when you cross reference. Of course you have to be careful with any purchase to make sure you don’t bite of more than you can chew so to speak. I hope your Saab go well and isn’t like the Jetta.
Jim, you proudly remarked that you owned “…just about every German made car.” I’m curious. At what point during your extensive ownership experiences did you decide that “…most German cars are crap…?” I owned just a few of them, with Mercedes, Porsche, and VW being among them. Not a single one of them would I ever have labeled as crap. I like German engineering, and I also like American engineering; but I don’t laugh at anyone who proudly remarks about either. It’s a matter of taste, I guess.
You obviously have never owned a remarkable piece of German engineering such as the 93 model 120,000.00 600 SL with the wonderbar biodegradable wiring harness that self disentergrates
Ditto on Francisco’s comments. Zero issues with a 450SL, 560SL, 450SE, 300CD, Gelandewagon Diesel, C320 wagon, VW bug, Pinzgauer 740 and my all time favorite 300Sc M-B.
Every German car I’ve worked on seems to be engineered to easily take apart. Perhaps that’s to make up for the seemingly excessive maintenance requirements, perhaps in lieu of robust real engineering. In other words ‘rather than make it last, we’ll make it easy to replace.’
Jim is right. Have owned many Audi’s, VW’s, Mercedes and while they are great driving cars, the repairs are painful. I’ve been cured of German cars. Prefer domestic that can be repaired locally. Never a good sign when the mechanic comes out with his white lab coat on.
I restored my old 1965 220S about 23 years ago. Repairs have been minimal and parts relativly inexpensive, especially compared to Japanese parts. I purchased most parts from Mercedes, ordered through Classic Mercedes and sold through my local Mercedes dealer. As to VW, after owning at least one of about every model over 45 years, I will never own another VW. The engine in our Tiguan died after only 70,000 miles. VW said it was running too lean and wanted $14,000 to repair it. Just the troubleshooting was $1200. Replies to my appeals to VW for any help were futile and far from polite. My current driver is an appliance, a C-Max, but unlike my VWs, it went 120,000 miles before needing its first minor repair.
They made a few innovative things and won the big races often ?
Apparently it didn’t transcend into a quality automobile, not unlike Ferrari. Carroll Shelby won just a few as well and those Mustang keep ticking with no problems.
Interesting comment, but I really prefer my German cars over the inferior made domestic junk cars. The only thing in “favor” of these muscle cars are the engines. The rest is just laughable, outdated garbage.
Also, why do we see a lot of MBZs, BMWs, Audis, VWs and Porsches in the usa, but hardly any chevies, fords or chryslers in Germany or other European countries?
Enjoy those repair bills. German car owners mainly do so because they think there is some sort of prestige that come with owning them but people in the sport know what fools they are.
You probably see more Euro made cars in the US for several reason, one being the roads (with exception of autobahn) suck in Europe, the other being that import fees going that way are not favorable to domestic auto makers. The tax issues play another part.
Come on folks, there must be someone out there with a shred of ambition in their bodies. Buy this and join an elite list of former owners that include Leonid Brezhnev, Fidel Castro, Nicolae Ceauşescu, Idi Amin Dada, Enver Hoxha, Hirohito, Saddam Hussein, Mao Tse Tung, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, Korean dingbats Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il and Ferdinand Marcos. Where do I sign?
Considering Adam’s list of people, I’ll bet none of them paid for the car or its servicing out of their own pockets.
Probably had their mechanics hung.
You forgot Jack Nicholson on your list . He was a proud owner of a short wheel base 600, and I spoke to him about it as he was leaving a restaurant I was working on in 1980. He told me it was a great car and like floating at 80 mph! I think it was used in the “ Witches of Eastwick “ movie! So it wasn’t all dictators and heads of state !
ntxautomuseum is North Texas Auto Museum, which is located in Richardson Texas.
Here is their web address http://www.ntxautomuseum.com.
The following Info is from their website:
NTX, a classic car Museum in progress, is the perfect venue for auto research (Automotive Research) group study. Cars will be allowed inside the venue for private car research studies. We can cater to your prototype vehicle with a central large rotating stage.
Located in North Dallas, Texas you will find a large selection of Antique, Classic, Collector, Muscle, Race and Movie related Automobiles year round.
The windows, seats (front and back), sunroof, cowl vent, trunk lid and the suspension, steering and brakes are all hydraulically actuated. So these can have an oil leak from just about anywhere. My parents had one like this SWB back in 1974. I used to drive it around Red Rock Canyon outside Las Vegas. It would do 140mph but would land like a ton of bricks when it would leave the ground. The front brakes have twin calipers (per wheel) so I often put the tires out of balance as they apparently rotated on the wheels. Do you really think I could make all this up?
Hey Barnfinds owners – what’s with the lack of appearance of the long epistle I sent in twice, describing in detail how the hydraulics are simpler than they look and how I repaired them for a Billionaire in Ca. for peanuts after Mercedes failed in their attempt? After 54 yrs of maintaining all my own and many other owners’ Citroen DSs with full hydraulics, the Merc is child’s play.
I sent it in around 20 hrs ago, then again later as it didn’t appear. Anyone wanting to buy this should read what I wrote – C’mon guys, where’d it go?? I included my email addr in case someone out there wanted more info on the inexpensive repairs I developed – is that verboten?
The only limo to have,,,
I love German cars too, but as a wholesaler, we know to stay away from them over 100k (especially the suv’s), because they pretty much self destruct after that. Their low resale value is no accident.
My family and I have had many different MB products, from a 180D to my current C300. We have never had any of the high end models, and certainly never a 600 Pullman. Ourr Mercedes cars have been reliable, trouble free, and easy to maintain. Repairs are expensive if one goes to the dealer service depts. And they try to condition you to believe that the cars will disintegrate if not touched by factory trained technicians. It’s hogwash. The cars are well designed and are problem free from the outset and when problems do occur, the various assemblies are quite modular and can be easily maintained by an owner with modest mechanical abilities. The only frustrating issue that I have run into is that some parts are only sold to dealers and are not readily available to the consumer – transmission valve servo plates come to mind as one of that type. But if one perseveres, there IS eventually a source. Fortunately, those instances are rare and most owners will never face them. My C300 has nearly 200K miles and performs perfectly. My repair costs for those 200K miles. Has been about $2000, with the bulk of the cost going for tires. I recently replaced shocks and struts. That job cost around $500 for parts and took four hours to complete in my garage. Sorry, but I cNnot agree with those who find fault with MB cars. Our experiences have been vastly different.
Your experience is very rare, most MBZ’s are maintenance nightmares and this is coming from a guy that has been restoring/building cars for nearly 35 years. The engineering on these German made cars is abysmal and parts are horrendous. Relish in the fact that you have what amounts to be one of the few that didn’t bankrupt you starting at 50k miles.
I would run away from this car. The NTX closed, and is now a goKart track. I worked as the 600 expert for the owner. He had 4 600s, 3 SWB and 1 LWB 6 door. I got this one running just enough to move it. The interior is there, that is about it. The paint is flaking off in massive chunks on the front cowl. Black is not the original color, it was painted at a Maaco quality shop. There is no exhaust. The 6.3 engine needs massive work to run properly. The Wood is perished, and the last one cost over $7,000 to refinish the grain properly. Just the wood. It was great working there, as we had 85 classic cars, and 70 were Mercedes.
The steering wheel was actually an option in all white, as was a divider, this is not rare nor did it have a divider. The A/C was an aftermarket version as well, not the factory BEHR. I am happy to discuss 600s. Karl is THE man for 600s, I am but a 35 year novice.
The best advice I can give is: spend $100,000 on a 600, if you don’t you will anyway. If you do bid on this, make sure the expensive parts are removed, the headlight frames are made from unobtainium, the door switches are $12,000. Per side, per door. Caveat Emptor.
…expensive parts are “not” removed. :)
Also, the total production of the 600 was exactly 2,677. 2,190 SWB made.
Here is another one that was recently sold of the 4:
https://www.beverlyhillscarclub.com/1969-mercedes-benz-600-c-7953.htm
Note the headlight frames, lower windshield and door chrome, rear view mirrors, and wood door surrounds are missing. They were there before the sale. This Blue one belonged to King Mobutu.
I always found these to be waaay overrated, neat car, but it still looks like a taxi, ultra expensive and complicated for the sake of being “complikated”, and after you paid all that money, the a/c still hung under the dash like Ford pick up….I’d take a Cadillac Fleetwood from this vintage and not think twice.
I have owned 1 300SD and 2 300SDL’s and had almost Flawless service out of them Hundreds of thousands of miles of Interstate time at 80 getting 30 MPG tires oil and fuel filter changes on a regular basis. very comfortable cars. I did not dog mine with fast starts and stops but I ran the hell out of them. Currently driving a Ram 1500 Laramie with the 3.0 turbo diesel they use in the Mercedes vans. 31 MPG at 55…..28 at 72…..23 at 80 85000 miles in 16 months only oil and filter and fuel filter changes and one set of tires.
Old German mantra that has been used by Mercedes design engineers for the past 100 years : Why do something simple, when complicated will work ?
Back before the Persian Gulf war, I was a supplier of vintage cars, trucks, & spare parts to one of the ruling families in the middle east. The “King” had [if my memory is correct] eighteen M/B 600 cars, most of them long wheel base cars. His private service & restoration facility had so much trouble with the fuel injection, due to the high temperatures found in his country, they began converting them over to the carburated versions found on some 6.3 motors.
Because His Highness had hundreds of Mercedes Benz automobiles in his fleet of vehicles for guests to use, the factory would supply parts for the 600 cars, but not service them. I can remember visiting the main parking facility for the guest cars, it was a multi-story parking garage, similar to what we all see in larger cities or shopping malls.
And due to the constant problem of fine dust in the air, every car was covered in a bright red vinyl car cover, lined with luxurious fleece. I was told that after each Ha-boob [dust storm] they had to remove & clean each car cover and the car, because even in an enclosed garage, the dust permeated all the way under the car covers.
I’m attaching 2 photos of just some of the Mercedes Benz 600 cars in the royal car collection.
REALLY?!?! I’m disappointed in my fellow barn finders. What happened in Texas lately? Now we have a car with “sun or water damage” on the rear shelf, in a building with all the carpeting torn up and the FLOOR DRAINS DISASSEMBLED, like maybe they were plugged with mud. HMMM. What could have happened here? Run from all of these cars.
To reiterate my lost or sidelined comments: The 600 hydraulics are simple if you’ve ever owned a Citroen DS, and the DS is not that complicated – it’s just plumbing. I replaced the $7000 Bosch pressure reserve cylinder with an off the shelf Parker cyl custom-pressurized by Parker for $350 and it fit perfectly into the original’s brackets and does a better job. The $13,000 4 toggle window valves I rebuilt for $4.00 in Orings and used a simple tool I made myself to fix them in 4 hrs. I also added a pressure bleed back to the tank so the windows didn’t have to be cycled up/down until the pressure was released for safety to work on the system. Also added a couple 3000 psi gauges – one in engine compartment, one below dash so system pressure could be checked anytime, anywhere with no tools. I also have a fix for leaking air suspension bags – and I had never touched one of these cars before – they’re not rocket science, just overly complex German hardware. Notify me on this page if you need help with one of these – If BF allows, I could post my email here – is that legal BF????
I don’t replace parts – I FIX them, often better than new.
Ken Nelson; please let us know what your location is, for the info you have on repairing the hydraulic valves on these complex Mercedes 600’s and 6.3’s. Very interesting challenges you have undertaken; thanks for the hints.
Peter Irlenborn
Ken Nelson; Where are you??
We need valves rebuilt.
Yours,
Peter at pete33213321 at verizon.net
“You probably see more Euro made cars in the US for several reason, one being the roads (with exception of autobahn) suck in Europe”
Really?
You must be talking about the Bulgarian or Romanian Hinterland, otherwise
most roads in Europe are better than in the usa, especially here in the glorious california.
Agreed audifan – having motorcycled Europe twice 45 yrs ago, & been driving for 60 yrs including the UK in 2013 (UK/France) at 115 mph in rentacar on the autoroutes chasing a Peugeot doing 120, and driving the Ca. hyways 6 mo/yr and Detroit roads the other 6 mo, our roads are trashed by comparison. A friend & I cruised smoothly at 100+ on the M roads from Devon to Eynsham in ’13 after running the L-B route in an ’04 Lagonda Nere’a car (3 whls), but of course that didn’t test any road – just the lack of oiling ability of the engine which only seized 8 times. The only car fit to handle Ca. roads now is my ’65 Citroen DS whose hydropneumatics eat potholes for lunch – nothing else comes close – in fact, it hardly requires a road at all.
I have been cured of German cars. The A8 was the worse. Beautiful driving car but, terribly expensive to repair. Have never owned an Asian car and prefer not to elaborate on reasons; will leave this to your imagination. Prefer domestic whenever possible.
Love the A8’s, but those chain tensioner issues requiring removal of the engine is ridiculous…especially from the Germans!
Peter Irlenborn: citbuff@gmail.com – hope this works.
Peter Irlenborn : he left you a message on the Thread that his Email was citbuff@gmail.com
You can bring up the thread by clicking on the title of the post and bring up the whole thread !