There’s some revival to be done on this Mercedes 230SL, as it’s been sitting for over 20 years, but as an early Pagoda roadster with a rare manual transmission, I’d say it’s worth the effort. The question is, is it also worth $29,995 (or the equivalent amount of cash plus Buick Riviera) as it sits? Let’s jaunt 15 minutes down the road from my house to Castro Valley, California, where it’s listed here on craigslist, to find out—I’ll drive (archived ad).
Okay, spoiler alert, even though it needs quite a bit of work, yeah, this Benz is almost certainly worth the ask. This is, after all, a car that would be worth well over twice the asking price—if not three times as much—when fully restored, and it looks like a pretty solid starting point. The seller acknowledges that it wears a “cheep” paint job, and those chrome wheel arch extensions always make me nervous about what’s gotten trapped underneath, but the overall condition of the body appears to be very straight, and other than the original wheels and, oddly, the center of the three-pointed star in the grille, all of the trim appears to be intact. It’s unknown whether this is an actual Euro-spec car or if the headlights are retrofitted, although I suspect it’s the former, as the speedometer appears to be in KPH.
Also encouragingly, despite apparently being the victim of a drive-by shooting (photography joke!), the engine is said to have been running great when it was parked—although that always raises the question of why it was parked. The seller claims that if craigslist doesn’t yield results this month, he’ll get the car running and put it on eBay at no reserve in January; would you grab it now at the current price and do the work yourself, or wait until it’s running but risk a too-high starting bid or a bidding war on eBay? I think it would come down to exactly how much work is needed, and at this point we just don’t know.
The interior is described as “presentable.” I’d want to assess the condition of the leather or Tex vinyl under those covers, but like the exterior, there are a few fairly easily corrected missteps on an overall solid base in here. The dash shows an ugly aftermarket stereo and what looks like a bumper sticker on the glovebox door, but there doesn’t appear to be any major cracking and what we can see of the carpet looks okay. What do you all think of the Nardi-type wheel? I know a lot of people like them, but I’m partial to a big, white Mercedes wheel myself.
As you might expect after a long hibernation, this Benz has needs, but I think it also has the right mix of attributes—early production, manual transmission, Pagoda hardtop, probable Euro-spec—and is in good enough overall condition to merit the asking price…how about you?
Totally worth the ask
ALL engines were “running when parked” the last time by definition. Even if they threw a rod the were “running” as they coasted to a stop.
Uh, somebody feel free to prove me wrong, but I don’t think there is anything unusual about having a manual transmission. That was the standard. One could get a four speed automatic, but that was an option and therefore somewhat more uncommon.
Now if this car had a 5 speed manual, then that would be really rare. They were available as an option, but only on the later cars (1966+ ?)
The market for these has softened somewhat so proceed with caution as there are many fine examples available that do not come with the Mercedes-induced headache of some of the priciest parts on the planet. Really beautiful and fun cars but each one should be approached with clear vision of what it will actually take to make it a presentable, reliable driver. Worth doing? Yes, but with a firm,
vise-like grip on your wallet.
Gosh! What happened to the kid with the ball?
Underneath checking for rust…where else?
Nathan Avots – Smith?! Is Avots latvian?
If its, drop me a line :)
OK Barn Find People: Coincidentally, this belongs to me. To clarify a few things. It was running when taken out of daily service and from what I can gather it did not klunk out….but I’m not 100% sure. It cranks with spark and no fuel.
I’m gonna pull it out and take it to the shop this coming week and have my guy get it going. It’s probably worth more and easier to sell running and driving. Bottom line? The market is gonna tell me what they will pay. I can either say yes or no.
While at the shop I will take a slug of decent pictures up in the air. presently it’s shoehorned into a tiny garage where it’s been since 1996.
I can be reached by phone at 510-688-1626.
That’s cool.
I have one of these European 230SLs and they tend to have more rust, because they were in Europe (most of which is wet and has snow some time of the year).
A new fuel pump is the minimum(be prepared to dish out close to $1000 for one of those).
Be careful not to ruin the injection pump, as the plungers get gummed up internally.
If you got questions: Alex (300parts@gmail.com)
Good Luck
Not an enjoyable car to drive. Really slow.
@ Billy Bob: The illusion of speed in these cars is only matched by your fear of something breaking and you finding out that the replacement part costs more than your house.
The CL listing has been flagged for removal
Perhaps it sold?
OK Devin: It’s NOT sold! The flagging? I’m guessing that my referral to the ebay in the copy might of had something to do with it.
No Devin, it means something unethical has been brought to their [ebays] attention about the posting/s.
My old Gdad had one of these in 65 and it was manual. I thought it would be worth a fortune now.
Cut the price in half and definitively worth it to completely rebuild engine that is probably froze up and then redo interior and so forth etc etc
I always thought cars like this had such a high amount of technical expertise and regular mechanical maintenance they last for a lifetime.
Very desirable car.
Slow, but not as slow as the early 70’s versions with the pollution controls, which were real dogs.
the ’64 not running project above is what it is. For the shopper here is a ’65 project also on the west coast, but with $15k of work done for the same asking price. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/d/1965-mercedes-benz-230sl/6430215601.html
If the ’65 could be bought for $25 that would put the ’64 value around $10k at best.