One of my biggest fears with my projects is getting lost in the minutia of life and letting them sit for prolonged periods. Fortunately, everything in my collection right now is at a good point of completion, so any ongoing maintenance is mostly preventative. Still, I can see how bringing home a big project like this 1961 Mercedes-Benz 190SL could end up sitting in the garage for decades, waiting for a restoration that never came. Find this well-buried 190SL here on eBay with bidding over $25K at the moment.
The seller claims he purchased the car in high school, getting it flat-bedded into the garage in 1978. It hasn’t moved since! While we all love the photos of the car in its dusty, forgotten state, it’s also difficult to ascertain just how rusty the body is. The 190SL is located near Oyster Bay in Massapequa, New York, a climate absolutely known for salt spray and dampness, and we’ve seen plenty of completely rotten 190SLs featured on this page. Hopefully, the car was fairly dry and straight when it went into long-term storage.
The interior reads like a history of summer memories that the car never experienced, from the badminton rackets to cushions belonging to outdoor patio furniture. While it’s still difficult to make a proper assessment of the interior condition, we can at least see an intact dash not lacking any gauges; the delicate rear view mirror still perched on the dash; and the upper back portions of the bucket seats, seemingly with untorn seating surfaces.
Here’s the shot that reminds you the 190SL lived in the Northeast: heavy pitting and surface rust on the surfaces most exposed to the road and other rash-inducing environments, typical of many vintage cars that have spent all four seasons on the road. Chrome is heavily pitted and even the horns are tired cosmetically. A repaint is definitely needed along with re-chroming, but all of that is in the distant future in terms of the likely needs this 190SL will have. Will it be rescued?
Its not listed on eBay anymore. I bet someone with a wad of cash and told them to remove it ASAP!!! This easily was/is a $150K car. You cant see how the rest of the car is, but if the car is at least a 6/10, its a great find!
Agree with Neal – they get stupid money for these now. I knew a kid in college who drove one. At that time it was just a mildly ratty used car that sort of suggested that it was related to a 300SL. A 1.9 liter engine paled in comparison to a 396 Chevy or a 426 Hemi so it was difficult to get too excited about the baby Benz.
That general area flooded during Superstorm Sandy. Hope that garage didn’t…
If bidding was already at 25k That car isn’t destined to sit around in the back somewhere. It’s going to be saved for sure!
It appears they found a buyer.
I would restore it…with someone else’s money.
The rust repair / replacement work almost guarantees that you’ll be doing this as a labor of love.No profit to be realized.
Amazing how some sellers won’t even bother to unearth their stuff – 5 mins to take 4-5 pics and then throw it out there – just amazing lack of THINKING or AMAZING LAZINESS! If it didn’t pull the initial asking price, but only a little more, it’s the sellers loss –
Anyone see the 59 Chevy peeking out from under all the boxes
Yup – a Batmobile – my father had one as a co. car. Can’t let anyone sit on the fins – they’ll BEND!
These cars go at unreal price in take it home in a bucket condition. I helped a friend sell one here in Tn last year that was a total rusted out body that was his parts car years ago for a restored one he has and I don’t think it had an engine and the buyer came great distance and laid down 10k.
I had a 1958 back in 1963, and lived on the west coast away from the rust belt, but even then I had a considerable problem with rust. Both front fenders required replacing because they had rusted through above the headlights. I can’t imagine how one of these cars could survive in an area where they use salt, unless it was garaged and driven only in the summer.
Aside from that, I loved the car. It was not a performer, but it was a smooth driving, somewhat peppy luxury sports car. It was the type of car that made it fun to comfortably travel from Vancouver to LA and return, and not feel that you were going to get beat to death, or have to worry about mechanical issues.
The only reason I sold the car, was to buy a Corvette, and I could not afford to keep both cars. I have always regretted selling the car, but I had to face the facts.
I am amazed the the prices for these cars has rocketed in recent years, but that’s life, but I believe that it is because it is a beautiful looking car.
BTW, to my mind, the only right colour for these cars is Mercedes Silver with red interior. :-)
Bob
Having sold many classic cars on eBay I have always been approached by BHCC.
Occasionally they do make realistic offers and do pay quickly. The no hassle deals are what make dealing with them attractive. Otherwise dealing with the general public is a crap shoot. There is always buyers remorse or folks that will call you a year later to say they found more rust than advertised. I’m not endorsing them but they never complain.