Every now and again, you see a deal come up for grabs that quite literally seems too good to be true. And this 1956 Mercedes-Benz 190SL roadster with the preferred 4-speed manual is perhaps one of the best opportunities to go out of 2025 on a high note, because it is an absolute steal at just $19,000. Based on the description, photos, and the seller listing an actual phone number to call, it seems to be quite real, and I will preemptively congratulate anyone who is lucky enough to bring this 190SL home. Find it here on craigslist in Rock Island, Washington, and thanks to Barn Finds reader Jack M. for the find.
You really do feel some pity for a seller who is leaving serious money on the table, but we don’t know the situation. It could be a matter of prioritizing time over every last penny, or the feeling that the car needs more work than advertised. I actually was looking into the 190SL market this week after a colleague of mine sold a very honest 1961 190SL for a strong price on Bring A Trailer. Selling for nearly $90,000 the day after Christmas reveals how the right car for the right person at the right time is a more powerful indication of selling price than any pricing guide can ever predict. The interior shows standard signs of being unrestored and would be transformed with a simple reupholstery job.
The dashboard with instruments can sell for nearly $10,000; the hardtop goes for $2,000; the kid’s pedal car version of the 190SL can also reach $2,000 or so. I’m sure at this point some kindhearted enthusiasts have reached out to the seller letting them know that they have left about $30,000 on the table with the current asking price. The 190SL doesn’t appear to be rusty and even with the seller’s admission that it’s a project car that hasn’t seen much use since their grandparents stopped using it, the level of completeness would eliminate any concerns I had about buying sight-unseen at this price point. There’s literally no chance of being disappointed.
You occasionally see reports of the 1.9-liter M121 inline-four (good for 104 horsepower and 105 lb-ft of torque) needing a rebuild or at the very least, a top-end refresh; however, these are not complex engines, so even in a worst-case scenario, I wouldn’t overthink the purchase even if the motor needs some work. The matching factory hubcaps with the painted centers underneath is an OEM-correct detail even if the color turns out not to be (a respray wouldn’t surprise me at this point.) While I would like to see the seller get more for the car, you can’t fault the first person who’s there with a trailer today and $19,000 in hand, ready to bring this 190SL home.
I can’t believe you haven’t added this one to your garage yet, Jeff! Great find, Jack M!
I saw a really nice red 190SL on the side of the road in Minneapolis 20 years ago, and it had a sign on it for $26,000. A couple of years before that, I had gotten an Audi TT ALMS and didn’t have the money for another car, and one that wouldn’t be reasonable to drive every day. I was still an architect, so I wasn’t making a ton of money (despite what people think architects make), so I let it go. Fast-forward to the end of 2025, and this $19,000 or reasonable offer ($15,000? $17,000?) is an absolute steal for this car, even if it needs $60,000 worth of restoration work.
Did Mike Brady of the Brady Bunch Show have any influence in your career path? Just kidding Scotty, Happy Holidays!!!
I wish my hair had looked that good! Ha.
Thanks, Pat, and thanks for all of the great tips and comments over the last year! Is it really almost 2026?! Wow, scary.
I’m no expert at all whatsoever on older Mercedes, but I always loved the 300SL Gullwing, and I always thought they are all nicely designed cars back in the 50’s. Just look at that dash. Driving this car would make me feel like a million bucks. This would look great restored. Great write up Jeff, I enjoyed it!!!
This car sold on BAT 22 Mar 2024 for $77K. Photos are taken from BAT. Wording in the ad “I don’t know alot about cars or their value…” is a Big Red Flag! This appears to be a scam.
That was my first thought: If it’s too good to be true, then it’s a scam.
Thanks for the research, Cam.
Thanks for finding this! Just curious for future searches, how were you able to find it? (I didn’t see it in the auctions) I guess another red flag was that it is even still listed.
It is actually a ’57, and is on the BAT website. When shopping online, it is always best to vet listings by searching posted images with Google Lens or similar image search tools. You can quickly spot scams like this, and also see if the item has been listed or previously sold elsewhere. Frankly anyone writing for Barnfinds should always do this to prevent promoting scammers. This type of scam uses a wildly underpriced car as bait to get people to act fast and send deposits or get banking info through fake e-transfers.
There is a good video on YouTube on how to do a reverse image search with Google. I would post a link here, but it will get caught in the moderation queue.
Search YouTube for “How To Reverse Image Search On Google” by BKA Content.
Another thing I do when I see a vehicle that is priced ridiculously low is to go the BAT site and scroll through the past auctions for that same vehicle. Besides identifying a potential scam, it is nice to see all the cars and what they sell for.
“I don’t know a lot about cars and their value”. Hmmmm…..if only there were a quick way to research such things. Like, maybe a device that had access to the universe in your pocket?
Probably fake ?? Anyway it’s not a 56
Wrong hardtop / bumpers / seats / dooropeners
Back in the day these were scorned as being basically “country club” sports cars. That is, they looked “sporty” but were slow and softly sprung and the only folks that wanted them were old guys taking their golf clubs to their local country club. Nobody wanted them until 300 SL’s took off and this sorta followed it upwards folks buying them because they couldn’t afford a 300 SL. For less money you could get a Healey 3000 and get a lot more performance for less money. The next iteration the “pagoda” 230 and 250 were pretty much the same thing although more contemporary and better executed. Other than having a 3 pointed start there’s not much there to like. JMHO but that’s the way it was in the mid 60’s and frankly I don’t get why these are bringing any kind of money..
You obviously have not driven nor owned one – too bad as they are fine automobiles when the secondary chokes on the Solex 44PHH carbs are dialed to actually ‘secondary’ correctly.
I’m sure they are very nice cars, and they should be. At the time the MSRP was $4,000 and another 300 for the hardtop. An MGA with similar performance was $2400 and a big Healey that was a good bit faster was $3,000. That supple ride came from 2600 lbs of road hugging weight. Contemporary road tests had the 1/4 mile in 18 seconds. The Germans referred to it at the time as a “damensportwagen” (a ladies sports car). There aren’t many of them because they weren’t highly sought after at the time. If you want one to take to cars and coffee then it’s probably a good choice and as you said it’s a fine car, but it was never a high performance car back in the day, it was always a boulevard cruiser.
Old guys taking their golf clubs to their local country club . . . that describes most of the Porsche owners I see now.
A couple of random comments.,,
First nobody is selling this for $19,000. Scam, pure and simple. I did buy mine for $10,000, but it was in rough shape and that was 1993.
“…with the preferred 4-speed manual…” Preferred or not, that is the only transmission for it unless someone hacked something else into it.
The points regarding performance are valid (and seems like is always nattered about every time these cars appear), but its sure a lot easier to get golf clubs into one of these than any Healey.
too good to be true
“…Nobody wanted them until 300 SL’s took off and this sorta followed it upwards…”
exactly the benz idea for initially creating the model.
Glad it followed in the used mrkt too. I continued enamored w/the gulwing. Not until BF ran 190 after 190 did I begin to follow the model (’55 – ’93 when they killed the i6). “For every automotive application possible there seems to be a vehicle built”. I now like this one, must B gettin soft in my ol age?!? LOL
Also note when deciphering this ad as legit or not: Says its in Washington, but the area code from the phone number is from Philadelphia. Beware!
“this was my grandparents car” should be the first tip off this wasn’t legit.
There could be s simple solution here…. maybe someone left the first ‘one’ of the $19K!! 119 sounds closer to its value! ( I hope you realize that I AM joking!)
I’ve always preferred the 190 over the Gullwing because of the removable top and yes $19k sounds too good to be true. For that money I’m surprised it hasn’t been snapped up before being advertised……………
The 300SL convertible also offered an optional removable hardtop.
There is/was a person putting stunning cars on Washington State Facebook marketplace for ridiculously low prices. Scam.