Imagine having the foresight to grab every car that might potentially be worth a few bills someday and stashing it in your warehouse. That’s the key: a warehouse. It’s not hard to acquire potential project vehicles, but having the space is a different matter altogether. The seller of this desirable Mercedes-Benz W113 Pagoda has owned the vehicle for 35 years and likely picked it up when it was just a battered, relatively worthless hulk. Obviously, things have changed as it relates to the desirability of this model, and the 280SL is now listed here on eBay where bidding is over $35,000 with the reserve unmet.

I just had the chance to lay hands on a Pagoda over the weekend and was struck by how simple it is, despite their obviously rising values. We all think these cars are somehow overly-complicated mistresses because they’re so coveted these days; in reality, the interior is very basic and the drivetrain isn’t anything particularly exotic. The dashboard is a simple affair, with the period-correct Blaupunkt or Telefunken radio a must-have. While you could find these with a manual transmission, they’re largely hard to track down, and honestly, I don’t know if these two-seater droptops are really all that much more enjoyable to drive with three pedals instead of two.

The bodywork on this Mercedes is the weakest link, as there’s evidence of rust in the fenders and plenty of heavier dings and dents. I could very easily see this car being found in an impound lot or left behind at a mechanic’s shop when the bill climbed too high. The Mercedes is located in Huntington Station, New York, which is a fairly tony zip code, so it’s also possible this was just a throwaway car for one of the last owners. The seller was smart to grab it for what likely amounted to peanuts at the time, and it certainly hasn’t cost him any money just sitting there if he presumably owns the space it’s stored in. The lenses look good and the bumpers aren’t bad; a slightly damaged front bumper is included.

There are no details provided on the health of the engine, but it at least looks fairly complete. I doubt the seller knows what state it’s in, or has much in the way of a desire to find out. He does have a clean title in hand, so at least this car wasn’t declared salvage or totaled back in the 80s. There are numerous areas of rust in the body so I’d want to have a clear sense of just how rotten this Pagoda is before declaring it a steal at its current bid price. The listing was amended to note that the soft top frame is still present under the optional hard top, but I’ll consider it a small miracle if it still works. Either way, this is going to look like an attractive buy for anything under $50,000 the way these W113s are selling lately.