Author: Andrew

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1997 Mercedes-Benz E300

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I’m sure I’m not the only person who wants both an analog experience in my car along with having the ease of DIY on most everything, but also wants modern tech and these crazy new safety features called airbags. Case in point, my Mercedes-Benz W116 and W123 are both simple enough that I can diagnose and fix almost anything on the entire car in my home garage, but their main safety features are headrests and a padded steering wheel. If you go to the other end with a newer Mercedes-Benz diesel, you see cryptic messages on your infotainment screen saying the car isn’t going to restart unless you fill the tank up with AdBlue fluid, but hey, at least the car will literally steer itself in between the lane lines while you are frantically Googling on your phone what the hell AdBlue fluid is. So is there a happy medium? Well, I think I have one option.

The W210 is a very fine chassis in my eyes. Granted, I’m biased as I own one, but they are seemingly sturdy cars as long as you keep them away from constant moisture and salt. All the gas engines in car are equally as fine, but thankfully the US market was blessed with a gem of a diesel, the OM606. This 3.0 liter inline-six replaced the OM603, which replaced the OM617, so we have good lineage here. It was available in turbo and non-turbo, with today’s car I want to look at, a 1997 E300, being the non-turbo. Much like Mercedes diesels of past, this one has a lot of miles, but probably also has good years left in it as well.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Mercedes-Benz E300 on eBay

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1978 Mercedes-Benz 240D

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Here is a real odd ball. This is a European-spec 1978 Mercedes-Benz 240 for with some really interesting modifications. The early W123 looks to be fitted with some kind of aftermarket bumpers and side skirts, European hubcaps from a W126 S-Class, a bunch of painted black trim, and probably the worst placement for a third brake light I’ve ever seen. It supposedly has just 51,000 miles and is even fitted with Michelin XWX, a tire that if fitted to a W123 can often double the value of the entire car. I have a whole lot of questions, and it looks not like many answers.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1978 Mercedes-Benz 240D on eBay

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2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring

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Last week I took a look at a paint-to-sample Porsche 911 that was finished in one of the wildest colors I’ve ever seen. There was no mistaking its flat out pink appearance and you weren’t fooling anyone if you tried to say it had a tint of red or purple in it. Today, I thought I’d check out another 911 in a paint-to-sample color, a 2018 GT3 Touring up for sale in Wisconsin. This color was the standard fee of what Porsche charges for custom colors of $12,830 only to have lots of other people decide they want to paint their GT3 this shade as well. What is this color? Viola Metallic. It is very much a silky looking purple that is very light unlike Ultra Violet. So while not off the charts crazy, still pretty wild. You in? If so, bring your checkbook.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring on eBay

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1998 Mercedes-Benz SL320

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All of a sudden we are in the middle of October and soon little Spider-Mans with coats on will be banging on your door wondering where the free candy is at. That means convertible season is all but over for most of America. That is, like my father used to yell at me for, unless you are one of those crazy people who puts the top down and blasts the heat which in turn is like trying to heat the whole neighborhood. The other scenario is of course if you live somewhere that doesn’t get snow then go ahead and enjoy your top down weather until the turkey is in the oven. That brings me to today’s car, a 1998 Mercedes-Benz SL320.

The SL320 and the pre-facelift 300SL have always stood deep in the shadow of big brothers V8 and V12 R129s and rightfully so. They are were just powerful enough that the car wasn’t a total dog, and usually they were low on standard features. Mercedes figured this out after eight long years with the inline-six SL and finally killed it off in the US after the 1998 model year. This leaves this example in Greenwich, Connecticut, a place where a four garage costs nearly $600,000, in rare company. The even better part about this car is that it had a pile of repairs and maintenance just competed. The thing is, is the price worthy of the little brother SL?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1998 Mercedes-Benz SL320 on eBay

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1997 Porsche 911 Turbo S

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To many, there is no higher predator on the Porsche 911 food chain than the 1997 Turbo S. It was everything all packed into a single car. Only 182 examples made it to the US and they were all very expensive as you might of guessed. Most had a sticker price of over $150,000 in 1997, which in 2019 money is north of $240,000. After your tax and all that good stuff, you are out the door at nearly a quarter of a million dollars. That was more than a Ferrari F355 Berlinetta at the time, but its apples and oranges and you can see where values for both of these cars are at today. This example up for sale in Ohio is finished in Glacier White over Cashmere Beige leather interior and has just 7,700 miles on the odometer. The price? This or a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan’s Upper East Side?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo S on eBay

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1996 Mercedes-Benz S600 Coupe

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Last month I looked at a Mercedes-Benz W140 Coupe in a 1999 CL500 that not only looked great, but had a really reasonable asking price as well. Needless to say, it didn’t last all that long as someone else must of saw the value in it. Today, I wanted to go even further up market and check out a very low-mile 1996 S600 Coupe up for sale in New Jersey. Just as a refresher, Mercedes produced just over 8,500 of the V12-powered 600SEC/S600 Coupe/CL600 models for worldwide sale over an eight-year production period so they are relatively rare compared to the 36,000 examples of the V12 sedan. To find one with just 36,000 miles as this one has isn’t an easy task. However, that certainly means you are going to pay a premium. A big one.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1996 Mercedes-Benz S600 Coupe on eBay

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1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 2

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Oh Paint to Sample, you’ve really done it this time. What you are looking at is a 1990 Porsche 911 C2 painted in “Karminrot.” In English, that is “Carmine Red,” but you can see that this car is not red. Even more so, if you see that a Porsche is painted in Carmine Red, it will look like this. So what gives? Why is this car pink? During a point in 911 history, Karminrot was actually this color. I suppose somewhere along the line they came to their senses and decided that it doesn’t make a lot of sense to call a pink car “red,” as well as the fact that no one was actually buying this color. That likely leaves this 964 as possibly the only example finished in a color most associated with bubblegum.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 on eBay

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2001 Porsche 911 Turbo

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The last time I looked at a Porsche 911, I proclaimed that in the right application, a nice amount of wood isn’t a bad thing at all. It turns an already good car in something a little different, and clearly I’m not the only one who feels that way as that car seems to have already sold. However, Porsche didn’t always get it right when it came to putting wood inside the 911. Case in point, today’s car. This 2001 911 Turbo up for sale in Illinois is finished in Black over Natural Brown leather with the light wood interior package. Sounds great, right? Not exactly. You’ll understand what I mean when you look inside this car.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 Porsche 911 Turbo on eBay

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2001 Mercedes-Benz S320 CDI

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Update 10/18/19: This unusual W220 sold for $7,090.

I certainly didn’t expect to see this on U.S. soil. “This” is a 2001 Mercedes-Benz S320 CDI. That means this is a short wheelbase W220 with the OM613 turbo diesel engine. Produced from 2000 to 2002, this S-Class was never brought to North America because the diesel S-Class was killed off in the early-90s during the W140 chassis and still hasn’t returned…and probably never will. It was very light on equipment and options, but it wasn’t about that in this car. It was about that sweet OM613. Have a gentle foot, and you could return 30 miles per gallon out of this boat of a car. I know an economical S-Class is a bit of an oxymoron (more of those here), but this is very much a situation of having it all. Let me explain.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 Mercedes-Benz S320 CDI on eBay

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2006 Porsche 911 Carrera S

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Wood trim in a Porsche 911 has always been an interesting debate. On one side, this is a pure sports car, leave the wood for BMW and Mercedes-Benz if you want luxury. On the other, some will argue that this is also a GT car and having some wood on the dash, steering wheel, and where ever else they could put it is just fine. Clearly buyers want this, because billion dollar car companies don’t just blindly do things without tons of research and market analysis, no matter how much we want to believe they do. This 2006 911 C2S has some wood on the inside and not just the shift knob and steering. No, this 997.1 is optioned with the Makassar Package to finished off the Sea Blue interior just right in my eyes. Wait until you see it.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera S at U Drive Automobiles

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