Author: Andrew

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1977 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9

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The holy trinity of M100-powered Mercedes-Benz cars, the 600, 300SEL 6.3, and 450SEL 6.9, are not for the causal or faint of heart owners. The buy-in is expensive, the parts are expensive, the labor is expensive, everything is expensive. These are not cars you can stick in the corner of the garage under a cover with a battery tender hooked up only to drive it once a month, if that. They all use extremely complicated suspension systems that will leave you weeping if you walk out in the garage and see the car suddenly resting on its rocker panels. Despite support from the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center, lots of parts have been no longer available for many years and aren’t coming back, so your only hope it to pray that it doesn’t break and if it does, hope it can be rebuilt. There is a very small, but passionate group of owners of these cars in the M100 club, but their membership is decreasing as the years going on as younger generations aren’t interested in spending sometimes five-figures for routine repairs on these cars.

If you are brave enough to dip your toe into the world of dry-sump engine lubrication and doors heavy enough to slice your fingers clean off if they get caught in them, then the 450SEL 6.9 is where you want to start. Full disclosure, I own a W116 chassis, in non-6.9 trim, so I am a bit biased on these, but also extremely realistic as I’ve worked on a 6.9 extensively and lived to tell about. The hydraulic suspension system is sturdy, but again, very pricey if something goes wrong, and the same can be said for the 6.9 engine itself. The non-6.9 bits are some of the best materials you could ever ask for in a car, sans the god-forsaken US-spec HVAC, so it is for sure a give and take situation. Buy a well-sorted example and stay diligent with the maintenance, it won’t be so bad. However, buy a project and have fun explaining to your wife and kids why Santa won’t be visiting your house this year. Thankfully the car I’m looking at today, a rare European-spec 1977, looks to have all the major things looked after and is it relatively good health. The thing is, I don’t think the owner wants to let go of it. At least for not what I think it is worth.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1977 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 on eBay

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2007 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG with 322,000 miles

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For me, there is this constant back and forth between “They don’t make them like they used to” and “Newer cars can basically go forever with proper maintenance and repairs”. Today’s car falls in the latter half. Although I’m skeptical. Very skeptical. Why? In case you haven’t noticed the title, this is a 2007 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG with over 322,000 miles on the odometer. Yes, this 6.0 liter twin-turbocharged whale of a car that produces 604 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque has somehow racked up over 322,000 miles. According to the helpful Carfax, this car registered just over 29,000 miles in its first three years – a totally normal amount. Then the next five years saw the odometer jump to 200,000 miles. Six months later, 250,000 miles. That is 275 miles every single day for six months. How? Why?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2007 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG at Selective Motor Cars

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2000 Mercedes-Benz SL600

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For as many crazy colors as Porsche produces, Mercedes-Benz will once in awhile surprise you with something that you wouldn’t expect. I say “once in awhile” meaning almost never, because at the end of the day these are very serious Germans who make cars in very serious colors like silver, black, and everyone’s favorite, beige. However, today we have color that is quite wonderful. This 2000 SL600 up for sale in The Netherlands is finished in Aquamarine Blue Metallic with a navy blue top and of course a tan interior, because they wouldn’t want to go off the deep end or anything. It has just a hair of 26,000 miles and just like everyone else for sale at this dealer, is nearly flawless. However, that usually comes with a higher price tag and this one is up there. Way up there.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2000 Mercedes-Benz SL600 on Auto Leitner

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2018 Porsche 911 GT3

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“Give me crazy options, or give me death!”

That isn’t what Patrick Henry said during a speech he made to the Second Virginia Convention in 1775. It is however something I would say to a group of strangers on the internet when looking at Porsches. This 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 up for sale in Southern California isn’t your typical 991.2 GT3. I know saying a “typical 991.2 GT3” is a little bit of an oxymoron, but seeing the options on this car, you might understand what I mean. Not only is it finished in paint-to-sample Agate Gray, but the full bucket seats are finished in burgundy leather with hounds tooth inserts. It doesn’t stop there either.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 on eBay

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2012 Porsche 911

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For a much love as I give all the Porsche GT and Turbo cars, very rarely do I look at the standard 911 Carrera. Rightfully so as those headline-capturing GT and Turbo cars can basically go toe-to-toe with any car in the world and hold their own, but that certainly doesn’t make the base 911 any less good. This is especially true on the 991 chassis. The lowly base 911 is hardly that. It came in at a respectable 350 horsepower and a choice between the 7-speed PDK gearbox or a 7-speed traditional manual transaxle that was a world-first at the time. A 0-60 run needed just 4.4 seconds and this all could be done in a package tame enough to drive 365 days a year with no fuss. The price wasn’t cheap however as the base 991 started at $83,000. I wish I could put “started” in size 84 font as stuff you think would be standard can easily tack on another $10,000 without even realizing it. Got to have those 14-way sport seats, after all.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2012 Porsche 911 on eBay

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1991 Mercedes-Benz G230

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There area bunch of oxymorons in the automotive world. Reliable Fiat. Quality Maserati. Leak-free Land Rover. Inexpensive Porsche. Today, we have another one to add to the list: Restored G-Wagen.

Long before the housewives of the world used the G-Wagen as a grocery-getter and mall crawler, this box on wheels was a utilitarian masterpiece. It was meant to be used and abused, and for the first 21 years of production, they basically were. Then in 1990 when the W463 rolled onto the scene, they got very posh, very fast. However, if you still want that utilitarian experience, there are plenty of them out there. To no one’s surprise, people like to have their cake and eat it too. They want old, but they also want comfortable and luxury. That is exactly what this 1991 G230 is. Someone actually went through the trouble and expense of restoring a G-Wagen with a naturally-aspirated four cylinder that made 123 horsepower when new. I guess that is all you need when the speed limit on Nantucket is only 25 mph.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 Mercedes-Benz G230 on eBay

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1999 Mercedes-Benz CL500

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A few weeks ago I took a look at a 1993 Mercedes-Benz 500SEC that needed some help to say the least. Thankfully it looks like it sold a few days ago for a low sum of $4,600 and maybe is on its way to a new life. Honestly, I wouldn’t bet on it given how expensive it would be to refurbish the car. Today, I’d thought I’d look at another C140 that looks like it doesn’t need much, if anything at all. This CL500 up for sale in the Los Angeles area is a rare 1999 model, the last year the C140 was in production. Mercedes really cut back on the C140 for the 1999 model year – production was just under 1,500 for the entire world. Word is, only around 125 of them made it to the U.S. in both CL500 and CL600 guise. Needless to say, a rare bird. The good news is this example has just over 100,000 miles on it and looks like it has about half of that. The better news, it isn’t as expensive as you might of thought.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1999 Mercedes-Benz CL500 on eBay

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1966 Mercedes-Benz 250SE Coupe

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In terms of ‘Classic Mercedes-Benz’, the W111 Coupe is near the top. Rightfully so, as it is a product of Frenchman Paul Bracq who was also responsible for the Pagoda, 600, and even some other iconic cars at BMW, Citroën, and Peugeot. It’s as every bit as elegant and stunning as anything that rolled out of the factory in Crewe, England at rival Rolls-Royce/Bentely, and the build quality is on par with some international bank vaults. Even doing a quick Google search for “W111 Coupe” will have you lost in an array of stunning examples. However, I highly doubt a Google search will turn up this color combination. This 1966 up for sale in Florida is painted in Sandbeige Metallic over a green leather interior. Yes, green. Not that green that almost looks like black. No, this is Saint Patrick’s Day green. Wait until you peek inside this car.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1966 Mercedes-Benz 250SE Coupe on eBay

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2004 Porsche 911 GT3

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Do you have roughly $65,000 burning a hole in your pocket? I have just the car for you. Well, at least the specific model. I know I’m not exactly predicting the lottery numbers here, but if you were on the fence about buying a 996 Porsche GT3, get off that fence and do it. These are not going to ever be cheaper than they are right now and it already seems like people are snagging them up and putting giant mark-ups on them just because they can. There are still good deals out there to be found if you look hard enough, but I suspect that isn’t going to be for long. Today’s car, a 2004 GT3 up for sale in Seattle, is offered at a Ferrari dealer so that means you are basically paying for the privilege of the staff there to acknowledge your existence. Still, I’ve seen worse deals out there.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2004 Porsche 911 GT3 on Dupont Registry

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1997 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S

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You can file this one under the “strange but true” category. This 1997 Porsche 911 C4S is finished in paint-to-sample yellow. However, this isn’t just any yellow. This is literally Ferrari yellow. It says “Ferrari” right on the door jam sticker. Ferrari’s name for the color is Giallo Modena because they are Italians, but Porsche calls this Ferrari-Gelb. (Literally Ferrari-Yellow) I would of loved to have heard the conversation in Stuttgart when the buyer asked for a paint to sample in a car literally from a competing brand. My guess is this was a very important person who spent a lot of money with Porsche over the years because Porsche doesn’t exactly bend over backwards for anyone off the street and they certainly don’t do it for less than those giant bags with ‘$‘ on the side of them. Given the paint to sample, you would be correct to guess this one also has some other cool little touches.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S at Klassik Sportwagen

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