Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
The Mercedes-Benz 560SEC quickly went from another used, old Mercedes to a modern classic that everyone suddenly wants. Yes, the W126 coupes have always been more desirable than the sedans but recently a huge demand gap has grown between the two. Finding a coupe for sale at typical well-used Mercedes prices is rare or when you do find a really nice one, be prepared to shell out a lot of money. The latter is the case today for this 1991 offered for sale in California.
As I’ve said before, I usually try to stay away from regurgitation of material. However, there were a few reasons to look at this European specification M3 one more time.
I’ve recently featured a string of Canadian Edition E36 M3s with some sticker shock for fans of the traditionally affordable chassis. The first was a Hellrot model in August with a $35,000 asking price. That car, to my knowledge, failed to trade hands because though it was actively bid upon, the reserve was never lifted in the mid 20K range. The next stunner was the Individual Giallo car in September, which broke predictions at the $65,000 mark. I looked at another Dakar model in November hoping to capitalize on those high asks, with a reported sticker price close to $30,000. It, too, failed to break the reserve.
The traditional, and very valid, argument to paying high prices for these cars is that they’re essentially just a stock Euro model with a number attached to them. Why not just import a much cheaper and more plentiful example of those then? To that point I had twice looked at a non-Canadian Edition but European specification ’94.
This Mugello Red model originally came to our site in October, 2014. With about 83,000 miles and in generally good condition, it was certainly a unique and appealing alternative to the normal M3. It popped back up in June of 2016 with a few more miles, poor photography and a little more wear. It was also boldly offered with no reserve, though the auction ended with an “error in the listing”; eBay seller speak for the bidding not heading in the direction they were hoping.
Well, here it is again. This time, it is listed by the same seller as the Giallo car. It’s been cleaned up and has some great photography. Only a few thousand miles have been added since we originally listed the car. However, small items like the broken headlight haven’t been rectified. No additional maintenance is disclosed. It’s also interesting to me that the seller doesn’t note this as a rare “slicktop” no sunroof car – appealing to some. The photography and polish will cost you, as the asking price is nearly $23,000 this time around. That’s about what the similar mileage, similar specification Hellrot car bid to. Is it worth that much of a premium?
Have you ever looked at the McLaren F1’s centrally mounted seating position and thought to yourself, “Yes, this is what I need for my everyday commute”? Well have no fear because a solution has presented itself under the guise of this otherwise fairly basic 2010 Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet. The cliche is that a picture is worth a thousand words so I will leave it to the pictures to describe this Carrera’s transformation. I won’t lie, things get a little weird.
You don’t have to cast a very wide net to find a modified E30 BMW. Though they’ve been out of production for the U.S. market for some 25 years, they’re still a massively popular choice for enthusiasts – so much so, that they’re a bit ubiquitous and border on cliché.
As a result, we’ve seen our share of modified E30s on these pages with varying results. But today’s example really is something special. It’s not the first time I’ve heard an E30 be referred to as the cleanest, best built car in the country. I clicked the link with my normal base-level of E30 skepticism.
“It’ll be way, way overpriced for what it is. Lipstick on a pig. I’d prefer a stock one” rolled through my head.
You see, if I told you the value on a 318iS was such that it justified a full disassembly and restoration, you’d likely laugh. There could not possibly be a return on that investment, right? And on top of that, a resto-mod in a non-original color in a market which has highly prized only completely original, low mileage and stock examples to date?
Naysayers, bear witness.
It’s been awhile since I’ve featured a new car and today’s car is a good enough reason as any. Mercedes-AMG rolled out the W205 C63 S Coupe Edition 1 as a road going tribute to the same car that competed in the 2016 DTM championship. This is great if you are one of the few people in the United States who actually watch the DTM but 99% plus of the people you come across will think you just went a little crazy with the yellow vinyl. But I guess if you are the kind of person who both has the ability to and wants to drop $94,000 on a C-Class you don’t really care about others’ thoughts.
