For every Craiglist-special Mercedes-Benz R107 out there with its average condition and crazy price, there is one R107 that is actually worth the money. You wouldn’t believe the number of 450SLs and 380SLs I dig through day after day with phrases like ”Great condition” and ”A real peach” only to see they have tires on them from 1996 and the canvas top is full of mold. I chalk it up to nearly two-thirds of the 300,000 R/C107s built ending up in North America over the unheard of 18 year production run. Combine that with their durability and most people treating them like some sort of investment, and you now have a market flooded with R107s. As the baby boomers hit retirement and their three-bedroom ranch house has a for sale in the front yard, so does the SL in the garage. The overwheling majority of the time they are over priced (in my eyes) and there just aren’t many buyers out there for them. The W113 Pagoda is a much more attractive car and the R129 is a much more livable car with its modern amenities. You are left with the R107 right in the middle with its giant bumpers, four eye head lights and underwhelming performance numbers. However, there is a beacon of light for the R107. This car is none other than the 280SL 5-speed.
Tag: 1984
The seller “m3456y” on eBay has a secret. He manages to find some seriously impressive condition original A1 chassis cars – in particular, GTIs. I’ve looked at a few of them before, and they never fail to impress. In November 2017 there was a lovely white over red 1983:
May of this year brought a beautiful black over blue 1984:
And, another black ’84, this one with red interior:
Each time I’ve been shocked by how clean the presentation is. Having owned one nearly two decades ago, mine was a wreck even then compared to these cars. It was full of miles, holes and mold with electronics and seat fabric that barely functioned. So every time I spy an A1 over this seller’s driveway pavers, it’s as if the clouds have parted and my long-since dead GTI has come back to Earth from Volkshalla, resurrected in much better shape than when I last saw it hanging from the cross.
Well, Mark’s back with another GTI, and this one is the best yet. It’s the most original with the lowest mileage we’ve seen in a while, and I bet it’ll blow your mind, too:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Volkswagen GTI on eBay
Comments closedI’m always interested in finding M491-equipped Carreras. They’re very cool cars that are pretty rare and tend to be sought out by both collectors and drivers. That tends to make them a little more expensive than your standard Carrera, but their fans find the extra cost worthwhile. When priced correctly (usually in the 60Ks and 70Ks) they can sell pretty quickly. Above that requires certain additional levels of rarity, typically PTS or one of the very rare G50 models from the last couple production years.
One thing I don’t see too often is modified examples and that brings me to the one we see here: a Guards Red 1984 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, located in Tennessee, with 90,754 miles on it and, of course, that all important Turbo-look package. It looks very good and I really like the ducktail spoiler as a replacement for the Turbo’s tea tray. It’s a little more subtle, but still provides a more aggressive look. Other than some pop-out rear windows (love them!) hearkening back to the early 911s, the rest of the modifications are under the skin, but should enhance most areas of this Carrera’s performance. Where will they leave this already pretty desirable model?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe M491 on eBay
Comments closedThis is kind of similar to yesterday’s 911 I featured. It’s a totally different model obviously, but comes in a very similar color palette – including the somewhat frustrating monochromatic combination – and has low miles. Even lower miles in fact. So if those colors are your thing, but you’d rather have the classic 911 design rather than those of the more modernized 964 this could be worth a look. I don’t think it’s price will be quite as insane either, though we never can tell with any very-low-mileage 911. The premiums sought can be insane.
So what do we have here? A Ruby Red Metallic 1984 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe with Burgundy leather interior and just 25,440 miles on it. 1984 served as our introduction to the 3.2 Carrera as the replacement for the 911SC. Changes were somewhat limited, especially in this first model year when the interior seating was carried over from the SC, but you did get a small bump in displacement and corresponding bump in power. As we’ve discussed a few times on our pages, your choice of 911SC or 3.2 Carrera comes down somewhat to preference between the two models, but mostly should come down to finding the best available condition in either model. Both are great; both offer stout reliability in a classic 911 package.