Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
A few weeks ago I wrote up a Euro-spec 1979 Mercedes-Benz 350SE; often overlooked in favor of their larger capacity brothers. That’s unfortunate for the reputation of the smaller V8, but it means for enthusiasts you can grab a great deal if you’re willing to take the lesser car. Today there’s an even more appealing version on Ebay – a 1977 350SLC with low miles, but more importantly a manual transmission!
In yesterday’s post on a 1978 Porsche 930, Rob asked “What happened to Guards Red“? Well, I have a similar question – what happened to all of the front wheel drive Audi 5000s and 100s? Occasionally we see some turbocharged front-wheel drive 200 models come up for sale, but even they’re a rarity; yet, in the 1980s it was those front-wheel drive models that provided the revenue stream for Audi, who struggled to sell vehicles increasingly towards 1990. The 5000 and 100 were actually pretty popular, too – competent, quiet highway cars that looked much more updated than the rivals from Munich when they launched. Sure, they weren’t the best performing cars in their day, but they were a reasonable alternative to the Mercedes wagon, which was the only other big German wagon at the time. Despite that, there just aren’t many left – especially not in this condition:
With our resident Mercedes-Benz expert Paul out of the country, we’re going through a bit of a classic Mercedes-Benz drought here at GCFSB. I’ve tried to fill in a few gaps, but the reality is that Paul has a knack for finding the best examples of the stars from Germany. So until he comes back, you’ll have to make due with our admittedly second-tier examples, two of which we’ll feature today and both of which at W116s. Right now I have a one of the lesser examples – a 1979 350SE. It doesn’t have the big 6.9 motor and it’s not the long wheel base, but it’s a slick Euro model which appears clean – so certainly worth a look:
Our reader Larry noticed the nicely restored 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco 16V we wrote up earlier this month is back up for auction, with a Buy It Now price of $5,000. At that price, you couldn’t replicate the condition of this model and it looks like a good deal. If yesterday’s mint black Scirocco 16V got you excited but is too rich for you, here’s a cheaper way::
Last week, Nate wrote up a great Tornado Red Scirocco 16V, and while I disagree with his claim that it’s more attractive than the Audi Coupe, otherwise we see eye to eye – these are great little performance hatchbacks that can be run on a budget. Unfortunately, nearly everyone in the VW world already discovered that and finding clean, unmolested examples is quite difficult. Nate longed for some teardrop wheels on his example, and I’m happy to oblige with today’s super clean example, replete with the nicer Euro-bits, too:
Earlier this year, I struck a few chords with my AMG 500SEC post. The questions of AMG authenticity were once again brought up, reminding us that pre-merger there is still some fuzzy areas regarding these AMGS. As with that SEC, the full documentation of production and maintenance records were key to the value of these boutique cars, and enthusiasts are willing to pay for the right one. Also like that SEC, this later run 1990 560 SEL is fully documented from Japan – but unlike that earlier car, this SEL has the full-fat 6.0 V8 fitted: