Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
You are probably looking at that photo above and thinking that is not a 2004 Mercedes-Benz G500. Thanks to the never-ending need for humans to look more wealthy than they really are, we end up with this creation. That is in fact a 2004 G500 with a W463.2 front grille, hood, fenders, fender extenders, bumpers, lighting, side mirrors, and giant 22″ wheels. I’ve seen it all.
The year is 2023 and I’m still discovering vehicles that I always thought existed, but could never prove because I had never actually seen one. That changes today with the 1998 Mercedes-Benz G43 AMG. Yes, G43. This is a W463 with the AMG-tuned 4.3-liter M113 that is most known for being in the C43 AMG. The selling dealer claims this was built for the Japanese market and resided there until imported back to Germany in 2019. Stated production was just 10, and I am inclined to believe that given I’ve never actually seen one before. I love it.
I love the fact that the only way to get 4MATIC all-wheel-drive on the W210 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG was to buy it in wagon form. Not just any wagon, as some were still rear-wheel drive, but rather you had to option one with 4MATIC. Naturally, this is a huge deal for traction given the massive amount of torque these and also for usability given this is a wagon after all. This 2000 up for sale outside of Zürich seemed to take advantage of that usability judging by the number of miles it racked up.
Crazy to think that $20,000 isn’t considering a large sum of money for a car anymore, but it will still buy you a handful of really cool used stuff as long as you are okay with it being 20 years old. Hard to wrap my head around the fact that the R230 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class is in fact that old, but thankfully it doesn’t look its age. Today’s car, a 2003 SL500 up for sale in Chicagoland, brings a whole lot of flash with its Mars Red paint, but thankfully you can drive away while still being under that $20,000 limit.
I’m always curious about how much of a “project” people are willing to endure. Naturally, this becomes just a math problem really fast with almost everyone undervaluing their time. However, sometimes our ego gets the best of us and we think we can fix things much easier, and a lot of times cheaper, than it actually ends up being in reality. Today’s car, a 2002 Mercedes-Benz SL500 up for sale in California, is one of the “projects.”
