Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
As the years go on, the W140 Mercedes-Benz coupe is looking more and more appealing to me. The European version, at least. I say that half joking, but it is true. Why? Some very small changes that seem to make all the difference to me. Slightly shorter bumpers and different 18″ wheels as we see here, along with amazing colors like Viola Metallic. As luck would have it, that is what we have with this 1997 CL600 for sale up in Stuttgart, Germany.
I would have loved to have been in the meeting when the bosses at Mercedes and AMG came to the conclusion that the SLK would be the car to launch their Black Series line. Just to refresh, the Black Series was launched in 2006 as a “purist” and “ready for the track” model line that took a few of their AMG offerings and turned them up to 11. They started the with R171 SLK55 of all things, then moved on the CLK63, SL65, C63 Coupe, SLS, and soon to be released AMG GT. That is it. Six models over the past 15 years. Thankfully the American market was blessed with all those models, although a bit watered down, except for today’s car, the 2007 SLK55 AMG Black Series.
Only 100 examples were made and you have to wonder if it was just some sort of test run to see if the people would actually buy them. After all, Mercedes priced this car at €107,300, which is just over $130,000. You can probably understand why the US market didn’t get them now. AMG didn’t skimp on the extras for all that money as you got a bunch of more aggressive body work, some weight savings, cool cloth seats, and a bump to 400 horsepower. As you might have imagined, people like that stuff. That surely explains why this example up for sale in The Netherlands is much more than $130,000 dollars now.
Hug your W124s, treat them well, because they aren’t getting any younger and the surely aren’t making any more of them. As the years grind on, the W124 Mercedes-Benz, especially the coupe, seems to make more and more sense to me. A stately design that isn’t trendy or offensive in any way. The proportions are correct and is it is utilitarian as much as it is styled for the sake of looking good. Inside, everything you need, nothing you don’t. The closest thing for a screen you’ll get are some 8-bit readouts on the radio and temperature display. Under the hood, either the trusty M103 or M104, depending on the year. The 1993, like the one we have here today up for sale in Florida, is a one-off specification for 1993 as it has the pre-facelift body, but the 3.2-liter M104 as opposed to the older 3.0-liter M103. Want the updated engine but like the pre-facelift body? Here ya go.
The new W463.2 Mercedes-Benz G-Class has been out about three years now and they literally can not make enough of them. At almost every Mercedes dealer around the world, as soon as a new G comes in, it is usually gone before it can get comfortable and/or the sales manager hot shots it around town. You might be saying “What about all of them for sale on eBay?” and you are correct, but most of those used examples are still at sticker or above sticker. For that price, people just would rather buy the new one, especially if those people were lugging around the first-generation W463 for the last 15 or so years.
Thankfully Mercedes was ready for the influx of new buyers and had all the little treats for those willing to pay for them. No few than 36 different colors are offered, ranging from standard no-charge up to $6,500. It doesn’t stop there. Nine different sets of wheels, 29 different leather colors, and seven different accent trims. If you want to order a black G with black wheels and a black leather interior, reevaluate your decision. Today, we have a 2019 up for sale in Arizona finished in the cool designo Manufaktur Sea Blue Metallic. Now we are talking.
The swan song for the R129 Mercedes-Benz SL was nothing more than a quick inventory of stuff Mercedes had laying around the warehouse in terms of parts and slapping it on a few hundred examples to call it the “Silver Arrow” special edition. We confirmed this a few weeks ago when looking at the 2000 SL320 “Edition” up for sale in the UK that was all the same parts with the exception of the white leather inserts on the seats and steering wheel. Although I’m willing to bet that leather was also sitting around on the shelf too and they need to get rid it of it before it got too dried out and dusty. However, the American market bought it up and still continues to do so as the very best examples in the world are selling for over $100,000 now and I think people are realizing these are the “it” R129s to have. Time to buy-in while you can?
