Tag: S class

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1981 Mercedes-Benz 300SD

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Color is everything. Kind of a broad statement, I know, but when it comes to classic Mercedes-Benz, it is pretty important. Light Ivory, Astral Silver, or Pastel Beige? Okay colors, but no one is clamoring over them. Henna Red, Mimosa Yellow, or today’s car, China Blue? Now people are excited. In all seriousness, I do see a fair amount of price different between two comparable cars with one painted something bright, with the other a little more drab. It just so happens that this 1981 300SD up for sale in Atlanta is one of the few to be painted in the aforementioned China Blue. So that begs the question, how much of a premium will this bring?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1981 Mercedes-Benz 300SD on eBay

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2004 Maybach 57

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I think it is going to be a long time before we see a car depreciate like a Maybach 57. Way back in the early-2000s, Mercedes-Benz decided to wanted to play in the same league as Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Not an outrageous idea, so they revived the storied Maybach name and launched two models, the 57 and the 62. They shared a general platform with the then-already replaced W140 S-Class, and kind of looked like a W220 S-Class on the outside. On the inside, you could see this was a W220. The steering wheel was a straight rebadge job along with the gauge cluster, and everything felt like a W220 which is not a good thing at all. Under the hood, you’d think they would have stuck with the twin-turbo M275 from the S600, but they changed it slightly to make an entirely new engine unique to the Maybach called the M285. All these one-off changes that had to be made and extremely low production resulted in the base model 57 carrying a sticker price of $320,000. That is $435,000 in today’s money. You’ll be shocked at what this 2004 57 can be had for today.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2004 Maybach 57 on eBay

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2004 Mercedes-Benz S600 Brabus T12

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Mercedes-Benz turner Brabus is never one to pull any punches. When they go “all in” on a build, they don’t hold back and usually produce something that has so much power that it is almost useless in any kind of normal driving situation. Impressive outputs aren’t the end of the spec sheet, as they’ll usually throw some bumpers, wheels, and most importantly, brakes on the car as well. Most of the time you get a fairly conservative design in terms of tuner companies, but sometimes you get some stuff that really went off the deep end.

Today, as luck would have it, a 2004 S600 popped up for sale in Philadelphia with the Brabus T12 package on it. The W220 S600 was already a pretty powerful car with the M275 twin-turbo V12, but if you give Brabus a check for nearly $60,000, they’ll make it even better. How much better?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2004 Mercedes-Benz S600 Brabus T12 on eBay

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1984 Mercedes-Benz 300SD

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Last week I took at one of the better deals I’ve come across of late with a 1984 Mercedes-Benz 280SE that could be had for a mere $3,700. It was far from a perfect example, but all things considered, a nice car for the little amount of money. No surprise – it sold quickly. It was an interesting example because when it comes to the W126, the two models that pop into your head are usually the top of the range 560SEL or tried and true 300SD. Both fine engines, but if given the choice, I am taking the OM617. Of course that leads me to today’s car, a 1984 300SD up for sale in Maryland with just 44,000 miles. Unlike the 280SE from last week, this car is much nicer and to me is quite the looker. However, are you ready to pony up for it?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Mercedes-Benz 300SD on eBay

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1984 Mercedes-Benz 280SE

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Update 11/17/19: This 280SE sold for ask – $3,692.

For as many really cool cars that I take a look at that have price tags north of $50,000 and a lot of times even $100,000, there are still some cars out there for almost no money at all and not because they’ve been sitting at a bottom of lake and/or running on two cylinders. Case in point, today’s car, a 1984 Mercedes-Benz 280SE. This is a German-market car that was never sold in the US and is as bottom of the range as you can get in the W126 hierarchy. Cloth interior, manual climate control, manual rear windows, and a not-so-powerful (but trusty) inline-six gas engine. Still, this is bottom of the barrel price for what looks like a really clean car. How can you say no?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Mercedes-Benz 280SE on eBay

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1997 Mercedes-Benz CL500

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I hate to go on a run of W140 Mercedes-Benz Coupes, but I couldn’t pass this one up. This is a 1997 CL500 up for sale in Victoria, Australia is finished in the lovely shade of Aquamarine Blue. It surely isn’t the traditional black/white/gray, and in the grand scheme of things, I think that is a good thing. While I love my Brilliant Silver Metallic, sometimes you just need a little color. Aquamarine thankfully isn’t garish and is looks pretty good in my eyes on such a hefty car such as the C140. This car being in Australia also means a few things. One, it is a European-spec, which is a always a good thing. But that also means it is right-hand drive. So your options are limited in countries you’d want to own this car in unless you are a giant fan of blindly merging onto the highway because of this massive C-pillar on this car.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Mercedes-Benz CL500 on Benz World

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1996 Mercedes-Benz S600 Coupe

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Last month I looked at a Mercedes-Benz W140 Coupe in a 1999 CL500 that not only looked great, but had a really reasonable asking price as well. Needless to say, it didn’t last all that long as someone else must of saw the value in it. Today, I wanted to go even further up market and check out a very low-mile 1996 S600 Coupe up for sale in New Jersey. Just as a refresher, Mercedes produced just over 8,500 of the V12-powered 600SEC/S600 Coupe/CL600 models for worldwide sale over an eight-year production period so they are relatively rare compared to the 36,000 examples of the V12 sedan. To find one with just 36,000 miles as this one has isn’t an easy task. However, that certainly means you are going to pay a premium. A big one.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1996 Mercedes-Benz S600 Coupe on eBay

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2001 Mercedes-Benz S320 CDI

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Update 10/18/19: This unusual W220 sold for $7,090.

I certainly didn’t expect to see this on U.S. soil. “This” is a 2001 Mercedes-Benz S320 CDI. That means this is a short wheelbase W220 with the OM613 turbo diesel engine. Produced from 2000 to 2002, this S-Class was never brought to North America because the diesel S-Class was killed off in the early-90s during the W140 chassis and still hasn’t returned…and probably never will. It was very light on equipment and options, but it wasn’t about that in this car. It was about that sweet OM613. Have a gentle foot, and you could return 30 miles per gallon out of this boat of a car. I know an economical S-Class is a bit of an oxymoron (more of those here), but this is very much a situation of having it all. Let me explain.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 Mercedes-Benz S320 CDI on eBay

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1977 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9

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The holy trinity of M100-powered Mercedes-Benz cars, the 600, 300SEL 6.3, and 450SEL 6.9, are not for the causal or faint of heart owners. The buy-in is expensive, the parts are expensive, the labor is expensive, everything is expensive. These are not cars you can stick in the corner of the garage under a cover with a battery tender hooked up only to drive it once a month, if that. They all use extremely complicated suspension systems that will leave you weeping if you walk out in the garage and see the car suddenly resting on its rocker panels. Despite support from the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center, lots of parts have been no longer available for many years and aren’t coming back, so your only hope it to pray that it doesn’t break and if it does, hope it can be rebuilt. There is a very small, but passionate group of owners of these cars in the M100 club, but their membership is decreasing as the years going on as younger generations aren’t interested in spending sometimes five-figures for routine repairs on these cars.

If you are brave enough to dip your toe into the world of dry-sump engine lubrication and doors heavy enough to slice your fingers clean off if they get caught in them, then the 450SEL 6.9 is where you want to start. Full disclosure, I own a W116 chassis, in non-6.9 trim, so I am a bit biased on these, but also extremely realistic as I’ve worked on a 6.9 extensively and lived to tell about. The hydraulic suspension system is sturdy, but again, very pricey if something goes wrong, and the same can be said for the 6.9 engine itself. The non-6.9 bits are some of the best materials you could ever ask for in a car, sans the god-forsaken US-spec HVAC, so it is for sure a give and take situation. Buy a well-sorted example and stay diligent with the maintenance, it won’t be so bad. However, buy a project and have fun explaining to your wife and kids why Santa won’t be visiting your house this year. Thankfully the car I’m looking at today, a rare European-spec 1977, looks to have all the major things looked after and is it relatively good health. The thing is, I don’t think the owner wants to let go of it. At least for not what I think it is worth.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1977 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 on eBay

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2007 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG with 322,000 miles

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For me, there is this constant back and forth between “They don’t make them like they used to” and “Newer cars can basically go forever with proper maintenance and repairs”. Today’s car falls in the latter half. Although I’m skeptical. Very skeptical. Why? In case you haven’t noticed the title, this is a 2007 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG with over 322,000 miles on the odometer. Yes, this 6.0 liter twin-turbocharged whale of a car that produces 604 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque has somehow racked up over 322,000 miles. According to the helpful Carfax, this car registered just over 29,000 miles in its first three years – a totally normal amount. Then the next five years saw the odometer jump to 200,000 miles. Six months later, 250,000 miles. That is 275 miles every single day for six months. How? Why?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2007 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG at Selective Motor Cars

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