Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
If you are feeling déjà vu, you are on to something. Last month I checked out a 1998 Mercedes-Benz S600 7.0 AMG and now a month later, we have the brother 1998 CL600 7.0 AMG. It is probably safe to assume these both came out of the same collection, and believe it or not, this one checks in with over 100,000 kilometers on the odometer. Long live the M120!
This might be as good as it gets. A 1991 Mercedes-Benz 300SE with a mere 8,500 miles. The color combo? Pearl Blue Metallic over blue leather. This is the type of car that was regularly used and excelled greatly at it, but this one was somehow put away and spared. Now over 30 years later, do you dare? If so, it isn’t going to come cheap. Not at all.
About a month ago I took a look at a 2003 Mercedes-Benz CLK55 AMG that you wouldn’t think to be all that rare, but was actually just one of about 750 cars for the model year. Keeping with the rare Mercedes-Benz coupe thing, I wanted to rewind the clock back to the mid-1990s and check out a car that is even rarer — the S600 Coupe. Towards the end of the W140 run, Mercedes really cut down production on the V12 cars for North America much more than you would think. This 1997 up for sale in Georgia is just one of 348 for the model year. The lesser S500 Coupe was nearly triple that number with 933 cars imported, while 3,510 S500 sedans were sold in 1997. Now that these are reaching full-on classic status, demand for them is high and so are prices for the low-mile cars.
Hard to believe the newest W126 Mercedes-Benz S-Class is over 30 years-old now. Hard to say these aged great as it is pretty clear these were a product of the 1980s, but in terms of quality, tough to argue. You won’t find much that is falling off these cars unless you find a 500,000-mile example, which there are many, and they have no real signs of inevitable decay like some much newer models. As long as you treat them well, they will return the favor and be happy to do so. The pinnacle of the chassis, the 560SEL, still to this day brings crazy money when the miles are right. Today’s example, a 1991 up for sale in Phoenix, has some miles, but the price seems to be relatively reasonable for the condition.
“I don’t think it is necessary to explain to those who understand.”
That’s the only description from the selling dealer for today’s car. Granted, that was translated from Japanese, but it is the general gist of it. If you know you know, if you don’t, this isn’t the car for you. The iconic W140 Mercedes-Benz S600 punched out to 7.0 liters by AMG Japan and equipped with a bunch of other little special touches. In terms of 1990s sedans, this is up there. The price? Well, if you have to ask…
It seems like once a year I run across a rather interesting hearse that makes you ask “What do you even do with it now?” An honest question given they only serve one person, but today I have another hearse that seems to go beyond the normal setup and deep into the excess. Let’s check it out.
If there is one thing that I see time after time that drives price, it’s mileage. I know low mileage often tracks with condition, but something about everyone seeing a low number and it takes an otherwise average used vehicle and suddenly puts a price premium on it. I know I’m not exactly announcing a ground-breaking discovery here and this has been around since well before my time, but is it still always interesting to see played out time after time. Today’s car, a 2002 Mercedes-Benz S430, is a perfect example of that.
The pre-facelift W220 S-Class was an utterly forgettable car in almost every way, including the plagued S600 with the M137. Quality was not good and durability was straight-up bad, and most of them are withering away with very little demand given all the other S-Class options out there. However, find one with really low mileage, and suddenly everyone is clamoring over it.
If you say “aging twin-turbocharged V12 engine” to any sane car person, they’ll probably reply along the lines of “You couldn’t give it to me for free.” They probably wouldn’t be too far off, but it all comes down to expectations going into something like that. Is it going to be cheap and easy? Probably not. Is it going to be a total disaster of Maserati Biturbo proportions? Hopefully not. In all seriousness, the Mercedes-AMG M275 engine is about the best you can ask for in terms of what they made and how much reward you get from it, which is 604 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque. Much to everyone’s surprise and now delight, these engines have been proven to be anything but a rolling disaster. However, does that mean it is worth rolling the dice on one when the price becomes attractive enough? Let’s take a look with this 2008 with an impressive 80,000 miles on the odometer.
In my modest collection, my oldest car is 1980 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. I don’t drive it much at all, a few hundred miles a year at most, but I can’t seem to let it go. Just this past Sunday I gave it a really deep wash and applied a coat of wax on it for the upcoming winter, and then thought there is no way I am selling this car after I was all done with it. It is literally the definition of “They don’t make them like they used to” in terms of Mercedes-Benz products. The car will be 40 years old soon, but it still drives and functions like a 4 year-old car despite over 225,000 miles on it. The flaws of the chassis are few, with the biggest one being a climate system they outsourced from Chrysler, of all brands, which turned out to be total garbage. Imagine that!
Today’s car, 1980 405SEL up for sale in California, seems to have a bit of an identity crisis. At first I thought it was a Euro car as it has the Euro headlights, bumpers, and plate holders, but peeking inside I’m seeing a speedometer in MPH and the aforementioned garbage automatic climate control. What is going on here?
This W140 sold for $13,600 on November 17, 2021.
I still think the W140 Mercedes-Benz S-Class is occupying that no man’s land area where it isn’t old enough to be a full on classic, but certainly not new enough where original owner’s still are using them. When you look up 1990s styling, this is very much it, and maybe this isn’t a good thing. On the other hand, if you wanted to daily drive one, you certainly could as long as your wiring harness hasn’t turned to dust on the pre-facelift models. We are seeing the really nice Grand Edition and V12 cars sell for serious money, but the rest of the model line up seems to lag behind significantly.
Today’s example, a 1992 500SEL up for sale in Chicago looks like your typical early build, but shows an impressively low 25,000 miles. Even better? It’s Malachite Green Metallic.
