1965 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class

Convertible

2.3 Litre Inline 6

Manual

11304210005065

Clear

Gasoline

***** ESTATE SALE ***** From a San Diego, California ESTATE .......... We are pleased to offer up for sale at a NO RESERVE Auction.......... One 1965 model year Mercedes Benz 230 SL and someone .......... (WHY NOT YOU?)........... is going to buy a very nice and mostly original early SL. This has always been a southern California car and has very little rust. The buyer will receive a clear and signed off California title. We are selling this Car for the 3rd owner who inherited it when his father passed away a few years ago. His father had purchased the Car from the original owner in 1985 and had taken good care of it since then. There is a sticker on one of the door jams that indicate the Car had less than 25,000 miles on it in February of 1986 when it had a wheel alignment done. Today the mileage stands at less than 95,000 miles and this car is a good example of a un-molested mostly original car that is as fun to drive today as it was when new and would make a excellent platform for someone who would like to re-store one of these classics. In 1965 ....... owning a Mercedes Benz was not for everyone. By example a well appointed 1965 Mustang would have set you back about $3,500.00 ............ but this 230 SL with both a soft top and hard top would have cost the original buyer about $8,000.00!............. This car has the 4 speed manual transmission and it is smooth shifting on both upshifts and downshifts and has surprising performance. The 230 SL was produced from 1963 until 1967 and of the 48,912 that were produced ........... 19,440 were imported to the United States. Known in house at Mercedes as the W 113 ........ the Car was developed by Technical Director Fritz Nalinger, Chief Engineer Rudolf Uhelenhaut and head of styling Friedrich Geiger. The lead designers were Paul Bracq and Bela Barenyi who devised the patented hardtop which inspired the Pagoda nickname. All of the 230 SL's produced had a inline six cylinder engine with multi port fuel injection and the car featured a aluminum bonnet, trunk lid, door skins and tonneau cover in order to reduce weight. Mercedes gambled big on the W 113 because with it they were replacing both the legendary 300 SL and the 190 SL with this one new model. This was a serious Grand Touring or GT car that lived up to the hype. For it's time this SL had superb handling and featured powerful brakes. The styling though a departure from earlier Mercedes Cars ......... also paid homage to the 300 SL with the fishbowl headlights and large 3 pointed star in the grille. When the 230 SL was debuted at the Geneva auto show in 1963 ............ Mercedes Benz issued the statement ........... "It was our aim to create a very safe and fast sports car with high performance, which despite its sports characteristics, would provide a very high degree of traveling comfort"........... All early reviews were positive and the Car had a very solid run with the sales numbers being double what the 190 had enjoyed. Getting back to the one that we are offerring up for sale with NO RESERVE ......... this 230 SL has averaged a bit less than 2,000 miles per year since it was new. The majority of the miles on this car were placed on it between February 1986 and January of 2010 and in that 24 year period the Car was driven about 70,000 miles total. The car comes with a folder of receipts documenting recent repairs including a new exhaust system, new re-cored radiator, replacement of the transmission output seal, replacement of the front crank seal, re-seal steering box and new tires. The car also comes with the original owners manual and a manual in German that the second owner aquired from a relative who still lives in Germany. The German style license plates on the car were purchased by the second owner while on a trip to his hometown and are not authentic. The original jack is with the car and the leather covered piece that fits above the gauges on the dash is ripped .......... but a new replacement piece will go with the car. This car does not leak even a single drop of engine oil after being driven. It does have a leak from the rear differential. It drives great and the steering is tight and precise. This car easily keeps up with modern cars and traffic today. The car also comes with a fitted car cover. We have taken about 140 photos of this car in the past week ............. to show you the accurate condition it is in today. As we said earlier, it would be a great platform for anyone wanting to restore one of these classics but the best part is that with a minimum of work, you would have a reliable daily driver until you wanted to start the restoration process. The exrerior of the car was re-painted in the early 1980s and it was not a good paint job. The paint is chipping in places and has been touched up badly in others. Because the hard top was never on the car, it was not repainted ....... and today the hard top looks better than the body of the car. This 1965 230 SL is what my car nut friends would call a 15 footer .......... but it is still a blast to drive! Because the Car has always been in southern California and kept indoors ....... it has very little rust. We have tried to show all of the problem areas in our photos and as you will see there is not much ............ especially for a 48 year old car!.......... The aluminum trim piece for the drivers side front is with the car (see photo) and the missing piece from the passenger side rear is NOT with the Car. Because the seats had been protected with sheepskins ......... we were amazed at how nice and original both seats are. The original becker radio is not with the Car. The sheepskins will go to the new owner. Recently I have seen early SL Cars priced all over the map and some seem crazy expensive while being in poor condition. The N.A.D.A. lists the High Retail for this car at $36,630.00 and the Average retail at $23,100.00. This is not a high retail price car in my opinion......... but you could certainly make the case that it is in Average retail condition if not a bit nicer. We will leave the value of this classic SL up to you our eBay customers. We will START the bidding at a single Benjamin Franklin and we will sell this car with NO RESERVE to the high bidder. That is as good as it gets for a classic Mercedes Benz so if you are serious about owning this car Bid early and Bid often. If you need the permission of your wife,your husband, your mom, your yogi, your sponsor, golden retriever, probation officer or your brother in law who handles your money ....... please think twice and do not bid on this car if you cannot pay for it! TERMS of SALE: We require a $2,000.00 deposit within 48 hours of the Auction end and we require full payment within 7 days of the Auction end without exception. PayPal is fine for the deposit ....... but not the balance. For the balance we would prefer a Bank to Bank wire-transfer or you can send by FedEx or Priority mail a check if you prefer. This car will not be released until our bank feels that it has received good funds ........ NO matter who your Daddy is! SHIPPING: Any needed shipping will be done at the buyers expense and direction. We will assist your shipper any way that we can including delivery of the car to the shipper of your choice anywhere within 75 miles of Palm Springs, California. We will store this car for 30 days without charge ..... (after it is paid in full) ....... so that the buyer can arrange a good time to come and pick it up. WARRANTIES: As always, We have done our best to accuarately describe the condition of this car and we have provided 140 photos to show you the current condition of this Car. We are selling a 1965 model that has traveled almost 95,000 miles .......... so we are selling it with NO WARRANTIES expressed or implied. If it is at all possible, we urge you to take the time to come and see this 230 SL in person and we know you will not be dissapointed. Please e-mail, text or call 760-219-7128 with questions about this car. After viewing the 24 photos of the car on eBay, if you want to see more............. TO SEE 140 PHOTOS OF THIS CAR ........ Please click on the Line just below here: http://s849.beta.photobucket.com/user/my02clk55amg/library/1965%20230%20SL After clicking on the line above this sentence you will be taken to Photobucket.com and if you click on any photo it will enlarge and then ....... you will then be able to manually flip through the 140 or so photos of this 65 230 SL.