1968 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class

250SL Convertible

6 - Cyl.

Automatic

11304312000635

Gasoline

*I'm relisting this item as it nearly hit the reserve from the last auction, but fell short. This time I'm lowering the reserve even more to spark more interest and hoping for the best! This is only a 3 Day Auction, So Good luck bidding. :)* Up for Bid is my 1968 Mercedes 250SL Red with Black Soft Top, Red Hardtop & Tan Interior clean title in hand, Black California Plate Car Registered through June of 2012 and Only 89k original miles (previous owner did engine rebuild cost over $8K). This is one of the rarest of the SL Pagodas of this era producing roughly 1500 of this particular model and its last year in short production. This is a truly all original 250SL with matching numbers engine (recently rebuilt), and transmission (AT). This car runs excellent on the street and the freeway, drives straight and shifts smoothly, an absolutely stunning ride. This car still has its Original Factory Manual, Toolkit, and spare tire. Plus it has the much desired European Headlight covers ($1K) and Factory AC. Earlier this year the vehicle was appraised by a well-known appraiser who moderately gave it a $25,000 low-mid level value before I put nearly $10K more into the car. He gave me a few tips to bring it to the next level and we took his advice. First, we sanded, buffed and re-sprayed the trunk area, removing all surface rust. Furthermore, we repainted the dash to red match as well as the wheels covers. We replaced a lot of the floor area with all new sheet metal, layered and sprayed undercoat. With that said, I think there is little to no rust left on the car. I replaced a cracked tail light in the rear, and a couple of chrome pieces in the interior. We added the period correct Becker Radio and sprayed the speakers paint to match interior. We went over the chrome did polishing and re-chromed the front bumper, which pops very well. We also took it to a local electrician who handled all electrical and as seen in the Youtube video all lights are functional. Finally we replaced the muffler system as there was a hole in the muffler and added a new battery and always starts right up! All said and done, we invested another $10K+ after the $25K appraisal to easily bring it to the $35K+ appraisal level leaving only a few minor details to be touched or added. See the Nada link below, which fails to add options such as factory AC (5%) and Automatic Transmission (10%), which brings this car and at average over $35K+ and high over $60K! I would say currently this is a solid 2-3 car, really not needing much more to bring it to a solid 2 or 1- car. The Minor Details – I’m the kind of guy that leaves an original interior alone, it tells a story and to a lot of collectors may in fact add more value. With that said, there are a few interior and top fixings, which to me the original patina in a car like this simply adds character. First, there are two small rips in the steering wheel horn vinyl, which is such a small fix, my guesstimate would be $100. There’s also a small tear in the driver seat lining, and the passenger door molding is a little off kilter, wither needs to be replaced or fixed. The hard top interior has a slight tear on the roof headliner and the interior vinyl trim could use a little attention. There is also a small tear on the passenger side soft top, but it’s not noticeable and works just fine. The rest of the interior is pristine and looks amazing, including the chrome. The paint is not show quality and was painted a few years back, but shows very well even from a few feet away. I wanted to be most descriptive as possible noting all positives and negatives to the vehicle, but please understand this is not a new Mercedes Roadster, this is a 43 year old car and there is no warranty. Reason for sale is simply I have too many vehicles and am parting with a few in my collection, this unfortunately being one of them. Feel free to contact me and I'll gladly view locally or ask any questions. Please bid accordingly and bid only if you have the money, so please do not waste my time or yours. These cars are extremely hard to come by, especially in this kind of condition and over time will surely continue to appreciate in value. Considering the rarity of this vehicle and the amount appraised with recent work, this should appraise very well and as seen below this is above average. I've listed a very low reserve considering the value of this vehicle. Thank you for your interest, Good look Bidding & Happy Holidays! Youtube Link (Engine, Driving, Electrical, Exterior and Interior)– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yztCjeMtd4&context=C2cfa1ADOEgsToPDskKSIOFWQrmaXAgYk9J8ai7b Collector Car Nada Value w/Factory Options does not include factory AC (5%) & Automatic (10%) Addtl: Average $32,340 | High $57,090 http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Cars/1968/Mercedes-Benz/250SL/2-Door-Roadster/Values *Note: I just noticed the car has been listed when I thought I set it for noon tomorrow (Friday) Pacific Time. Apologies for the end of the auction close to be at the Midnight hour Pacific Time, was not my intention. Oops :( On Dec-29-11 at 16:12:04 PST, seller added the following information: I'm pretty sure I listed everything and tried to be as descriptive as I could with this listing, but based on questions, etc. I'll add a couple things. Yes, this car has both the soft top and hard top and is a black plate Ca. car. It also has the original tool kit, spare tire and jack with the car. It has the original owner's manual, european headlights and correct working becker radio. I can send additional photos and am able to view upon request. The reserve price has been lowered significantly to $20,900, which iI feel is a more than fair price for this car. With it's appraisal last Summer at $25k, which I'll include with the sale and with the $10k+ I've put into the car since, this is an exceptional driver and a bargain price. Thanks for the interest and goodluck bidding:)