1973 Mercedes-Benz 200-Series

108 body -

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Gasoline

I recently purchased this 280SE with very high hopes of what I would do with it. With only 52,000 original miles and numbers matching, this car was going to be a beauty! I quickly lost steam when I took it to a Mercedes mechanic in town and he told me that the wiring was such a mess from the old owner trying to rig his own ignition when the old one went bad that I was looking at $700-$800 for him to put a new ignition in. On top of that, the ignition itself is $130ish on ebay (maybe cheaper locally). I decided that by the time I spent $1,000 on that and $500 on a paint job, I would be in this car for much more than I can afford to spend right now. The mechanic said I should just sell it as is because people would pay $800 for the 4.5 engine alone. He said there are lots of great parts on the car that if I sold parts individually I could get $3,000+ he thought. I just want it gone now. I starts and idles great, but the alternator is disconnected in this ghetto wiring job so sometimes it needs help starting (when it’s cold). The guy I bought the car from was in the original purchasing family. His grandparents had it special ordered from Europe in late 1972. I have all original paperwork, manuals, and even documentation of miles his grandparents put on. The mechanic used some tool to look inside the engine block and said it looked brand new. He was VERY impressed with the engine. I kept the title open when I purchased it, so you can just sign the open title when you buy it. All paperwork and documentation shown is included. The ignition isn’t the only thing that you would need to do by any means. The first thing I was going to do was have it sanded down and painted. The rust all appears to be surface, which would come out in a sanding. I was going to go jet-black. It would look exactly like the car in The Exorcist then. The interior also needs a lot of help. The wood lining inside is warped from sitting in the sun for 10 years. I saw some kits to replace this on ebay for about $150ish. Seats are in pretty good condition except for the drivers, which has a rip. Part of the ghetto wiring job this guy did was to bypass the ignition and put his own ignition in hanging below the wheel. This makes it so you can start it and drive it without the ignition, which looks bad, but obviously would come out with the ignition job. The tires are weathered, but that’s the easy fix. I’m just hoping to get close to what I bought the thing for. These are extremely collectible, especially with the 4.5, which is why I went for it. Like I said, it’s the European model imported, so it’s the body style that was discontinued in 1971 in US models. It looks so much better than the US 1973’s. Please ask whatever questions you have before bidding. I’m more than happy to be completely honest with you and/or take further pictures for you. Here’s my unprofessional opinion on what needs to be done to make this car a beautiful classic: - New ignition- $150 on your own, $600ish if you pay someone reasonable - New tires- $200 - Paint job- $500 - Fix up interior- $500 I think those 4 things, along with probably an oil change, would make it a beautiful head-turner for under $2,000. I have neither the time or resources to do it (taking my BMW in tomorrow for a new radiator and my wife’s Audi needs lots of help) Can you tell we like German cars? Haha Please e-mail with any questions.If there is a part that appears to be missing in the pictures, there's about a 95% chance it's in the truck. The wanna-be mechanic that used to own the car left a number of things in the trunk and not put back on. I put the driver's door panel on for show, but it still needs a few more parts from the trunk attached.The vehicle comes with extensive records of maintenance, purchase and use. All records are included, along with title.HERE'S A COUPLE VIDEOS OF THE CAR STARTING, IDLEING, AND REVVING On Dec-16-10 at 05:51:49 PST, seller added the following information:NOTE: I WILL DELIVER UP TO 100 MILES AWAY FOR FREEOn Dec-16-10 at 14:10:05 PST, seller added the following information:ANOTHER NOTE: I'm unable to easily open either rear door. I'd almost guarantee it would just take a strong nudge or something but I'm worried about breaking something. Just so you know. Please don't assume everything is in perfect working order on the car, like the radio and things. I haven't gone through and tested each and every electric thing. Ask and I will check on things for you though. Thanks!On Dec-17-10 at 05:58:13 PST, seller added the following information:In case anybody is interested, here's the NADA values of a 1973 Mercedes 280SE. They don't let you pick options or mileage so this is just a general ballpark, probably considering "average" miles (which is way more than mine has) - Original MSRP- $10,283 - High- $9,100 - Medium- $6,475 - Low- $4,450 I would probably put it in the "low" category or below, given the work it needs, but that's up to you. Happy Bidding!