1971 Mercedes-Benz 200-Series

8-cylinder gasoline

Floor-shift 4-speed automatic

11102612001326

Clear

European version of the rare 1971 280SE 3.5-liter coupe. Factory sunroof, floor-shift auto transmission. No air conditioner. Always garaged. Mileage 182,564. Only significant repair--replacement of transmission by Schwaben Motors, Seattle, July 1983. Serviced regularly at the Phil Smart Mercedes-Benz dealership in Seattle. We purchased this this beauty in April 1978 from the original owner, a German national, for my wife. It has been her car. Now in our late 70's we must part with it as we move from our long-time island home to a downtown condo--where we are limited to one garage space, that needed for the family car. For the past 10 years we have treated the 280SE as a collector car and have reserved its use for special occasions. It has logged only 12,515 miles in the past 14 years (speedometer at 170,049 in August 1997). Repainted in 1985 to match the factory color--a metallic dark blue. Several small paint bubbles on top of the right fender just above the headlight. Also a rust-out in the left wheel-well of the trunk--you cannot see it from the outside unless you bend down and look up. Small tear in the top left facing portion of the driver's seat. The paint bubbles, rust-out and upholstery tear are shown in the close-up photos below. The heater broke 10 years ago and we opted to have the mechanic bypass it. Most of the photos were taken in late 2006. The only change since then--a new license plate 072-YSE. This 280SE has been driven only 1,388 miles in the past 10 years--consistent with the collector's policy that limits annual mileage to 200. Keith Martin's 2012 winter-spring edition lists this 1971 280SE 3.5-liter coupe at a low of $45K and a high of $85K. It lists the factory sunroof as a $3K plus and the lack of an air conditioner as a $5K minus. We are ready to move on and have set the "Buy It Now" price accordingly.