what's this 280se worth??

[henrydupont]

http://s361.photobucket.com/albums/oo52/280sefrance/

1980, 9100Km, no horsehair, no rust even on the troublespots, original paint except for dr side fender. some scratches.
if anyone wants the car I an provide details

[s class]

Well, the prices of these cars do vary from continent to continent.  Europe tends to be more expensive than elsewhere. 

The interior is very nice.  Some wear, but no sun damage.  I would consider that very favourably.  Freedom from rust is very attractive too.  The car does not have airconditioning, but is otherwise well equipped for a 280SE.  The colour combination is also one of the most sought-after. 

The engine bay looks a bit rough, and I'm not convinced the mileage is genuine - look at the wear on the brake pedal.  I wouldnt worry about that though.  Personally, if the car drives well, I would be very interested in it. 

In the US or Aus, a car like this would probably be $3000, or perhaps even less.  From the little I know about european prices, I suspect that as much as double that would be considered fair.  Finding rust free examples in europe is much more difficult than in the US. 

[pez]

It looks like a decent driver....it also looks like it was just resprayed and has some paint bubbling issues...this could end up forcing another re-spray or all the paint could just peel off in a great big sheet.  Interior looks quite good, the leather could be re-dyed by a leather expert.  I would be wary of how rusty things look under the hood....it looks like every bolt you touch would snap off and it doesn't match how good the exterior looks - which reinforces my thought that perhaps it is a recent bad re-spray.

Cannot believe how much room there is under the hood with only a straight 6....I am used to seeing those engine bays crammed full!

[Big_Richard]

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[GreaseMonkey]

http://s361.photobucket.com/albums/oo52/280sefrance/

1980, 9100Km, no horsehair, no rust even on the troublespots, original paint except for dr side fender. some scratches.
if anyone wants the car I an provide details

Bonjour Henry

This vehicle is registered in the "Vendee" region which is situated on the Atlantic Coast and thus might have serious rust problem from within.
Otherwise a nice looking example...
Knowing values in Europe, a minimum of 2000 Euros would be about right

Thanks Michel for reminding me of days in the Vendee, and yes it is on the atlantic coast, but also includes much beautiful countryside inland from the sea, so not every car has been parked on the beach. Like NSW has a few kms of coastline, but not every car here is exposed to salt water spray.
If I was back in Europe I would be straight round to check that one out.
Also now in France they have the two rego systems. The Carte Gris is the regular national rego, but there is now an option for older cars for a restricted registration that means you can't take it out of that local 'Departement' denoted by the last two digits on the reg plate.
Obviously not a problem if you wanted to take it out of the country, but not sure how that works to change from one to the other over there.
Anyway, hope a good W116 goes to a good home.
Bon chance!
Chris

[samuli]

I bought mine about a month ago in Haute Savoie, France (French Alps). 1976 280 SE with 104000kms and I paid 3000 euros. The color is the same, but with cloth interior, etc.

See some images here: http://gallery.w116.org/v/garage/Mersu/

Just based on the images I would say mine is in slightly better shape. So 2000-3000 euros is probably not a bad estimate.

Mine has that "Carte Grise Collection" which was cited in the previous message. It is available in France for cars more than 25 years old. The limitation is that I am restricted to my home departement and the "limitrophes" (neighboring departments). From early 2009 the law will change to 30 years and that restriction on departments will disappear. On the other hand then the collection cars will have to be taken through a "control technique" every 5 years. If you buy the car within France there is no problem in putting it on your local departmental plates whether collection or not.

The car concerned is, though, on regular French plates. The collection ones are black.