I wish myself and the majority of the forum had your optimism, Max. Stan's commentary essentially hit the nail on the head as far as the point I was trying to get across. History has a bad habit of repeating itself. In light of that, I doubt very seriously that Mercedes will give a second thought to making parts for a chassis that they know people won't pay top dollar for. See, they know that people pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a 300SL, and thousands of dollars for a Pagoda. They also know that people pay, in general, less than $3,000 for the overwhelming majority of W116 cars. Because of that, the majority of average Joe W116 owners won't pay top dollar for a reproduced part......not that most of us wouldn't, but because most of us, myself included, can't. This status quo isn't likely to change for many many years to come. Think about it.....should Mercedes reproduce something that we all would like to have new and fresh on our W116 cars......such as door panels or roof rail panels.....they may offer a new door panels at $800-$1,000 each. Out of 100 people, only 10% or less would actually pay that price, and then they're stuck with the rest of the parts for years until they offer them at a significant discount just to get rid of them. Even then it'll take years to deplete that stock. It's an absolute headache for Mercedes, and they are going to go where the money is. Though, with over 50% of Mercedes share holders being in the Middle East, I secretly hope that will eventually have some influence on offering parts for other chassis because Middle Eastern people absolutely love the W116, as well as W114/W115 and W123 cars. All of those models are staples in their lives, and they hold them very close to their heart. On the other hand, it's really hard to get Middle eastern people to spend their money, too, so who knows what will transpire. Conversely, a door panel for a 300SL or Pagoda....those would fly off the shelves. People think that just because the car is expensive to buy that parts will also be expensive. It's one of the oldest tricks in the book, and people follow like sheep. Even though we W116 owners are hurting for certain parts, I believe that we're better off living with what we currently have until a more pragmatic solution comes about. Otherwise we'd be paying $1,000 for a part that cost $50 to make. I, for one, like not being taken advantage of......but that's not to say that I haven't ever given in to the hype before when I really wanted something. haha
