1980 6.9

[marku]

A classic car dealer here had this 6.9 for sale for £49,950. Claimed three owners and 99,00 miles fully serviced and no problems. They now claim it sold. I wonder if they got the asking price? Do not recall any 116 here going for that sort of money although the official Mercedes site is close to that and seems to have no problem. They do of course come with a full MB guarantee. I hope they did for all of us. 

[daantjie]

That's a lot of scratch for a 100K mile 6.9. Here that would unfortunately be a 5K car.

[robertd]

about time we started talking our cars up. don't you think

[floyd111]

Yes, Robert, that's the problem.  The under-appreciation of the W116 globally has everything to to with the fact that all Merc drivers are egomaniacs with an over-inflated sense of self-worth, except for the W116 owners. We are all way too nice, helpful and honest to be properly capable of overcharging for our cars.
Let's make the W116 great again!

[ptashek]

Let's make the W116 great again!

Wait until I get my RHD 350SEL in Milan Brown with parchment leather and manual gearbox, if there ever was one made like it. Then you can talk the W116 to your heart's content. I'll jump right in

[ptashek]

As a side note: classic dealers, and private sellers in many respects, in the UK have lost their beans many moons ago. It's a crazy market, with crazy asking prices and dreamers galore.

[nathan]

In Australia over the last 6 months, prices have started to go up quite a bit. the Honourable RobertD led the charge and the pricing of his car led to a few guys jacking theres up and its now the norm. I am aware some have sold for 40-50k AUD for 6.9s (~80% in USD).  About time, 6.3s did this a while ago.   Some examples locally.

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=SSE-AD-4701758&Cr=1

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/dealer/details.aspx?R=OAG-AD-14751021&Cr=2

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=SSE-AD-4557757&Cr=0

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=SSE-AD-4753817&Cr=4

[UTn_boy]

Wanting values to rise is a death omen to us and our cars, fellas.  When values rise, they become out of reach for the true enthusiasts, and end up in the hands of only the wealthy under a cover never to see the light of day again....much less any proper maintenance.  In addition, when Mercedes and parts suppliers get wind of the rising values, parts prices also become out of reach for the enthusiasts.  There is absolutely no good that comes out of raising the values.  Sure, a few people will make some money, but how does that benefit the real enthusiasts?  It doesn't.  Also, if making some extra money is the main concern, then the seller wasn't an enthusiast to start with.  Insurance premiums will rise quite a bit, too, when their values rise.  The W116 is currently the only classic Mercedes that isn't overpriced and available to regular fellas like us.  Don't mess up good thing. 

The values in Australia are not to be considered when trying to get a feel of values.  In Australia, people pay double and triple more than what cars are actually worth.  I'm not sure why this is, but it's apparently a current trend that Australians seem to be ok with. If it's a left hand drive car in Australia, it's worthless.  Likewise, right hand drive cars in the U.S. are a really hard sell, too.  Though, I prefer right hand drive cars any day of the week. 

[daantjie]

Guys, believe me I would love for our cars to appreciate in value, but agree with Aaron that we do not want the Pagoda - level stupidity to kick in here.  The bottom seems to be falling out of that market, so that is not what we want either.

As always I think it is a supply and demand question.  The US is and was a massive market for Benz, though recently they have shifted efforts, as have all major manufacturers, to China.  Not much we can do about that of course.

Thus it becomes a numbers game, in that tens of thousands of W116's made it to the US over the Atlantic.  Plus in the US most baby boomers want a classic Ford/Chevy etc, so they would literally not piss on an old Benz even if it was on fire.  So in a way this is a perfect storm to keep 116 values in the crapper in the US, and by extension Canada as well.

In South Africa where I am from originally, Benz has always had a really strong footprint, thus we always had tons of old Benzes kicking around.  Maybe Ryan (s class) can weigh in on the current state of the classic Benz market there,but I suspect it is still going strong.  We did not get US cars back in the day due to sanctions related to Apartheid, thus we have the opposite situation to the US in that regard.  Most folks in SA would not touch an old US piece of Detroit crap with a ten foot barge pole

[Squiggle Dog]

I'm happy with these cars not having a lot value as well. I don't personally care about the dollar value of my car. If I ever sold it, it would be to buy another old Mercedes (like a W111 sedan, which are increasing in value, but not at the same rate as the coupes and pagodas). I feel like a W116 is a good value for the money (though sorting out the climate control can be a costly headache). I certainly wouldn't be able to drive a Mercedes if it wasn't for the comparatively low market value of some of them for what they are.

[adamb]

I never bought my 6.9 with any intention of selling it. Prices going up is not good news. Hopefully the classic car bubble will burst soon.

[marku]

I have been convinced for some time that Mercedes are promoting the 116 as the next "Classic". The prices they ask on the all stars site are high but they seem to get them. I think there is an advantage in a good market price as it supports the spares and other things. I know that it freezes out the enthusiasts like us if prices get too silly but it also brings in the professional restorers. With more top quality cars about pushing the price up can only be beneficial to our cars. There are going to fewer and fewer poor cars about particularly here where there are not many 116s to start with. And by the way the problems of sorting out the air conditioning fitted in the 116 the Mercedes buyers guide says don't by a car with it fitted there are too many problems.

[nathan]

interesting thoughts. the only one that seems a bit odd is that rising prices somehow forces out 'real enthusiasts'?  Im not sure why this would be the case, I didn't realise you had to be on government handouts to be an enthusiast!  When the market for these cars exist, MB or other sources will start producing parts to cater for them.  To say parts will rise in cost does not sound accurate, at least one may be able to get parts if people are willing to pay for them. 

[Squiggle Dog]

I think the rising prices keeping real enthusiasts out statement is because when prices are low, everyone who wants a W116 can have one. When prices are high, only enthusiasts with a decent income can afford one, which greatly cuts down on the numbers (I wouldn't be able to own and daily drive a W116 if the prices were that of a pagoda or other comparable value model). Then the rest of the owners are "investors" with deep pockets that only want the car as a trophy that they can hide away until they can turn a profit later or trade for some other high-dollar car.

As for parts prices, the prices probably have more to do with demand than anything else. Though, when values on these cars are low, more people can own them and afford to buy parts for them, so there is more demand, but prices can be kept low because of the volume of parts being sold. When the value of the cars are high, only a few people can own them and then the demand goes down and parts prices will probably go up because of it. It seems like a reverse supply and demand scenario because parts manufacturers are more willing to make parts when there is a high enough demand. When there isn't as much demand for parts, they either aren't willing to make them--or if they are, they charge a very high price so they can pay for their manufacturing costs.

It's a bit like the 600--Mercedes will likely have most parts always available due to the high value of the car, but then you're paying $3,000 for a windshield seal and $2,500 for a power window switch because even though those parts should cost 20 times less than what they do, the demand is so low that they have to charge outrageous prices in order to pay their manufacturing costs.

[daantjie]

Just to add on to this don't forget the inventory carrying cost as well. Most of us expect a new part to look, feel and smell new. That costs money to make happen of course in terms of warehousing so it all ads up folks.