6.9 arrived. Now what? Save or slaughter?

[UTn_boy]

Wreck a 6.9 with little rust....  Are you completely mad???  Judging by recent sales prices have just started going up in a big way...

About 6 months ago I scrapped out a rust free 6.9 from southern California.  It needed a set of camshafts, oil pump, and seat coverings.  Definitely an expensive feat, but not impossible by any means.  I couldn't even give the car away.  I advertised it world wide on several websites, and I had zero hits on it.  I had pictures, a thorough and honest description of it, and even receipts backing up the $10,000 spent on it a few years ago for a suspension overhaul.  Though, I did have one person literally ask if I'd just give it to him for free......I said no.  Can you imagine what the end result would have been for the car had someone acquired it with no funds?  Probably the same as my scrapping it out.   My point is that even though they've crept up a bit, they're still a much less desirable car compared to the W123 or a W108/W109.  To this day, 6.9 cars are scrapped out regularly.....we just aren't aware of it. 

[TJ 450]

It depends on the market too, here in Australia and the U.K. Etc, there isn't that many cars to go around. There were far greater numbers in LHD, could it be worth listing it for sale in Germany?

Tim

[nathan]

for the 57th time, the US market is irrelevant to 95% of the planet!   not sure where you advertised world wide, but you didn't even put it up here! I'm sure Rum or Daant would have checked it!  I don't think anyone would bother with acquiring a 6.9 internationally at this point, they have not reached the desirability yet.  the parts of a 6.9 have value but you may need to hold them for a while.  a few weeks ago I sold a hydro strut for a reasonable sum. if people know you have these bits they will come to you, whether its for a whole car or parts but the question is, is it worth the effort for probably a few grand when something occupies a bit of space for few years!

[UTn_boy]

Nathan, I did advertise here in the "for sale/wanted to buy" section. The only response i got was that fella who asked me to give it to him for free.   I have no control over who sees the ad or doesn't.  Furthermore, I also listed in on the facebook W116 page, advertised in the M-100 group, and in the end put it on ebay in the U.S., Europe, and Australia.  Out of all of that, I had one fella inquire about it from the North east U.S., but he only wanted to offer $200-300 for it, and when I declined his offer he didn't respond back to me. While the U.S market is not relevant to most of the world, that still doesn't have en affect on desirability, and until people stop trumping up M-100 powered cars to be more than they really are the market will remain stagnant.