A nice 6.3 just sold on BAT and JoelPalmer indicated that he has a 6.9 coming up for sale in a month or so. I think it might be this car that he chronicled on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Mercedes+Benz+6.9+Project+Number
Should be interesting yes. Looks like 116 values are rising. 6.9's always seem to get blackballed due to the HPF system, even though by now it's well known that all the components can be rebuilt.
I fear the damage is done due to all the scaremongering.
Absolutely Daniel; right from the W116 Wiki:
In a poll conducted by Britain's Classic & Sports Car magazine and printed in their April 1999 edition, the Mercedes-Benz 6.9 ranked fourth on their list of the "world's greatest saloons."[14] The May 2004 edition of another British publication, Mercedes Enthusiast magazine, ranked the 6.9 number fifteen on their all-time top twenty list of great Mercedes-Benz automobiles. Even with such accolades, a 6.9 is a reasonably priced collectible automobile despite its rarity. The online NADA Used Car Guide lists a top value of US$40,000. At present, the market for cars of this type is somewhat soft, and a prime example can be had for considerably less. As is often the case with older cars that contain exotic engineering and parts unique to that one model, however, running and maintenance costs for a 6.9 can quickly overshadow a low initial purchase price.
Scaremongering indeed.
The 6.9 hydraulics are no more expensive than newer MB's with pneumatic suspension, or most anything on a newer Audi. I truly wish people would stop with it.
Hagerty Magazine just had a great article about Lamborghini's, A good friend of mine owns the cars in the article. A lot of what he said was the car itself was cutting edge engineering in it's day, but it pales in comparison to cars today. Owning a Lambo is about owning and appreciating the design and engineering. Some people still values certain cars for what they are and were when built.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a40459124/the-w116-is-the-car-that-made-mercedes-mercedes/
That would be very strange if he is selling the silver car he has been restoring for 12-18 months. I would think its unlikely restoring them at current resto prices would get you back to profit even if current prices have risen. He put in a bit of effort on this one so odd someone would turn around and just sell it?
What some call exclusive rarity others call excessive complexity.
What some call amazing engineering of its time some call absurdity.
Some love that with extreme passion, some hate it.
It can't be explained rationally!
And that's how the market of these cars is composed. Thousands of sometimes antagonistic yet subjective opinions very dispersed in the spectrum of supply and demand. The somewhat average of those transactions set the market price of a given model. Outliers prices on both tips of the curve are also a reality to deal with.