And then there was this outstanding W116..

[Malaysian]

This completely sucks...eveeyone on this forum has a 6.9 except me...

Help!

[ptashek]

This completely sucks...eveeyone on this forum has a 6.9 except me...

I have a 450SE. The 6.9 never appealed to me because of its über-complexity and exorbitant maintenance costs. Apart from the smooth suspension, it really isn't that much better then the smaller V8s.

[nathan]

dont worry Malaysian, not everyone has one...

[karmann_20v]

Yeah, 450SEL 4.5 here as well. But then again, I am not in the 116 for future value reasons.

[daantjie]

Truth be told, I test drove a great 450 SEL before I bought my 6.9 and the ride on the 450 SEL is not bad at all.  If you don't need the extra power then the 450 SEL is a very nice car.  But there simply is no comparison when you put the pedal to the metal, then the 6.9 is in a league of it's own without a doubt

[rumb]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-Benz-400-Series-450SEL-6-9/371691525263?_trksid=p2050601.c100085.m2372&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140211132617%26meid%3D97412c025dee4ec4a8c3f0399a5a324e%26pid%3D100085%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D272324600317%26clkid%3D7192187547101812381&_qi=RTM2247626

I hope he gets the asking, but I doubt it.

My pet peeve is why cant anyone get the hoses for the headlight/windshield washer correct, and also the line under the 6.9 emblem is suppose to be paint black.  (as is the line under the 450SEL if you have one.)

[daantjie]

Very nice but no way it'll go for that. Sadly I think the w116 has been passed over in the appreciation stakes. Time to start buying nice R107's boys. They are going to hit the stratosphere soon...

[UTn_boy]

This car has been for sale since last winter if I recall correctly (last summer for you Aussies out there).  Yeah, it likely won't sell for anything more than $10,000-$15,000 at this point in time. 

Daantjie, the R107 cars won't see stratospheric prices for another 10-15 years, likely longer.   There were far too many of them made, and far too many still exist.  At this point in time, supply exceeds the demand, so prices will remain next to nothing for a while.  The R107, like the W116, is an acquired taste, and isn't for everyone. Consequently,  I suspect that the R107 will go down the same path the W116 has.  The most expensive R107 that I've recently seen sold was a 12,000 original mile 560SL.  It sold to one of my customers only 9 months ago, and he only paid $15,000 for it.  They're certainly advertised for much more, but they never sell.  I think a lot of people expect the R107 to follow the path of the R113.  While the idea is novel, it's like comparing apples to oranges.  There is just no comparison. 

[Harv]

Agreed on R107. They made them for 18 long years. There are heaps and heaps of them out there. Every baby boomer with a little bit of money that didn't want a Corvette bought one and hung onto it thinking it was going to be some investment vehicle. It's hilarious to see beat up 560SLs with 100k miles and a ton of flaws asking $18,000. These people are all out of their minds. 

They made just under 49,000 W113 Pagodas and then made over 300,000 R107s! They only made 214,000 R129s.

[floyd111]

My take on this is that there should be ways to sell R107's at top dollar, but as anyone, would you not want to know what your buying?
I was just offered one for 27000euros.
It took 2 sentences to have that drop to 20000.
15000 is now in sight, and I am not having it. Sure, he's got some bills for a heap of parts that he changed at top dollar, but why is his reckless shopping my problem? Could have been done at half the price, IF these bills are real.
And what about everything else that has not been changed? What's under the paint job?
You wanna sell a car at top dollar that only had fixed what was broken, you're delusional, for it leaves everything else to break tomorrow.
That is where W116, R107, and even a W123 are not part of the elite.
A Pagode is rare, and even a bare chassis has incentives left. After a -documented/intelligent- rebuild, the market has room for profit and error.
The other cars mentioned do not.
The problem for now is not that a W116 can not sell for 25-75 thou. The problem is that you need to supply a car that is offered with full restoration-documentation. That costs a bundle, and hardly leaves a margin for profit.
The average W116/R107 owner is much focused on making it look good, and keeping it on the road. That gives these models a bad rep.
And in that light, you can't blame anyone for not pumping 30-50 thou in such a car.
My take is that besides the market situation described, it's the abundance of so-so W116's that are keeping the better ones from rising above the hoi-polloi. Catch-22.

[UTn_boy]

No Stan.  There is no room for profit on a Pagoda after restoration.  A restoration will cost $100,000-$200,000 depending on how far you want to go.  When it's all said and done. the Pagoda is still worth only $50,000-$60,000, likely less since the Pagoda market is getting really soft as of late. 

And a Pagoda is not a rare car  by any means.  As Harv mentioned, there were nearly 50,000 Pagodas made, and over half of them still exist. So there's arond 25,000 right there that are still around.  Remember that in the automotive world, rare is considered to be + or - 500 units that either were initially made, or that still exist.

[floyd111]

Partially true, at least.
Fixing a Pagoda in your area no doubt costs twice what it costs in some other parts of the world.
Also, there are many ways to score parts and leaving that job to a third party is surely for those with seriously disposable income.
That said, I have not done it myself, and the price of pagoda parts is pretty insane.
I am way to chicken and too poor to venture into that territory, that much is sure. Not if I was planning a profit, whilst suffering from automotive OCD

Surely, if 25000 units is not considered rare, the W116, or the R107 don't stand a chance in that aspect.
But, I stand by the other half of my theory. Some of these cars ARE fetching great prices, but only some.
Guess that those are the very few cars that ARE rebuilt to a spec where profit is no longer possible, but the builders have (hopefully) been able to retrieve their investment.
I am not counting on a profit with my trailer queen. Even if I were to charge minimum wages for my invested hours, I'd be at a loss.
I DID manage to buy 2 complete cars in NOS parts for an end-price that beggars belief, if you don't count those minimum wage hours, haha!
The deal I have with the workshop is a rare one, a difficult and slow one, and it involves me doing the vast majority of all the non-mechanical work.
It is not for the faint of heart, but it allows me to have my chassis re-done and rebuilt at Taiwan-cost price, which is probably factor 5 cheaper than where you are at.
Yes, and even then, I am not counting on profit. I just want this one on a page in my book of life.

Come to think of it.. I may need therapy as well.

[daantjie]

Guys, back to my point. As I mentioned NICE R107's as in low mileage ones (old lady type) owner with FSH. If you sniff one out for low 20's or even teens now you will be laughing in a few years. I am not talking about the shoddy ones or failed resto here.

[ptashek]

When it's all said and done. the Pagoda is still worth only $50,000-$60,000, likely less since the Pagoda market is getting really soft as of late. 

Maybe in the US it is so, not so much in Europe.
A good Pagoda will fetch upwards of 40000EUR, the best examples reach twice that easily in asking prices. The R107s are cheaper, but they're also possibly the single most popular model in the UK. Whether they're worth anywhere near that kind of money is a question of demand and supply. People are importing R107s from the US, part restoring them and most likely still making a good profit (why else would they do it?).

[floyd111]

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/mercedes-benz-280-se-w-116-wie-neu-alles-original/533799603-216-2831