Out in the Woods: 1957 Mercedes-Benz 190SL
The Mercedes-Benz 190SL was the little brother (or sister) to the 300SL and was built in Germany between 1955 and 1963. It was a 2-door roadster (a convertible available with an optional removable hardtop) with a just twist of luxury as you would expect from M-B. Nearly 26,000 were built in total so they were hardly scarce, yet the seller has one from 1957 that looks to have been hiding in the woods for a long time. Located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, this once-proud touring machine will need a complete restoration, and the asking price here on Facebook Marketplace is $25,000.
Styling and the design work for the 190SL were borrowed from the 300SL, including a fully independent suspension for better handling. Underneath the 190SL was a shortened chassis from the W121 sedan, whereas the 300SL’s was developed specifically for that car. The 190SL was powered by a 1.9-liter SOHC inline-4 using dual carburetors – good for up to 120 hp. While most of these cars were sold as soft-top convertibles, some also had the removable metal top which is present on the seller’s car.
Few details are given regarding the seller’s 1957 example. Does it run and – if not – when did it run last? Is it complete or are there any key parts missing? And what about rust as the vehicle has clearly been sitting outside for some time? The answers to all these questions will likely require personal inspection before laying down the seller’s asking price.
When this Mercedes was new, it was probably quite classy with its grey paint and red interior. But the years and 75,000 claimed miles have turned the tide for this cool ‘50s car. It has supposedly had just two owners, so presumably the title and other paperwork have survived. It’s sold on an “as is, where is” basis meaning it’s probably up to you to load it onto the back of a flatbed. A tip from BCB42, our Barn Finder was taken aback by the asking price.
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Comments
The seller shows an example in the ad of a completely restored version selling for roughly $150k.
When the restoration is done with this wouldn’t it be less expensive to buy one already refurbished and shipped?
https://classics.autotrader.com/classic-cars/1957/mercedes_benz/190sl/102067550
Yep
For letting a classic Mercedes like that sit out in the woods for so long as it did, the owner should be FINED $25,000.
Yes Jeff, what was allowed to happen to this poor, 190 Benz is a crime. And what were looking at, is nothing short of a crime scene.
rofl
Those taillights used to be red plastic. Out in the weather for a long time
This car was worth 25k one day.
Today is not that day…
But, but…. he knows what he’s got!
“Can I just come by to kick the tires and BS?”
Must be a great story behind this one.
And at $25k it will sit there and continue to rot. I just shake my head at things like this and ask why.
As crazy as it sounds, this guy’s price might not be too high after all. Yes, restoration would be long and expensive, but they aren’t making these anymore.
Thanks goodness the aren’t. These were among the most over-rated cars ever built, riding the coattails of the 300SL to make marks for DBAG and bucks for Hoffman. Heavy, under-powered, with a three-main bearing engine and the worst carburetor setup ever. They were known as “secretary’s cars.”
Restoring a 190SL to the standards of the $150,000 cars shown will cost far more. And those $150,000 cars are for sale for a reason: no fun to drive.
Frank has got an habitual hard-on for the 190SL. Yes it’s a women’s car, no argument there Frankie boy. My question to you is have you ever owned one?
Secretary’s car then, Secretary’s car now! Thanks Frank!
What a sad story to see what has happened to this 190 Benz, to add insult to injury is the asking price in this condition. This car deserved to have been stored in a barn or a trailer at least. Not left to rot outside for decades. Heartbreaking.
Couldn’t agree more, HC; really sad.
A german friend of mine told me that when the 190 was introduced in Germany, the men referred to it by a name now part of the DEI lexicon. I did a restoration on one back in the early 70’s and rust was a big issue even though the car had not been abandoned in the woods- who knows how much of the structure is left on this one.
Looks like a scam. Seller will not answer any questions.
You guys and girls are sometimes vicious with your comments and price suggestions. I usually don’t agree with them and seldom offer my opinion of value, but in this case I agree with most of the comments. If you want a car like this one I think you would be better off to buy a nice one that you can drive and enjoy immediately.
WHO EVER BUYS THIS WON’T BE “OUT OF THE WOODS ” FOR QUITE SOME TIME..
Only the very BRAVE need apply.
Let the poor thing rest in peace where it’s at.
I don’t follow these cars other than what I see them sell for at major auction sites, I think the seller might be able to get more money if they took the time to drag it from its current grave and clean it up and pay the fee to post it here currently they are shorting themselves out of thousands of dollars
Finder here. I was questioning the price as my dad owned a white one in 1969 in Germany and he sold it due to the rust worm underneath. The car was immaculate but the underside was rotting already. I can’t imagine this poor baby has a frame worth recovering.
Durned shame.
There was a white one, with hardtop, sitting in a single stall shed at a home I delivered newspapers to. Mid-1970s in the Washington DC suburbs. I got close enough to it once to see it was buried in the dirt just like this one. After going off to college I returned to my neighborhood to find the outbuilding had been razed. Asked around, but never knew what became of that example. For all I know it was literally buried under the earth when the building went away.
Quick! Someone call Peter Kumar!
Mein Got, ach du lieber!. Was ist Los hier?
Genau! Eine verdammte Schade!
Ya know, there’s always the asking price……..and then there’s the selling price.
r.u.s.t.
99% of the time, you can buy one for less than it costs to restore one … One of ANY car. BUT – If there weren’t people out there willing to take the time and the money to bring a Lost Soul like this back to life, we’d be in very much a shortage of classic cars. Also, if there weren’t people like this seller offering up this old German classic (whether it was “low budget” second tier to the 300SL doesn’t really matter .. there are plenty of folks who love them) or any other of the classics and someday classics we see here on Barn Finds, we’d be even more lost. The $25,000 is a little optimistic but not really out of the ballpark. I agree that pulling it out and cleaning her up a little would help on the sale, many of my clients aren’t in the position to move a car setting in place like this out to a better location and as a broker, I can only do so much, especially when considering insurance, etc.
I’m glad to see her and really hope that someone finds her and rescues her.
I miss the old Old Cars calendars that would show heaps out in the wilderness sinking away into the landscape. Thanks for the memories
I’m not sure there is anything of value here. The interior is gone. The frame is quite likely gone. Perhaps the body pieces could be renewed but the mechanicals are really sketchy. Add in the cost of brightwork and glass and you’re looking at investing 6 figures in this, assuming that you could find useable missing pieces. I hope the seller is willing to pay someone who loves these cars to take it away and restore it. Otherwise, as others have said, it may be in its final resting place. RIP.
LS it. No, really. Or Benz it with a modern power train. This sad car is really only restorable as a restomod, since it’s highly likely it has no undercarriage remaining. But an Art Morrison frame and a Supercharged Mercedes under the hood, well…!
No, not a secretarys car at all, in Europe only very rich people could afford a new one. You have to see the car in prospective to all others. Just take 1960, what would money buy you? And than close the door of a 190SL. Thump, thats quality. And the ride is made to feel happy for a lot of hours. Ok its neither a sports car nor a racer.
Now, that foul set of solex is mainly due to the stupidity of the mechanic to read the workshop manual. My father owns one since 1964! I care and service it since the 80´s. Runs like a gem, proper idling, proper acceleration. Well its a 105 horsepower car and heavy for the year, still like it for cruising.
Oh, just to mention: Did you ever look at a door closely? Work of art, cast aluminum alloy frame, skinned in alloy.Not light, but thats where the sound of closing comes from. A and B Pillar also cast alloy., Hood and trunk lid alloy.
So I see a lot of good parts, but someone has to see the underframe, wings and everything seems salvageable and if there is a softtop frame, again an alloy part, that alone should bring 3 grand at least.
Does anyone believe it won’t fall apart in the act of getting it out of its resting place. That’s got to be a lot of humidity for a long time under there.
Maybe one of Von Braun’s rocket engineers got lost on the way to Huntsville, Alabama. It would be interesting to have checked the trunk for documents.