Sleeping beauty? 1959 Mercedes-Benz 190SL
For what I consider to be an iconic 1950s Mercedes roadster, the seller is pretty mum on details. No real provenance is given and a four-sentence write-up is a bit of a laugh considering the listing on eBay has a BIN of $76,995. Even worse, two of the four sentences are: “Everything included is pictured” and “Please study the pictures carefully rather than requesting descriptions”. I get the tire kickers. I get the time wasters. I get caveat emptor. But dude — come on! If you’re asking someone to part with 77Gs, “stored and not driven for 30 years; older restoration; has not been started or driven in decades” is a pretty depressing description, even if it is accurate.
If I’ve learned anything from years in and out of the classics business, it’s that a story is as important (sometimes more important) than the actual car. Imagine if the seller of this 190SL had presented a thoughtfully-written summary that encapsulated details of the car’s history. “Stored and not driven for 30 years…” having languished in a potting shed on the California estate of ________ star. Insert Frank Sinatra or Humphrey Bogart or Raquel Welch. (Remember the Porsche 550 Spyder that was discovered in a shipping container?) Now we have something to get juiced about. Even if it was just some record exec or restaurant owner, everyone has a story worth telling. That’s what makes America the greatest! Also, nobody drives the streets of California in one of the higher-priced imported cars of the 1950s without some origin tale. This a lost opportunity on the part of the seller.
OK — enough about the editorial except to add: the two most important words of the meager description that ring true are “older” and “restoration”, the latter being used very loosely. This may be an iconic 190SL roadster, but man Earl Scheib could have done a better job on the “restoration”. Who in their right mind would see that overspray and give this job a ‘thumbs up’ in exchange for hard-earned bread? Abhorrent.
Look at those floors. A word of warning to the buyer of this car: I hope you’re good with a welder. That floor and front rocker section are done. Toast. Adios. And we all know, once you start picking at niggly stuff, it snowballs into a full-fledged project. That’s why mom always told you not to pick at a scab — it was an early life lesson for us car-addicted folks. I doubt one could get away with driving this car for any length of time with Flintstone floors. 
On a more positive note, some things look to be in proper nick. The interior, from both a condition and completeness perspective, appears decent right down to its old Becker radio. I admit the patina is very hard to resist.
The engine bay appears mostly correct. Somewhere along the way, the factory side-draft Solex carbs must have been replaced with Webers. Still, not a terrible upgrade and they look old enough to be somewhat contemporary to the age of this Merc. Exterior brightwork is all in place, which is good. All this aside, I can’t help but see this car as a very expensive project. Hagerty has a “#4 fair condition” 190SL valuation pegged at $73,000 and a “#1 concours condition” pegged at $314,000. The question becomes — is the payoff worth the bloodied knuckles and inevitable headaches to bring to concours condition? Can a small profit or break-even be achieved for both the cost of entry and cost of restoration? It depends. But given the current bid and BIN price, I know what my answer to those question are!
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Comments
These were the Porsche 912’s of the Mercedes SL class. Until a couple of years ago. Now, everyone that paid $3000 for a heap,15 years ago, is cashing in. Doesn’t matter if they’re bog slow, with an anemic 4 banger. There’s money to be made off of the newly rich.
The first listing was cancelled once bidding reached $64,200 and the car has been relisted for $72,995. I could see paying that much for a condition #1 car, but the people paying this much for 4- cars aren’t using money that they earned.
I believe that I’ve told this story before, so forgive me if you’ve heard it. In 1967 between my sophomore and junior years in college, I was working in the afternoons and weekends for Long Chevrolet in Lake Forest, Illinois (a few miles from the horror in Highland Park on the 4th). A philosophy professor from the college died and his wife brought in his MB 190 for a trade-in on one of our new models. The service manager said that I could buy it from them for $600 (I probably could have negotiated it down). Working 14 hour days all summer I managed to save $500 towards the coming year’s tuition (that’s what $1.25/hour gets you). The 190 was in great condition too. Ah well.
Anybody remember the episode of “Frasier” where Niles says “If God had meant for me to work on my BMW myself, he wouldn’t have given me Horst”? Well, anybody who buys this car had better BE Horst or know him. The bidding so far just shows that Barnum was right. These are beautiful cars, but no one should get carried away and plunk down serious money for this one without a bumper-to-bumper inspection by someone who knows what to look for.
“….no one should get carried away and plunk down serious money for this one without a bumper-to-bumper inspection by someone who knows what to look for.” which judged by the apparent attitude of this seller he would not be bothered to allow
What he said ^
I see enough “red flags” in the pictures alone to stop a train. This car is $200,000 short of being a $200,000 car. Total restoration!
If I was in the market for a classic Merc the 190 is at the top of my ladder. Much more than the Gullwing which to me is a novelty. The 190 just looks right!
Secretary’s car then, kind of a wreck now.
My experience with old German cars is that parts are very expensive, and if that Mercedes logo is attached, ach du Lieber!
I understand the lack of information, but the pics are extensive, clear and detailed. This is more important than wasted words! BTW, I have a 1962 190SL. The asking price is fair. If one was totally together, it would demand conservatively $100,000+++
Car will need everything! Wrong carbs, heater right hand side missing, rust everywhere. These cars are called Mercedes rusty prince. And that name tells everything. Good parts availabilty but prices for good parts….!
Count on 1500 to 2000 hours on restoring one of these! Guess whow I know?
But on the positive side it has the 6 days clock in the glivebox lid! Might be golden?
regards from Tyrol!
It is worth restoration but it will be like peeling back an onion and finding rot under every layer. Deep pockets only need apply.
Considerably overpriced. At this price the car should be way more solid, even if not running. The 190SL is just as expensive to restore as a 300SL but at 1/5th the value. I have seen much much better “barn finds” than this in this price range. You can buy a very presentable 10-footer “driver” for $120K, and you aren’t getting from THIS to THAT for $45K, that’s for sure.