Pagoda SL Group
Off Topic => Other cars => Topic started by: 96witton on July 10, 2020, 21:19:52
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HI, ANYONE HAVE A GOOD IDEA OF THE COST OF A BASKET CASE 190SL WOULD BE? I HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE A NICE BASKET CASE AND REALLY HAVE NO IDEA AS TO THE PRICE TODAY.
I KNOW IF WOULD BE OVER 20K BUT OVER 30K?
THANKS JIM
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Have you considered going to the 190SL Group Forums?
https://forums.190slgroup.com
While there are a number of members here who also own 190SLs I think you'll find a greater depth and breadth of knowledge there.
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Start with Michael's suggestion. I can't comment about 190SL's but I have seen W113's "basket cases" where the only value was in the title and possible recovery of the stamped body plates. Something only useful to someone looking to title a stolen car. Be sure to provide at least a few photos in order to get a legitimate answer.
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$25k or less
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I've seen really bad 190 SL's go for way too much money recently even though the market is down. The cost of restoration is prohibitive but who knows.
It would be helpful to know the state of the car: rusted floors, fenders, trailing arms etc., engine running, and on and on.
I saw a totally useless car go for almost $30K.
The attached chart shows cars that have sold from "Fair" and below.
Go to the 190 SL Group, become a member, buy the club books, ask someone who owns one and then buy the car. Don't just jump in; there may not be water in the pool!
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Depends how complete it is. Foreign, like Polish, Colombian, buyers like them because their labor costs to restore are low on a relative basis. So, that's who you're competing against. Look at some past 190SL sales on www.bringatrailer.com
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Having gone down this route with other cars it generally does not make financial sense unless you can do everything yourself, in particular bodywork restoration.
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To echo Peter's point, a friend bought a basket case a couple of years ago for $5k and is restoring it to concours. He'll be lucky to make his money back
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Pictures would be helpful but $30,000 sounds excessive for a basket case - $20,000 sounds too much to me as well but depending on condition and completeness may be ok.
These things rust like crazy in certain climates and if fenders have been replaced at some time the inside metal work may not have been done properly as at one time these were just old cars so looking "inside" is a good idea. I helped a friend of a friend sell at 190sl a few years back - looked great from 20' but once I got under and inside the car it was hideous and needed extensive metal work to get right. The owner crashed it when he was in high school - 1968 and the repair job was something out of frankenstein's closet.
The owner thought it was worth triple what he got and he thought he was being realistic. Had one guy drive 6 hours up from the states - looked underneath (I had it up on jack stands to show off rust) and looked in the back trunk area and basically walked away - didn't even open the hood or offer a price - just said not worth restoring - said they are expensive to restore correctly to fix the work of the dreaded "gas axe".
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To echo Peter's point, a friend bought a basket case a couple of years ago for $5k and is restoring it to concourse. He'll be lucky to make his money back
If it's true concours (lots of interpretation there by shops and owners), he won't in this market.