A TWO-OWNER, CALIFORNIA / ARIZONA CAR SINCE NEW

As I'm sure you can image, it's pretty unusual to find a forty-one year old car that's still in the hands of the original owner.  Well, this one is just about as close as it gets. In late 2006, the original owner sold this car to a very good friend of mine and he still owns it today. They've had fun with it including a wonderful trip on the Copperstate 1000 rally where the car performed flawlessly. In fact, the owner who's been on the Copperstate rally something like thirteen times now and other events events such as the Texas 1000 said this was perhaps the most comfortable and enjoyable car he's ever driven on one of these trips. I'm not surprised because these are wonderful cars to drive. However, they're having another vintage Mercedes restored for them so they've decided to sell this one.

An incredible amount of original documentation comes with the car including a great deal of the original purchase paper work. The original owner purchased the car in Germany so most of the original paperwork is actually in German including both the Fahrzeug-Daten and the Kraftfahrzeugbrief. We've also got the original bill of sale from the selling dealer, the delivery records, the California MVD registrations, etc, etc, etc. I've seen very few old Mercedes with this type of support documentation but then again, I've only been doing this for over forty years. 

This particular car is one of the rare examples that came from the factory without a convertible top. Sometimes, I've heard these cars referred to as "California  Editions", but this was not a factory term. What it means though is that instead of a folding soft top, there is a full side-to-side fold down bench seat in the rear. If you want "open-air" motoring, just lift off the hardtop and go. If you want to cover the interior while driving with the hardtop off of the car, there's a beautifull  custom made canvas tonneau cover. Now, if you wanted, could you add a convertible top to the car? Definitely! I know because I've done it on one of these cars years ago. Is it cheap and easy to do? Definitely not!!!

With the exception of one older repaint in the original light beige Mercedes color, the car is incredibly original. This includes the seat upholstery, door panels, most of the chrome and carpet, dashboard and hardtop vinyl headliner, etc.

The car runs very well. The engine sounds exactly as it should and the oil pressure is quite reasonable for an original unrestored car. It doesn't run hot (even in the Arizona desert). Partially because a beautiful custom made fan shroud was specially fabricated for this car. Some people have tried to tell me that they think that 250's notoriously run hot. Well, let me say this, I've lived in Arizona since 1972 and I've never had any more trouble with a 250 then any other old Mercedes. If it doesn't run hot here in the desert then it certainly shouldn't run hot anywhere else.

The car has some very desirable optional equipment too such as factory air-conditioning which works GREAT and a four speed manual transmission. The original Becker radio sounds good and even the clock works, which is hard to believe but true.

The body on the car is exceptional! Most of the gaps are excellent, although the hood is definitely not a "perfect" fit but then again I haven't tried to adjust it. The car has had two "taps" in the front end over the years that have bent the grill. However, when these cars have really hit something hard they almost always loose the front fender creases, which match up to the creases in the headlight bezels. In fact, that's usually the first thing to go and that's the first place that a pro will look. In this case, they're still they're on both sides. As you can see, I've circled this in the photo but they're still a little hard to see. The car also has all of the original factory spot welds running along the fenders too which is another thing that the pros keep an eye out for. Usually the front fenders have been replaced due to accidents or rust.

Looking down the sides of the body it's incredibly straight. Truly, one of the best I've seen in a very long time. However, even better then that is how it looks underneath. It's really nice! The condition of the floors, quarter panels, rockers, fenders, trunk floor, etc., are all in GREAT shape. This is exactly why California & Arizona cars are considered to be the finest in this country. I hope you all realize how rare this situation really is. Cars from  in the mid-western U.S., back East or in Europe DEFINITELY DO NOT LOOK LIKE THIS!!!!! Please understand that I'm speaking from a great deal of experience. This is without question far more important then any mechanical or cosmetic issues. There is absolutely nothing more important then the structural integrity of a car.

I'm sure you know that cars like this don't come along very often, especially a  no rust, two owner car from new. Please consider too that the 250 SL is by far the rarest of the pagoda SL's I have a lot of additional pictures (if you need them) and I'll be more then happy to explain the car to you in complete detail when you call.

In my opinion, it's priced right on the money at $26,500. The owner is a little more motivated to sell now that his "new" old car is nearing completion. So, he might seriously consider a close offer.

Please call Larry at 480-483-2555 in Scottsdale, AZ. If you live outside of the U.S. and would like to email me, the address is ljkay@cox.net.