MERCEDES-BENZ AUCTION AT MONTEREY CLASSIC CAR WEEK
Prices of select Mercedes-Benz automobiles hit impressive new highs this year at Monterey
Article and Images Gary Anderson
Each year, more and more auction companies follow the money to Monterey’s Classic Car Week in August. This year you could have spent all your time during the week attending one auction or another – Gooding, Bonhams, Mecum, Russo & Steele, Rick Cole, RM – the auctioneers were out in full force. But a visit to any one of the major companies’ pre-sale displays and a review of the results afterward would tell you everything you need to know about the current condition of the marketplace. We visited the RM Auctions display right on the Monterey waterfront to get a sample of the action.
Basically, classic cars have separated into two different markets. There is the market for the hobbyist who wants a nice weekend car to work on and enjoy, especially if the car is not among the desirable roadsters, convertibles and high-end collectibles. The action in pursuit of these cars is now at places like eBay and Craigslist, bringatrailer.com, and classified ads in club publications.
The major auctions at Monterey, Scottsdale and Amelia Island now cater almost exclusively to the high-end collector who isn’t earning a good return on his money through fixed-income securities and thinks a better investment could be found in something special to show off to friends on elite tours and at international concours events. At RM Auctions this year – the place buyers used to visit for a nice affordable sports car – prices started at $100,000.
But the displays were shows in themselves. Where else except in a museum might you see a Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet – built at the Sindelfingen Coachworks in 1936 to the specifications of an American millionaire who had married into the Vanderbilt fortune – with a special streamlined body and the only slanted grille ever mounted on a Mercedes-Benz? It could have been yours for $1,540,000.
1936 540K Special Cabriolet
Even with unrestored original cars getting incredible prices at recent auctions, we were surprised to see a 1962 300SL Roadster, which spent many years as an everyday driver in Puerto Rico, on display in as-is condition and included an oily T-shirt on the passenger seat. Given its obvious deterioration, this car will require a complete restoration to be usable, but sold for $1,127,500 nonetheless.
1962 300SL Roadster
If you were thinking of finding a bargain in a nice Mercedes convertible, you’ve probably waited too long. Though in stunning dark blue and flawless restored condition, a 1971 280SE 3.5 Cabriolet raised some eyebrows when it was hammered sold at $429,000.
1971 280SE 3.5 Cabriolet
As an alternative choice for a convertible, you could have bid on this rare (only about 1,000 built) 1957 220S Cabriolet, in the rare (but perhaps a bit gaudy) two-tone paint option, which sold for $187,000.
1957 220S Cabriolet
Pagodas have also broken out of the affordable category. A sweet sky-blue 1968 280SL in excellent condition fetched $264,000 for a happy seller. Perhaps the bargain of the weekend at RM was an attractive, fully optioned 1957 220S Cabriolet in optional two-tone paint scheme that sold for $187,000.
1968 280SL
All this, of course, is bad news for someone who is thinking of getting into the elite end of the classic-car hobby, but for those of you who are already proud owners of examples of the really desirable pantheon among Mercedes-Benz cars, congratulate yourself on your foresight. For the rest of us, that nice R107 for sale is starting to look pretty attractive.