Dean + Turtle Garage Selling 187-Mile 2001 R129 SL600

[gerryvz]

Check out this sub-200 mile V-12 R129 on the HaT.

It's already pushing $200K, and is a no-reserve auction......

No Reserve: 187-Mile 2001 Mercedes-Benz SL600

Bid for the chance to own a No Reserve: 187-Mile 2001 Mercedes-Benz SL600 at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #180,066.

bringatrailer.com

 

[gsxr]

Hope Dean won't lose money on this one too.

 

[steve h]

What is the point of buying a car like this, that you cannot use? If you put miles on it, it devalues immediately....

 

[sheward]

I'm surprised no one has acquired the Panoramic roof for this car.

 

[r44raven]

What is the point of buying a car like this, that you cannot use? If you put miles on it, it devalues immediately...

I think you're correct. Some years ago, I bought a 15 year old, VERY low mileage Aston Martin - for which I paid a premium. I immediately (and probably stupidly?) started putting miles on it. I calculate that for every mile I drove the car, it depreciated by £1. So, 3 years and 10k miles later, it's now worth £10k less than I paid for it. Had I not driven the car, it would (given the market has softened somewhat since I bought the car) be worth at least what I paid for it, if not - on a good day - £5-10k more?

 

[gsxr]

What is the point of buying a car like this, that you cannot use? If you put miles on it, it devalues immediately....

It's a museum piece now. Potential buyers likely have net worths in 8 digits, if not 9. If that rich they could daily drive it as they may not care about depreciation. I expect it's far more likely to sit with the odometer not moving much, if at all, for many decades to come.

 

[duuder]

Wow, weird... I get that they're not making engines like this anymore but it's not even a 65

Edit:
So just saw it with the pano top, it does look good with it on but again, it's not a 65 ...

 

[gerryvz]

I wouldn't be surprised to see MB buy it back for their corporate collection, to be honest.

If not now, perhaps in the future.

 

[gsxr]

Forgot to mention: Some no-mile cars for sale don't look like no-mile cars underneath. This one actually looks like it never has seen a drop of water except for one of the few times it was hand washed (if ever washed, and not just wiped with quick detailer stuff).

 

[gerryvz]

It's a museum piece now.

AKA by my term: “garage bauble”

 

[gerryvz]

Keith's Blog: What’s Miles Got to Do With It? - Sports Car Market

Two cars with ultra-low recorded miles have shown up on BaT recently. They couldn’t be more different. The first is a 2001 Mercedes-Benz SL600, from the

www.sportscarmarket.com

MODERATOR'S NOTE: Blog post pasted here for reference. The text below was not written by @gerryvz.

Two cars with ultra-low recorded miles have shown up on BaT recently. They couldn’t be more different.​

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The first is a 2001 Mercedes-Benz SL600, from the Turtle Garage collection and owned by SCM contributor Philip Richter. It has just 187 miles and is being represented by well-known Mercedes-Benz expert Dean Laumbach of Neptune, NJ.​

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As of Sunday evening, bidding was at $185,000.​

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The second is from the other end of the automotive spectrum. It is a 1979 Volkswagen Super Beetle convertible.​

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It has just 103 miles showing and is being sold by Autosportsak, in Hickory, North Carolina. As of Monday morning, bidding was at $37,000.​

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The purpose of this blog isn’t to discuss what these cars might be worth. We’ll assume for the moment that the mileage is accurate.​

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The larger question has to do with what you do with a car with such low mileage. Every time you put another mile on it you reduce its value, perhaps considerably.​

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I believe that these are no longer automobiles with a useful function. Rather, they are museum pieces that should be placed on pedestals like statuary from King Tut’s tomb.​

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Before either car can be driven, it will need to go through a recommissioning process, with all fluids changed and hoses and belts inspected and replaced where necessary.​

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When you are done, you will have an example of a very old car that will perform like you would expect a very old car to do.​

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All of the joy in driving a pickled VW will be unveiled in the first twenty miles you put on the car. All the following miles will just reinforce that you are driving a Super Beetle – with all of the limits that implies.​

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As far as the SL600 goes, Philip and I differ on this, but my position is that the SL55 AMG that followed it is a far superior car in nearly every aspect. Yes, the SL600 has doors that close like a vault, but who wants to drive a vault around?​

​

What would you do with either of these cars if you owned one of them?​

 

[gerryvz]

Interesting....the car is still at $185K with six hours to go on the HaT auction. Hasn't moved a whit since the first day it was listed (Feb 4). I'm doubting it will go higher, unless there is a whale with $200K of this month's stock dividends to burn, who has been itching for a pristine R129.

Active but typical HaT peanut gallery. Meh.

This is a case where the vaunted "Dean Tax" is going to do Philip well.

 

[Jlaa]

I like old vaults and I cannot lie....

 

[gsxr]

I believe that these are no longer automobiles with a useful function. Rather, they are museum pieces that should be placed on pedestals like statuary from King Tut’s tomb.​

+

Before either car can be driven, it will need to go through a recommissioning process, with all fluids changed and hoses and belts inspected and replaced where necessary.​

Dean already did this, but for the Beatle, yup.

When you are done, you will have an example of a very old car that will perform like you would expect a very old car to do.​

For the VW, yes. For the R129, no.

All of the joy in driving a pickled VW will be unveiled in the first twenty miles you put on the car. All the following miles will just reinforce that you are driving a Super Beetle – with all of the limits that implies.​

"Joy"? I think the wrong adjective was selected.

As far as the SL600 goes, Philip and I differ on this, but my position is that the SL55 AMG that followed it is a far superior car in nearly every aspect. Yes, the SL600 has doors that close like a vault, but who wants to drive a vault around?​

R129 vs R230 is apples/oranges... supercharged SL55 (road test here) is faster, yes, but it's no V12, and it's heavier. There are some feature upgrades in the R230 but the R129 is not a relic like the VW.

 

[gerryvz]

People are getting testy in the peanut gallery today as the auction time draws closer....

 

[gsxr]

People are getting testy in the peanut gallery today as the auction time draws closer....

There's always a few of these...

 

[gerryvz]

By the way, does anyone know who the "SockPuppet" member is on HaT? He/she posts informative stuff, but with a dash of snark thrown in to spice things up. Such an original name, too.

I wonder if it is the same person as "UnhingedTroll" there ...?

 

[gerryvz]

Cra-cra.

 

[gsxr]

ROTFL!!

 

[gsxr]

Only 5 bidders! And it was a 2-horse race. Huge gap from 1+2 and 3/4/5.

Figure ±$200k with vig and T/T/T/T.

USD $186,000 bid placed by AntonSportGarage
USD $185,000 bid placed by jjsventures71
USD $122,500 bid placed by Danielstarrftw2
USD $120,000 bid placed by silverarrowcarsltd
USD $111,111 bid placed by alexcyp

 

[sheward]

Could have saved a few bucks.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/513682364549009/

 

[cascade]

Facebook

www.facebook.com

Could have saved a few bucks.

Drew,

I think you are seeing the "Dean Tax" + the "celeb collector owner" here at work with the 178-mile car. These folks operate in very different circles than most of the rest of us.

The white R129 you quote is very much more market-correct. Every mile that the 178-mile car is driven, exponentially erodes its' $200K price. This, to the tune of more than $13.50 per mile over the 12,038 miles needed to match the white Facebook R129's mileage.

That's a lot of depreciation, not to mention the maintenance that will be required when things fail on the 178-mile car.... Remember, even a 178-mile car is not immune to the 500Eboard Laws of Deferred Maintenance.