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Anyone Know of a W124 primarily Mercedes restorer +seller only?

2K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  Inspector 
#1 ·
On another thread I found a guy who only sells and buys the cream of the crop used W123s.

It's looks like some great cars if $ is no
Object. He's a cool Mercedes hipster dude featured in The New York Times.

Has anyone seen a dealer or enthusiast like him that owns a shop online for the
W124?
It be nice to see some cherished gems

It's called Mercedes Motoring

http://mercedesmotoring.com/

Sbaert and that you tube mercedessource video guy should go into business and get some w124 restored like these babies


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#2 · (Edited)
That link was already mentioned on here a couple of days ago. IMO, those are crack addict prices.

No way I'd ever consider paying $30K+ for a W123 with more than 60K miles on the dial. For that kind of money, I'd rather drive a slightly used W212 E350 BlueTec.
 
#3 ·
On another thread I found a guy who only sells and buys the cream of the crop used W123s.

It's looks like some great cars if $ is no
Object. He's a cool Mercedes hipster dude featured in The New York Times.

Has anyone seen a dealer or enthusiast like him that owns a shop online for the
W124?
It be nice to see some cherished gems

It's called Mercedes Motoring

Mercedes Motoring

Sbaert and that you tube mercedessource video guy should go into business and get some w124 restored like these babies


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
I was thinking this exact thing the other day. ICON 4x4 and Singer Porsche are two resto-mod shops doing this to the extreme, but clearly proving there's a market for old cars made new/like new.

The 500E/E500 would be a prime candidate for this sort of treatment, but it would be easy for a shop to create their own brand of resto-mods working only with w124's, particularly if they spent some time/money to thoroughly sort out two or three models that are scarce, unique, and desirable. 500E/E500s, cabriolets, and maybe wagons.

I dunno--but seems like an opportunity somebody could exploit and have some fun in the process.
 
#5 ·
#6 ·
On another thread I found a guy who only sells and buys the cream of the crop used W123s.

It's looks like some great cars if $ is no
Object. He's a cool Mercedes hipster dude featured in The New York Times.

Has anyone seen a dealer or enthusiast like him that owns a shop online for the
W124?
It be nice to see some cherished gems

It's called Mercedes Motoring

Mercedes Motoring

Sbaert and that you tube mercedessource video guy should go into business and get some w124 restored like these babies


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
I've looked into and seriously considered the possibility of recreating this biz model, but just specifically for the 201/124/129 triplets...but alas, I just don't see the margins adding up to a profitably sustainable enterprise. I sure wish it did, 'cause I can easily envision straight up restorations as well as resto-custom builds similar to those created by Singer and Magnus with the Porsche 911

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJQ4hQSusjE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZlRFsRG6K0

I'm currently acquiring the metal fabrication equipment that can support this effort, so perhaps I'll revisit the concept in the future...when maybe the market values attributed to these cars have gained additional cachet.
 
#9 ·
You are definitely correct. At least here in the United Kingdom the margins do not add up to be profitable or sustainable at all if the cars that one wishes to produce are nice properly sorted out examples.

I have lost money on every single car I have done since about 2008-9. Here in the U.K people don't understand and for the most part don't want to pay for a good example. They can't see the difference between a 124 or 201 that they can buy off Ebay for £1000-2000 and one that might be several multiples of that price but actually a far better buy if they stopped to think about it.

Example: I've just sold my C124 230CE and the chap is collecting it later this week. This car has cost me circa £8000 to get into the condition it's in. It has taken me nearly a year to sell it at under £5000:

Mercedes C124 230CE For Sale - BMW Classics Ezine - News, Reviews & Cars for Sale

Every single one of the 201s you'll see on my website if you go back to the front page of the website by clicking on the logo at the top left of the page above was sold at a loss. The W202 C240 that I sold recently with only 14K miles on the clock was the only where I broke even on the sale...almost to the penny and didn't make any money.

I have one last car to complete which is a C124 300CE. This project has been going on for well over a year and a half already (for various reasons). It's been an absolute nightmare, has caused me untold grief and stress and will, I estimate, probably have cost me near a five figure sum in U.K Pounds Sterling (£) to have completed...that's about $15,000!

To sell that here in the U.K and make a profit or even break even will be an onerous task. My best hope is that it'll go abroad like the the Agate green 190E 2.6 on my website did. But then bear in mind my market is restricted for the most part to countries that were formerly part of the old British Empire (due to the location of the steering wheel)...and not even all of them! The 190E 2.6 went to Hong Kong.
 
#7 ·
Buy low/sell high and there's always margins to be made.

I don't like to do project cars but you watch these shows on cable and it seems like everybody's doing the flip.

What sort of fabrication there, Zeitgeist? Every now and then I get all Mr. Toad wild eyed hypermile thinking with the E300D and start wondering about shedding some weight, with lightweight fenders, hood, bumpers, rear deck lid and such but then reality hits when I figure upstart costs would never justify any fuel savings.
 
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