1968 Mercedes Benz 280sl Pagoda-gorgeous, Mechanically Strong, Desirable 4-speed on 2040-cars

Please Note: This car was won by an eBay bidder who was ultimately unable to secure the necessary financing to purchase the car. Please make sure that you have performed all the necessary due diligence before bidding, including making sure you have the available funds and or financing. The alternative is unfair to us and to the other parties interested in the car. Thank you.

Offered for sale is an absolutely gorgeous, mechanically strong and honest 1968 Mercedes Benz 280SL finished in rare, desirable and factory-correct Blue Green (DB 268, Blau Grun) over a cognac leather interior. Sporting the sought-after 4 speed manual gearbox, this well maintained example is turn-key mechanically and an absolute joy on the road. Retaining the tell tale headlamp notches, factory spot welds on the fenders and a solid, rust-free undercarriage, this car checks all the important boxes for discerning W113 SL buyers. 

Blue Green is a hard to find factory color, wonderfully era specific and truly striking on the Pagoda body. This car's finish is beautiful, deep, lustrous, consistent and marred only by the most negligible of imperfections, none of which are significant enough to appear in any of the pictures. The body is excellent; straight, free of rust or bondo and retaining correct and consistent panel fits and gaps throughout. The chrome is in great shape, as is the glass and rubber, and the color matched, hubcapped wheels are wrapped in tires with plenty of remaining tread. 

The car's tan interior is equally as clean, offsetting the Blue Green finish beautifully. The leather seats and correct square weave carpets are in great shape, free of any significant wear or damage and showing only limited patina. The dash is free of cracks, housing an original Becker radio and fully functional gauges and appointed with beautifully refinished wood trim. 

The car is in excellent mechanical condition, the original, numbers matching engine firing up easily, idling consistently and pulling strongly and smoothly through each of the manual transmission's gears. It's worth noting for those unfamiliar with Mercedes W113 Sls that factory manual gearboxes are extremely desirable due to the way that they're geared compared to the automatic transmission models, which were produced in a much higher volume. The automatic cars are somewhat sluggish, with high RPMs at highway speeds. Conversely, manual gearbox cars are agile and punchy are feel much less beleaguered when bombing down the freeway. The car's ride quality is excellent, the suspension tight and brakes strong and true, ensuring that the car is pleasure from behind the wheel, whether tooling through town, winding through the canyons or cruising at 75 mph.

This is an excellent opportunity to acquire a quickly appreciating Mercedes 280SL with all the right things going for it: cosmetically gorgeous, rare color combination, solid body, undercarriage and fenders, strong matching numbers engine and desirable manual gearbox. Whether for the seasoned collector or weekend enthusiast, this car deserves the serious consideration of anyone in the Pagoda market.

We want this car to go to great home and would be happy to further discuss it and answer any questions, so please feel free to email us or call us at 805-708-2404. You can also visit us online at GoodmanReed.

Goodman Reed Motorcars 

We’ve always had an appreciation for classic European cars and over the years have created an eclectic personal collection. We only buy cars that we’d personally be interested in owning and generally only sell them to make room for other acquisitions. That time has come for this Mercedes (if the price is right, of course – this isn’t a fire sale). We try to give accurate descriptions of the cars we’re selling, but we’re enthusiasts, not experts, and we encourage and are happy to help facilitate personal or professional inspections. But please do so before bidding, as the alternative harms our ability to make sales to other interested parties who have done their proper due diligence before bidding. 

For U.S. buyers a 10% non-refundable deposit is required within 3 days of the auction’s end, the balance to be paid within 7 days of the auction’s end. Foreign buyers must pay in full within 7 business days of the auction’s end. Buyer is responsible for shipping, however we’d be more that happy to help with recommendations and arrangements. The car is listed locally and we reserve the right to end the auction at any time should it sell prior to auction’s end. Thanks for your interest.