Worth a look: ’65 Mercedes-Benz 220SE Cabriolet
We wonder what people are thinking when they write a classified ad for their automobile. Providing information that is relevant to the prospective buyer doesn’t appear to be important to some sellers. The fact that this seemingly beautiful Benz is similar to the one in the original Hangover movie (it isn’t) is the seller’s trump card. Oh, it is a rare 4-speed manual and we are glad they slipped that into the copy. We would have figured that out from the picture of the interior. If you read Mint frequently, you already know we love this period of Mercedes-Benz automobiles. They are well-engineered, elegant and extremely well-built. That doesn’t mean they are without fault. They do have a tendency to rust so one needs to be careful about that. However, since this one is from California (we don’t know how long it has been there), it might be okay. But here is what we discovered about the 220SE Cabriolet. It has a relatively small 134hp straight-6. And the Cabriolet is a lot of car to move around. In late ’66, they introduced a more powerful engine in the 250SE Cabriolet producing 170hp. Now go to the Hagerty Price Guide website and check valuations for the 220SE and the 250SE Cabriolets. You would think the more powerful 250SE is more valuable. It isn’t. Hagerty has the 220SE Cabriolet in a range of $52,000 for a #3, $62,000 for a #2 and $100,000 for a #1 (perfect) example. The 250SE’s numbers are $41,000, $49,000 and $61,000 for a perfect example. We don’t get it but that is what they say. Therefore this 220SE with a manual transmission might be a fair deal at $65,000 starting point. We’ll bet you can get it for way less making it an even better deal. Just make sure all of the parts that exclusive to the Cabriolet are in good order. Mechanical bits you can find easy, body and interior parts are harder because of the low production volume. Click here for the listing.