Almost from their inception as a company, Mercedes-Benz has been known for making some of the finest cars in the world. From the 1920s through the late 1990s the cars from Mercedes were universally thought as the best.
Among more modern collector cars the model that best illustrated the quality that Mercedes-Benz was capable of producing is the W124 Mercedes-Benz 300CE coupes. These were in many ways one of the last truly great Mercedes cars, still built during the time when the engineering and design departments at the company created cars with little overbite from the marketing and sales departments, thus allowing them to create the absolute best car in a given category. These coupes easily live up to that promise. The car features an elegant pillarless design, meaning that when the front and rear windows are lowered the car is completely open from front to back.
The Pick of the Day is one of these tremendous cars, a 1992 Mercedes-Benz 300CE located at a dealer in Sarasota, Florida.
This 300CE is painted in a period awesome color of Petrol Blue Green Metallic over a Beige leather interior. Both the interior leather and the paint on this car look to be original, despite it having covered 118,000 miles from new.
The paintwork looks to be in exceptional condition with no noticeable flaws, dents to anything else. The interior looks much the same with even the wood trim still in fantastic condition, something that is rare and often the first thing to wear on the interiors of these cars.
Under the hood it is much the same with an engine compartment that looks to be immaculate and no sign of any paintwork, leaks, or any kind of neglect visible anywhere.
I have driven a number of these cars and when you get into a 300CE and shut the door the quality is so high that you feel as if you have just entered a bank vault. The seats are comfortable for hours on end and all controls are logically laid out and easy to use. The inline 6-cylinder engine of the 300CE is a landmark engine that offers smooth power while delivering with immense smoothness. While rated at only 217 hp it is enough to give the 300CE a 0-60 time of 7.5 seconds flat and a top speed of more than 140 mph.
Among 1980s and 90s collector cars, the 300CE is a bit of a middle child, placed in price between the 500SL/SL500 and the 560SEC. This is unfair as these were amazingly built low production cars, with a total of only 13,160 300CE coupes built between 1988 and 1995, and only a total of 1,846 built in 1992. This is less than half the number of 500SL cars that were built during the same year, yet the 300CE is not only more exclusive but cheaper to buy today. That is interesting because a 300CE is also a more reliable and trouble-free car than the SL and is capable of mileage well in excess of 300,000 miles if well cared for. This car looks and sounds to be a extremely well cared for example as the recent service items include new AMG Monoblock wheels(the best looking wheels for any 1990s Mercedes), new shocks, new battery, new tires, a new AC compressor and new alternator.
The asking price for this 1992 Mercedes-Benz 300CE is a market correct $19,500 a price that I feel reflects the value in the market today but also represents an incredible bargain among 1990s collector cars. This is a perfect car in a perfect color for an event like RADwood. I honestly don’t thing that a 300CE will stay this inexpensive forever. It might be a case of you can buy it now for the asking price, or wait a year and pay more. Why pay more later when it is this affordable now? Come on, you know you want it. Why not treat yourself to some 1990s automotive excellence?
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
Have the bio-degradable wiring harnesses been replaced?