1990 300E , owned by Jimmy Page. Advice much saught after!

[crookedvulture]

Hi guys, looking for some help/advice here.
I am actually writing this on behalf of a friend and colleague of mine who does not have Internet access at the moment. He is the (very) proud owner of a Mercedes 300E 2.6 24v. Sadly, he is currently going through a rather messy divorce and has to part with the car.
We were hoping maybe you could advise as to what the car might be worth. As I said , it's a 300E, but it is by no means standard spec. The first registered owner is one James Patrick Page, better known as Jimmy. He played in a small band you may have heard of... Led Zeppelin.
It would seem every possible optional extra box was ticked when the car was ordered so I will try and list them,

Registered New In 1990 At Just Over £50,000, Specification Of The American Market 500e, So Thought To Be The Only One Of Its Kind In UK.
Many Features That Are Not Found In The W124 Normally, Air Cond, Electric Memory Seats, Hydraulic Rear Suspension. Anti Skid Control. It also has what appears to be some sort of mini-bar between the two back seats.

New Alternator , New Front Brakes, Disks Skimmed. New Mercedes Fitted Ignition At £560 In 7 months ago.
225k Miles, With SH In Book, Mostly Mercedes. .

Previous Owner Had This For 14 Years, And Kept It Immaculate.

We have spent days trying to figure out what it could be worth, but due to the rarity of the spec it is proving to be very hard to judge. Any help would be very very much appreciated.

I will upload some photos shortly.

Thanks again,

Rod

 

[crookedvulture]

Here are some photos. The car could do with a clean!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/64390592@N07/sets/72157629144418335/

 

[bolide]

Put the VIN into one of the VIN decoders and you'll get the full spec

Electric, memory leather sports seats are fairly unusual. SLS & ASR on a saloon are not very common

The mileage is too high to have any positive effect on value so the value will be down to condition & provenance

Nick Froome

 

[martyz]

Lovely car.but it's one of those that has to be on buyers wish list to make anything in the way of decent money.

Good Luck
Martyz

 

[trapperjohn]

What martyz said really.

Hard Rock Motor Museum may be interested Or Stars and their Cars Museum.

I just don't think it has enough "wow" or "individuality" about it to make it worth lots and lots.

Give his agent a ring, he may buy it back.

 

[grober]

I have thought hard about this before replying. As a well kept W124 with a full spec it should be worth a little bit more than its ordinary stablemates. Things that count would be the leather and seats plus aircon [ if converted to new refrigerant? ] ASR and SLS are nice but make no immediate impression on a buyer. The Jimmy Page thing might help sell the car to a W124/Led Zep fan but I doubt whether they would pay a huge premium over the normal price. The key factor really is that a "car" is not part of the Jimmy Page legend. Now if it had been a guitar-- things would be different!

 

[Stratman]

It's a bit like finding a Stradivarius and a Rembrandt in your loft, only to realise Stradivarius couldn't paint and Rembrandt made lousy violins.

 

[crookedvulture]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I was thinking along the same lines, regarding the whole JP factor. We are both totally stumped as to what we should value it. Am I right in thinking a standard spec 300E goes for around £1500?

 

[crookedvulture]

I rag the VIN and this is what came back,


211 AUTOMATIC LIMITED SLIP DIFFERENTIAL (ASD)

240 OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE INDICATOR

241 FRONT SEAT LH ELECTRIC ADJUSTABLE WITH MEMORY

242 FRONT SEAT RH ELECTRIC ADJUSTABLE WITH MEMORY

243 SPORTS SEATS, FRONT AND REAR

260 TYPE DESTINATION ON TRUNK LID - ELIMINATION

281 AMG PERFORMANCE STEERING WHEEL

341 ADDITIONAL BLINKER LAMPS

420 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 4-GEAR

430 HEADREST IN THE REAR, LEFT AND RIGHT

461 INSTRUMENT WITH MILES IND. AND ENGLISH LEGEND

524 PAINTWORK - PRESERVATION

543 SUN VISOR WITH MAKE-UP MIRROR L. AND R., BE-

570 FOLDING ARMREST, FRONT

593 ALL-ROUND WD-GREEN GLASS,HEATED REAR WINDOW-ESG,BF

600 HEADLAMPS - CLEANING EQUIPMENT

613 LAMP UNIT - ASSYMETRICAL, LH TRAFFIC

731 WOOD TRIM BURRED WALNUT ROOT

 

[d w124]

Can`t believe John has not noticed the car yet,you even put a bid on it last year mate

OP:The car is not as special as your friend might think and I there`s no minibar at the back seats
The special bit about the car bit of the car are the seats,that`s it in my view and it`s a 3.0l instead of 2.6

 

[SL300-24]

I agree with Dash, pretty ordinary car with a decent spec but not rare at all. Sports seats are nice. I see rusty front wing(s) too. Will dome pay over the odds because of who owned it? I doubt it. Might make a grand or so.

 

[scillyisles1]

Firstly, all that is needed in a divorce is a valuation or two. Typically for older cars just look it up on Parkers or one of the free websites that value a car. Given that the car is part of joint matrimonial assets a low valuation makes little or no difference to him. Half of a low valuation is even lower.
If the wife or wife's lawyers objects then get them to sort out a valuation for it - my guess is that they will quickly back off as they know there is no money in the car. Divorce lawyers are typically looking for jewellery, hidden bank accounts etc.
Secondly, the car is not worth much. It might be highly specced but it still is not very desirable.
Thirdly, the Jimmy Page connection probably adds zero value to the car.

 

[NOMONEYBUTAMERC]

Does it have a stairway in the back?

 

[bolide]

I like the car, nice spec and, assuming it's in good condition, I'm sure it'll be good to drive. Unfortunately I agree that it's not worth much

Is it in Scotland?

Nick Froome

 

[crookedvulture]

Hi Nick, it is in Scotland yes. It almost annoys me to write this, but the car actually drives better than my w202 (which I have spent a small fortune on restoring it)!

 

[Deleted member 6183]

coincidental op username

 

[kusanku]

Hi Nick, it is in Scotland yes. It almost annoys me to write this, but the car actually drives better than my w202 (which I have spent a small fortune on restoring it)!

That's because 124s are nicer to drive than 202s

Being serious though, if a Led Zep fan were interested, how would it be verified that Mr. JP owned it? His name surely won't appear on the log book at this stage.

 

[trapperjohn]

Only 15 hole alloys on it too.

Steering wheel does not look AMG to me as per spec. Not even sportline or did that come later.

 

[kusanku]

I think we've established that this vehicle is not sufficiently rare or unusual to entice a 124 fan to pay a large premium to own it. However, the JP ownership angle is much harder to quantify.

Rod, there is a Zed Zep forum (possibly more than one) where you might be able to gauge interest.

Led Zeppelin Official Forum

I had a quick look around some rock star memorabilia sites, but they tend to specialise in things that are 1) autographed and 2) can be hung on the wall. I bet there is a hardcore
LZ fan out there that would love to own this car.

 

[crookedvulture]

Thanks again guys! Craig (my Internet challenged friend) has paperwork showing James Patrick Page as the first owner, along with his (then) address in Essex. I can't remember exactly what form of paperwork this is though.
Il have a look on the Led Zep forum, thanks for that