Here’s how I see it. A nice car pops up. Then Niks (for some unknown reason) is very quick to knock it, turning assumptions into fact.
“That car is a genuine 3.4 AMG but at a much later stage was converted into a widebody by its owner - this conversion was privately done and had nothing to do with AMG themselves and never came from factory like that. M104.980 engines only ever came in the
pre-facelift cars so this one has obviously been face lifted at a later date when the widebody conversion was done. Recaro seats were installed at a later date too by a company in Japan who referb's Recaro Classics and CSE's. I guess you have all figured out it is a Japan import that was sold on JPC Trade for around £9k - now been tremendously inflated to £25k in hope that some poor sod turns up thinking its a real hammer and buys it.”
I merely pointed out that not a single point from the above paragraph can be proved. It is all an assumption based on looks. It might not even be the same car.
“I mean has anyone actual posted or seen a pre-merger Sales Catalogue to see what was on offer back then ?”
I have, I’ve also seen what was done on a large number of AMG cars first hand over the years and they don’t always match due to the variants in dealers across the world. Car mags have always been inconsistent, still are.
Funnily enough I’ve been to affalterbach for a factory tour, and they have no records of anything at all. Short of an original bill of sale (Japanese rarely keep paperwork) there is rarely any “documentation” to prove it is an original AMG. The way you tell if it is an AMG is by checking what is on the car with brochures and part numbers. Engine blocks and cam shafts are stamped, bodykit, wheels, suspension and seats are all pretty obvious.
Yes if you have the original bill of sale it might be worth more, but the chances of that happening realistically is very slim. Have a read of the thread I posted a link to, it’s a good read, but ends up in bickering as well, funny that. There is a reason I haven’t got 3000 posts in 2 years.