A CLASSIC drop-top Mercedes left to rot in a garage for over 30 years has sold for an eye-watering amount at auction.
The ‘rustbucket’ Mercedes had languished in pieces in a garage for over 30 years, but generated huge interest from bidders – eventually selling for almost £40,000 when the final hammer fell.
A classic drop-top Mercedes left to rot in a garage for over 30 yearsH&H Classics auction
The initial estimate for the car was between £25,000 and £35,000, but it went for more moneyH&H Classics auction
The 1961 190 SL is one of just 562 examples made by Mercedes, but it’s now not in the best of shape after being kept in storage for more than three decades.
Offered as a barn find and a ‘exciting restoration project’ by H&H Classics, this 1961 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL was bought by the seller in 1989, so it’d been off the road for at least 33 years.
Even then, it was not in top-notch condition, as the seller and her father bought it specifically to restore it.
The father had experience with 190 SLs and was going to use it as a father-daughter joint project.
However, other projects kept pushing this one farther down the line, and by the time the duo went to check in on it, the engine, the gearbox, and the rear axle were missing.
The initial estimate for the car was between £25,000 and £35,000, but it fetched more money, with the hammer dropping at £38,250.
The fact that it’s such a rare unit that still has many original parts, down to the glass for the windshield, and that it could be worth as much as £200,000 once restored drove up the interest in it.
Just a few right-hand-drive 190 SLs are thought to still exist today, and those that do will likely be in better shape than this one.
This comes after a rare Mini that was abandoned in a shed for decades sold for more than £52,000 at auction.
The 1961 190 SL is one of just 562 examples made by MercedesH&H Classics auction