If you’re intrigued by the idea of a manual shift Mercedes, but can’t afford a pagoda SL and are intimidated by possible repair costs on the car featured before this one, fear not, there are more alternatives. You can have the same powertrain found in those other cars, in a slightly more modern body. This was the last project Paul Bracq completed for Mercedes before moving to design the French TGV train, and then working for BMW and Peugeot, and it maintains the elegant, simple lines seen in his other work. You can find today’s 1969 Mercedes 250 W114 with bidding at $2900 and less than 1 day to go in Newark, NJ.
This is one of the last cars where grill badges don’t look silly. Again, the early version of this model is also the simplest in terms of design. Some European market lights would take that simplicity even further. The double-decker bumpers seem a little excessive, but perhaps this would be reduced by the addition of a license plate to the front end. Dark colors suit these cars well, and the body looks very straight.
The seller does admit to some light rust in the door bottoms and sills, so you might have to budget on some extra work. However, it shouldn’t detract from the driving experience and that solid Mercedes feeling. The car was garage kept by the previous owner, and there are no holes in the floor.
The interior looks clean enough, although there are signs of wear on the driver’s side. Notice the hand crank windows – when was the last time you saw those in a Mercedes? Notice the (likely original) Becker Europa, and the dual gauge setup that would look at home on any number of more sporting sedans. A friend’s father had a wooden Nardi steering wheel on his – that would do a lot to smarten up this interior.
Under the hood, the seller has replaced the radiator at significant cost. This is a good occasion to bring up the question of overheating issues, as well as poke into the visible rust under the hood. Overall, this looks like a pretty solid car, if a little optimistic on price. Let’s see where the bidding goes!
Rusty But Trusty 
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