Let me just say, from personal experience, that if you have a collectible 1980s Mercedes and you haven't accumulated at least $40,000 worth of receipts for it by now, you are doing it wrong. Because those receipts will come, and in direct proportion to your car's rarity and performance.
On a completely unrelated note, hey-ho, look who's back on the block! The 1988 Mercedes AMG Hammer Wagon that was for sale in 2008. Only this time around, it's not an AMG Hammer--in fact, it never was--it is an AMG Mallet. An AMG US Hammer clone. A? The? only? first? US-spec Hammer Mallet Wagon AMG put together.
So it has the V-8 from a wrecked 560 SEL bored out to 6 liters shoehorned into it. But with just a SOHC instead of the real Hammer's complicated, custom, problematic, and insanely expensive DOHC. But it was also lowered by chopping a coil off each spring.
And in the test/reviews of the day, it sounds like there were a whole slew of Frankenhammer quirks and problems. Not the least of which is being dangerously front-heavy and having horrible, fishtaily handling. And while the current [?] owner has apparently put a lot of thoughtful money into restoring the car to its original Darth Vader-at-the-carpool-lane glory, it is still a cobbled-together, high-maintenance mutant whose special power is to make all your money disappear.
Which is all to say that $30K is not the right price or the wrong price; it is simply the entry price, the first of many checks you'll write as the proud owner of this wacked out wonderwagon. Just hope that it's the largest.
The Mighty Mallet
1988 Mercedes Benz AMG Mallet 300TE 6.0L V8 M117 Wagon For Sale~Mighty Mallet, $29,995 Buy It Now [ebay via dt wagonshark dt]
Previously: AMG Hammer [sic] Wagon: der 80s uber-Mercedes
I have a Mercedes 300D from 89 and simply love it! It's the long limousine version. Never had too much trouble with it the 8 years i have owned it. I guess i have spend around $5000 on it