Two cars with ultra-low recorded miles have shown up on BaT recently. They couldn’t be more different.
The first is a 2001 Mercedes-Benz SL600, from the Turtle Garage collection and owned by SCM contributor Philip Richter. It has just 187 miles and is being represented by well-known Mercedes-Benz expert Dean Laumbach of Neptune, NJ.
As of Sunday evening, bidding was at $185,000.
The second is from the other end of the automotive spectrum. It is a 1979 Volkswagen Super Beetle convertible.
It has just 103 miles showing and is being sold by Autosportsak, in Hickory, North Carolina. As of Monday morning, bidding was at $37,000.
The purpose of this blog isn’t to discuss what these cars might be worth. We’ll assume for the moment that the mileage is accurate.
The larger question has to do with what you do with a car with such low mileage. Every time you put another mile on it you reduce its value, perhaps considerably.
I believe that these are no longer automobiles with a useful function. Rather, they are museum pieces that should be placed on pedestals like statuary from King Tut’s tomb.
Before either car can be driven, it will need to go through a recommissioning process, with all fluids changed and hoses and belts inspected and replaced where necessary.
When you are done, you will have an example of a very old car that will perform like you would expect a very old car to do.
All of the joy in driving a pickled VW will be unveiled in the first twenty miles you put on the car. All the following miles will just reinforce that you are driving a Super Beetle – with all of the limits that implies.
As far as the SL600 goes, Philip and I differ on this, but my position is that the SL55 AMG that followed it is a far superior car in nearly every aspect. Yes, the SL600 has doors that close like a vault, but who wants to drive a vault around?
What would you do with either of these cars if you owned one of them?
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Coudn’t agree more. Even more so with less museum ready cars such as common drivers with very low mileage (say 4,000) so they are not unusued yet still command a premium (say, 1990’s or 200’s vintage mass produced cars) and you feel like you can’t drive it lest you devalue it or damage it. What is the point? Would rather have a great example of a well maintained driven car. Oh well.
We have a pretty active discussion on Philip’s R129 over on the 500Eboard:
https://www.500eboard.co/forums/threads/dean-turtle-garage-selling-187-mile-2001-r129-sl600.20993/
The great joy of having the means to buy an old car with low miles is that, yes, you have to do the recommissioning process but every button will have the markings on it, all the little features will work. All the little details will be as new without the wear & tear. Again, if one has the means to pay the premium for a low mile classic, relive the nostalgia in driving the car as when it was new. If you are worried about the depreciated value there are other places to park your money. The point of having money is to enjoy it.
It would take so much money to get the MB back on the road, I would rather buy one that has 100K on it as that car is just about broken in. If all of the service records are with it so much better that a car with 187 miles on it.
It’s a very specific type of collector that’s into the super low mile museum pieces… and I bet most of them would be an interesting case study for a psychologist. As the survey results show, the vast majority of enthusiasts want to actually drive their cars and realize their purpose of existing.
Very good point and wonder the same thing about collectors like that. It’s their choice though — and their money!
A friend of mine needed a new roof on his house. He paid to have it done, but fell ill and soon moved to a retirement home. As a result, when his house sold a few years later, the roof was four years old, but had only been slept and lived under for a few weeks.
Unfortunately, the deterioration of the roof was not affected by what happened under it. And neither will the decline of hoses, belts, and seals. And, to a lesser degree, leather seats and convertible tops. And don’t forget ever advancing automotive technology- not just control modules, but sound system specs and cell phones. Calling it Classic or Collectible doesn’t make it immune to these factors.
I don’t know that I’d pay much more for a 187 mile car than I’d pay for a 500 mile car. Maybe the line in the sand/ odometer comes at 1000. I hope somebody really enjoyed those 187 miles. 24.5 years in an index fund would probably have been more financially rewarding.
Well, I’d do what these people are doing and sell it. About a decade ago, I bought a minty 1991 Civic Si hatchback. The car was absolutely as nice as it could be for the 76k miles it had on it. It was a joy to drive, nice and tight and with all of the goodness that those early 90s Hondas had. But I hated taking it out, because, even though it wasn’t worth much, it was absolutely irreplaceable because of the condition. So I sold it on.
I have a R129, bought it when it was15 years old with 44k on the odometer. I paid $11k for it, including a rare Panoramic glass roof option.
I love the 129, it’s great car, but it is not worth upwards of $200k, regardless of mikes, ownership or anything else.
This gets me to a rant I often have…
(Fill in the blank with a car you may love…or hate)….is not worth (fill in their going prices).
They may be worth that on today’s market as a COLLECTABLE, but not necessarily as a functional, useful automobile.
Example…an early 356 is a nice car, a historic car, but lets be honest (there is a lot of VW DNA in it), nothing in its parts, specifications or even rarity or a given model make it worth $200-300k + as an automobile.
That people pay the going rate for 356s or big money for low mile cars too valuable to drive, says more about the number of wealthy people out there than the autos themselves
Thanks, John Boyle, I agree completely.
However, if we’re going to rant, what kind of universe includes Boxsters going for half of Karmann-Ghias and Speedster replicas going for $40K? And, for that matter, pajamas for dogs?
Dean has always brought such incredible cars to Bat. His recent W116 300SD nearly brought the house down by the number of comments and final price keeping with the exceptional condition of the vehicle. In this situation the R129 being a lot “newer” to the auction market, I wouldn’t find it as an exceptional find except for the fact that it is a SL600. Not that many M120 cars made it through to collector status. Many were run hard and put away very wet. The ones I personally saw wouldn’t be worth more than perhaps $30-35K on a good day. Now with this supreme example from Dean in a great livery, the sky’s the limit. The 3 questions you propose are certainly germane to this discussion. I’ve seen so many Porsche speedsters getting flipped 4-5 times with very few miles. Each time less than a 100 miles since last sold. It makes no sense if all you want to do is tease the market for those you truly want the car for driving purposes and not for profit. I have been down that road too many times before and got fed up waiting my turn to get the car I wanted. So for here, this is a cherished car lovingly taken care of by its’ owner since delivery with few driven miles. It’s not very exclusive so I’d go on the side and elect to drive it if the successful bidder.
Interesting choice of cars. I can share that I recently was viewing a collection where the collector had about 7-8 1979 Convertible Bugs all under 200 miles. I was almost in disbelief if I had not seen those myself.
However, this reminds me of the 1978 Corvette Pace car. My father’s desire to own one has made this car still high up on my list of desired cars to own. I remember going with him to the dealership to look at one when I was just a kid. Although, we drove up in a fire breathing Monaco Orange 69 427 vert, the colors and the presentation made the pace car really cool. Of course I could not drive either then, so I won’t go there.
However, for years now I have seen those cars come to multiple marketplaces, with numerous ones still in delivery status. I am always surprise to not see the big numbers that so many back in 78 thought would come with those cars. However, I remember meeting a great couple at a Corvettes of Carlisle that had brought one with low driven miles to drive across the US and Canada. They had shared that for not much more they could have brought one in delivery use, but the repair and replacement of parts to be able to drive it would be like buying two of those.
So, I might be the last one to ask, because I think that they should all be driven. However, what I am finding now is that less people are concern with miles on older cars as long as they have been sorted out. But with the same level of effort and attention to a newer car that can be captured in Carfax the attitude seems to change.
Once again go out and drive these rolling center’s of joy.
A car was meant to be driven. Even though I am poor, if somehow I had an excess of money and could buy a low-mileage 2005 Ford GT, I would buy it and drive the living shit out of it. (These cars have appreciated in value from its original MSRP to the neighborhood of $450,000 at this point). Glenn in Brooklyn, NY.