This 1984 Mercedes-Benz 280E is a European-market example that was imported into the US in 1985 and later acquired by the seller in 2012. The car has been fitted with an AMG body kit and 16″ AMG Penta wheels. Finished in Thistle Green Metallic over a patterned green cloth interior, power comes from a 2.8-liter M110 inline-six paired with a four-speed automatic transmission. Additional equipment includes a sunroof, air conditioning, burl wood interior trim, and an aftermarket audio system. The seller has performed extensive maintenance during their ownership. This Euro 280E is now offered with manufacturer’s literature, service records, a tool kit, spare parts, a clean Carfax report, and a clean New York title in the seller’s name.
The car is finished in Thistle Green Metallic and has been fitted with an AMG body kit including a front lip, side skirts, and rear valance as well as an AMG trunk badge. The seller installed a 'new old stock' W123 sunroof wind deflector along with a new windshield. The seller notes normal wear and scratches on the front lip, and dents in the right doors. The body is reportedly rust-free and detailed photos of the exterior can be seen in the gallery.
The seller sourced and fitted authentic 16″ ATS/AMG Penta wheels which are wrapped in 225/50 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires showing 2015 date codes. The wheels have been previously refinished and 'new old stock' AMG center caps are also shown. Stopping power is provided by disc brakes at all four corners. The seller completed a full front end suspension job with all OEM parts in 2022.
The cabin is upholstered in Euro patterned green cloth upholstrey and features refinished burl wood trim which replaced the factory Zebrano. Additional features include air conditioning, a center armrest, a fire extinguisher, a Kenwood CD player, an Alpine amplifier, Infinity cabin speakers, and a Kicker subwoofer.
A 120-mph speedometer was installed when the car was imported and additional instrumentation includes a combination gauge and a tachometer with a 6,500-rpm redline. The six-digit odometer shows 127k miles, though the total mileage is unknown.
The 2.8-liter M110 inline-six was factory-rated at 182 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque in European-market trim. The fuel hoses were reportedly replaced in 2022, and the seller notes an oil leak when the engine is warm. Power is sent to the rear wheels through a four-speed automatic transmission. A European-spec exhaust system was fitted in July 2013 and a list of maintenance items is outlined below.
Manufacturer’s literature, service records, a tool kit, and spare parts are included in the sale. The Carfax report shows no accidents or other damage and lists history starting in 2008 in Ohio and New York.
Videos of the car and working features are provided below.
Open Transit:
Enclosed Transit:
The winning bidder will receive an email with the quote and option to proceed with shipping.
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23 Comments
Congrats to @amusicianslife, I can't wait to see the car at some point. Couldn't be going to a better home. Well fought battle! Shipping costs made me bow out early. Wish you were closer to Atlanta!Thank you to everyone who bid and posted positive comments and good questions. She’s gonna move on in with a new proud owner and get the attention she deserves hopefully! And thank you to the MBMarket who worked closely with me to make this successful and showed real love for w123s and Mercedes! This site is awesome!Congratulations seller. I was the high bidder on BaT for this car, and I didn't think you would get the same kind of money here. I was wrong!$14,000 bid placed by @amusicianslife
$13,750 bid placed by @Karl_boh
I'm almost out of popcorn$13,500 bid placed by @Stuttgart_Steel
$13,250 bid placed by @MBEnthusiast
$13,000 bid placed by @Stuttgart_Steel
$12,750 bid placed by @Karl_boh
$12,500 bid placed by @Stuttgart_Steel
$12,250 bid placed by @MBEnthusiast
$12,000 bid placed by @Karl_boh
$11,500 bid placed by @Ayoub
$10,750 bid placed by @MBEnthusiast
$10,500 bid placed by @mbrandonmotorcar
$10,250 bid placed by @Ayoub
$10,000 bid placed by @mbrandonmotorcar
$9,750 bid placed by @MBEnthusiast
$9,500 bid placed by @Karl_boh
$8,250 bid placed by @mbrandonmotorcar
$8,000 bid placed by @amusicianslife
$7,250 bid placed by @5280M3
$7,000 bid placed by @MBEnthusiast
Best of luck to the seller - I hope this thing brings all the money! This is a Mercedes you truly never see.$6,500 bid placed by @5280M3
Regardless of outcome, you've done an excellent job as a seller. Props.Additional photos have been added to the gallery.@Stuttgart_Steel Okay, I've sent pics of the areas discussed for you to get a better look at them. It does look like there is some sort of paint correction that happened on the corner of the sunroof that I wasn't aware of. I got a better pic of it for you. Other pics are of engine block as best I could get plus trunk pics. Let me know if you have more questions or need more images. I don't know what sort of turnaround time it takes for new pics to make it to the listing but they're coming!@Morris Thanks for the timely and succinct reply! You answered most of my questions! Thanks again for doing a little extra leg work, I know it can be a pain — I really appreciate it. Nothing else has come to mind, those were all the red flags I had questions about.This is why I love visiting this site. Thoughtful questions and answers from both sides....Can always learn a little something too. Cheers.@Stuttgart_Steel Thanks for the great questions! I'll try to organize my responses in line with each question, and separately I'll try to get some close up pics uploaded of the areas you mentioned. First, the small creases on the doors were on the car when I bought it. I wouldn't call them big enough to be dents, and they could be removed with some heat applied I would assume. There is absolutely zero bondo on this car. This is my 4th w123 and I went out of my way to find a rust free & accident free example and had her shipped to NY. Second, I will try to get some pics of the area you mentioned on the sunroof. This is the first time I've noticed anything off in that area. The car was sold to me as all original, original paint etc. I don't have a paint meter for pics but I might be able to track one down before auction end. Third, the wetness in that pic is oil coming off the NOS skid plate. The BaT photographer showed up unprepared for a photoshoot and we had to drive quite a ways to find a decent place to take pictures, and it ran some. Part of the difficulty of tracking down the oil leak from the bottom of the car is because of the skid plate catching drips and then dispersing them when driving. When I first bought the car, my mechanic surmised the leak was from the rear seal. He told me to wait and see if it got any worse before he wanted to tackle that job. In 12 years of ownership it has never gotten worse so I just let it be. I've never had to add oil or make any changes to maintenance, etc., so I just left it alone. The sunroof valance was added by me, found NOS on eBay in Brazil of all places. No rust or build up of any kind of debris. In fact, the seal doesn't press as firmly as I'd prefer on the roof, which on the positive side is good for what you mention. Sunroof has zero leaks, confirmed through light use of a touch free car wash every once in awhile. I will also get out to the car today and take pics of the trunk and spare tire area. No leaks that I know of, no mold smell, and zero rust. Pics will confirm. Squeaks in the video are 100% from the seat. Seat feels firm and bouncy/responsive, no sagging or dipping, but it is definitely squeaky. Yes, valve cover gasket was done when installing NOS Bosch W9Ds and when doing valve adjustment. The oil stain has been there since I bought it and I'm not sure where it came from. Is there anything I can take apart or remove to get pics for you to get a better sense of things? Breather hose has a little moisture around it. Yes, oil pan and other parts at the bottom of the engine are a little moist with oil as well. A lot of that is from the splash back from the skid plate catching drips in the garage then going out for a drive. I'll try to get some more pics up under there and like I said, I can take more pics at the top of the engine if there's anything specific you want me to focus on. Again, thanks for the questions, I'll get some pics ASAP, let me know if there are specific things to shoot that you'd like to see better!Just to confirm I'm a serious bidder, I'm throwing my hat in the ring with these other fellas. Thanks in advance.$6,250 bid placed by @Stuttgart_Steel
I've got all my notes organized and had a few remaining questions! Bare with me, I apologize in advance -- I know these cars and engines well having owned a few and have torn some down in the past: 4/208 The damage on the front and rear passenger door, are those dents or bondo? Kind of hard to tell from the gallery. 31/208 Revisiting the clear coat question from day one. On the front right corner of the sunroof with it retracted, it looks like clear coat failure. Can we confirm or deny that is the case? I'm a bit of a paint nerd. Do we know if the paint is original? I didn't see paint meter readings. 129/208 Is that an oil leak under the engine or is that water from the A/C? Is there any rust under the sunroof valence? I know a lot of these installed in-period tent to rust decades later since they would hold moisture and/or pine straw, leaves, dirt, etc. Does it leak water through the sun visor area in the cabin when it rains outside? How about the trunk? Does it seal nicely when it's raining or does is there water intrusion? Any mold smell in the trunk? I know it's a pain, but can you show what's under the trunk mat or take pictures of the spare wheel well to show there's no rust? These like to rot out there. In the driving video, I heard a bunch of squeaks. Is that suspension components, old seat, or interior trim? Again, it's hard to tell. I see the valve cover gasket was done, where is all the oil stains coming from on the valve cover? Is it coming from the crankcase breather hose? Just trying to put together a complete picture. Not sure if there's excessive crankcase pressure slipping out from the pistons. I know these M110s are robust, but head-gaskets can scare me since these are notorious for having electrolysis issues on the head-bolts if you have to pull a head off since it's an aluminum head on an iron block. It's one reason why I'd love to know exactly where the oil leak is coming from. I also see original/old style transmission cooler lines coming from the radiator that look wet - is it coming from there? Oil pan looks greasy too -- is that gasket leaking or is the oil dripping from elsewhere higher on the engine? Also curious if it's a rear main seal. I'm fine with the tires being from 2015. Those Indy 500s get super hard when they age. $1,000 will get me Michelins on the Pentas. Basically want to confirm it isn't a head-gasket leaking down the side of the block.$6,000 bid placed by @Silverstar
@morris I don't have any issue at all with *how* the car was driven, only that it wasn't warmed up first. I kept hoping the temp gauge was broken... until it was clear that it was rising during the video. If I drive any car at more than a very sedate pace it's my habit to get them to operating temp first I owned a Euro W126 280SE for a number of years. That car was much happier when it was warm. Pretty car & GLWS.@Toonces First, that’s absolutely not how I drive on a regular basis, this car has been babied all its life. I wanted to show how the car handled different driving styles. Second, read up on the m110 before commenting please, as it was built for high revs, much higher than what you see in the video.I really like this car but the driving video put me off. I wouldn't want to own a car that someone is willing to drive that hard when the driveline is dead cold. :-(@mickeybharat I would assume no? But I am not familiar with the CA emissions process for older / classic cars. This is a European example, made after MB stopped making them for the American market (1981). The ones made for the American market would come outfitted with either US spec emissions or CA spec emissions. Or they would be fitted with them after importation, as this example was, but I purchased a full Euro exhaust through the Classics Center to put it back to Euro spec.Does it have California emissions compliance ?$5,000 bid placed by @amusicianslife
did u make it No reserve@TheAMGKit Yes, motivated to sell before the snow comes to upstate New York. Wasn’t thrilled with BaT’s auction manager’s handling of my auction. So here we are.https://bringatrailer.com/listing/euro-1984-mercedes-benz-280e/ that was quick@Stuttgart_Steel Hey there! Thanks for the kind words. No, majority of replacement parts and work didn’t arise from any sort of problems, just my enjoyment of working on these cars and wanting to update anything and everything I could to make sure she was roadworthy at all points of ownership. I’ve owned a few w123s over the years and always want them to drive without issues. The oil leak was theorized by my mechanic to maybe be the rear seal but he said to wait and watch and see if it ever got worse and it hasn’t in the 12 years of owning her. Never had to top off the oil or anything so I just left it. I’ll check the roof to see about the clear coat and maybe take some more pics but I was not aware of any issue. Yes, feel free to ask more questions, thanks again!Interesting W123 here. Any idea where the oil leak is coming from? Looks like it’s pretty heavy. With all the lovely maintenance done on it, just hoping it isn’t coming from a super labor intensive spot. Unfortunately draws questions, but I’m interested in the answers. Is there a spot of clear coat failure on the sunroof? I’ll be watching this one! I’ll comb through the pictures tonight and probably comment with a few more questions, but thanks for putting together a comprehensive listing! Weird car, which I like. Missed this car on BaT. Would love to give it a go this time around.