Jochen Mass, whom the enterprising Auctionata team had brought in as an expert for the auction on December 8, 2015, which was reserved exclusively for Mercedes-Benz vehicles, said at the end of the event: "I liked it, this is the future".
The former Formula 1 racing driver spent over two hours explaining cars and making them appealing, but the sales result certainly did not meet the (high) expectations. Although 13 cars were sold, only one was accepted unconditionally. Experience has shown that it should be possible to renegotiate the small differences for most of these cars, but nevertheless 15 of the 28 cars on offer remained unsold. This was certainly not due to the cars themselves, but rather to the not immodest expectations of the consignors.
S-Class festival
Luxurious limousines made up the largest proportion of the Stern offerings. And there were also some cherished classics from former Japanese ownership, almost all of which attracted buyers with low mileage and extensive equipment.
For example, the Mercedes-Benz SEL 560 from 1986, which was sold for 21,280 euros or 22,982 CHF incl. premium/VAT. There was also lively interest in other S-Classes, such as the 300 SE, the S 600 L ("a 400 hp wreck ...") or their coupé relatives, even if they could be knocked down with reservations, but usually only just missed the limit.
No interest in expensive neo-classics
There was little interest in fast Mercedes sports cars from the modern era.
Neither the SLR McLaren as a 722 Coupé from 2007 nor the CLK DTM Coupé from 2004 made it out of the starting blocks; the expected value of 650,000 and 340,000 euros respectively seemed too threatening, which of course also had an impact on the higher starting prices.
Fine classics not sold
Auctionata's offer also included some blue chips, including a 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolet. 450,000 euros had been expected for the elegant convertible, but the bidding ended at 280,000 euros. Too little.
It was a similar story for the 190 SL from 1962, for which 90,000 euros was bid, and the 220 S Ponton Cabriolet from 1958, for which nobody wanted to go higher than 95,000.
Was it the ambitious value expectations or the ungenerous bidding public that diminished the success of this auction?
In any case, there was no lack of variety on offer, with everything from pre-war classics to used cars in almost mint condition. There was also little to criticize about the condition of the classics. Perhaps the impending winter and the Christmas shopping rush simply put a damper on the buying mood?
The long wait
Watching the online auction, you often got the feeling that prospective buyers were waiting for their opponents, not wanting to bid first. Only when the auctioneer counted down for the first time did the bids come in. Sometimes not even then, which tempted him to say "We're still at the starting price, you obviously don't appreciate this car ...".
It also always seemed to be the same bidders signaling their intention to buy. The frequent switching between the studios and the not always entirely accurate comments from the presenters didn't help either. At least Joch Mass lightened the mood from time to time when he gave an anecdote ("... I have a soft spot for this car ...") or a saying ("I'm not doing anything wrong ...") or chatted from school.
Results in detail
The following table shows all the vehicles on offer with the starting price and estimated value in euros, as well as the highest bids in euros and CHF. A bidder's premium of 12% and value added tax were added to the final price.
The conversion was made at the current daily exchange rate (1 Euro = 1.08 CHF). The "Status" column indicates whether the car was sold, not sold or sold under reserve. The "% Est" column compares the highest bid and the estimated value.
| Lot | Vehicle | Year | € Starting price | € Estimated price | € Hbid | CHF Hbid | Status | % Est |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercedes-Benz 230 E Sedan | 1980 | 7500 | 15000 | 9500 | 10260 | not sold | 0.63 |
| 2 | Mercedes-Benz 240 TD station wagon | 1985 | 16000 | 32000 | 16000 | 17280 | not sold | 0.5 |
| 3 | Mercedes-Benz 280 S | 1969 | 9500 | 19000 | 15000 | 16200 | u. reservation sold | 0.79 |
| 4 | Mercedes-Benz 220S large tail fin | 1965 | 11000 | 22000 | not sold | |||
| 5 | Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC | 1978 | 13000 | 26000 | 20000 | 21600 | u. Conditional sale | 0.77 |
| 6 | Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Coupé | 1970 | 40000 | 80000 | 75000 | 81000 | u. Reservation sold | 0.94 |
| 7 | Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Coupé | 1970 | 38000 | 75000 | 45000 | 48600 | u. Reservation sold | 0.6 |
| 8 | Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 | 1968 | 30000 | 60000 | 38000 | 41040 | not sold | 0.63 |
| 9 | Mercedes-Benz 280 SL Roadster Pagoda | 1969 | 40000 | 80000 | 65000 | 70200 | u. Reservation sold | 0.81 |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Coupé | 1970 | 45000 | 90000 | 75000 | 81000 | u. Conditional sale | 0.83 |
| 11 | Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolet | 1971 | 220000 | 450000 | 280000 | 302400 | not sold | 0.62 |
| 12 | Mercedes-Benz 220 S Ponton Cabriolet | 1958 | 70000 | 140000 | 95000 | 102600 | u. Reservation sold | 0.68 |
| 13 | Mercedes-Benz 190 SL | 1962 | 70000 | 140000 | 90000 | 97200 | not sold | 0.64 |
| 14 | Mercedes-Benz 300 SC Coupé | 1956 | 300000 | 600000 | 380000 | 410400 | not sold | 0.63 |
| 15 | Mercedes-Benz 300d Adenauer W189 | 1960 | 75000 | 150000 | not sold | |||
| 16 | Mercedes-Benz 320n Cabriolet A | 1938 | 300000 | 600000 | 300000 | 324000 | not sold | 0.5 |
| 17 | Mercedes-Benz 170V Roadster | 1939 | 22000 | 45000 | 32000 | 34560 | u. Reservation sold | 0.71 |
| 18 | Mercedes-Benz 300 SE | 1989 | 10000 | 20000 | 19000 | 20520 | u. Conditional sale | 0.95 |
| 19 | Mercedes-Benz SEL 560 | 1986 | 10000 | 20000 | 19000 | 20520 | Sold | 0.95 |
| 20 | Mercedes-Benz S 600 L | 1993 | 10000 | 20000 | 17000 | 18360 | u. Reserved for sale | 0.85 |
| 21 | Mercedes-Benz SL 500 Roadster | 1994 | 12000 | 24000 | 18000 | 19440 | u. Conditional sale | 0.75 |
| 22 | Mercedes-Benz S 600 Coupé | 1996 | 9500 | 19000 | 11000 | 11880 | not sold | 0.58 |
| 23 | Mercedes-Benz CL 55 AMG | 2001 | 14000 | 28000 | 18000 | 19440 | not sold | 0.64 |
| 24 | Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM Coupé | 2004 | 170000 | 340000 | not sold | |||
| 25 | Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupé "Black Series" | 2013 | 70000 | 140000 | 85000 | 91800 | not sold | 0.61 |
| 26 | Mercedes-Benz SLK 32 AMG Roadster | 2002 | 8500 | 17000 | 13000 | 14040 | u. Reservation sold | 0.76 |
| 27 | Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Coupé | 2007 | 320000 | 650000 | not sold | |||
| 28 | Mercedes-Benz Unimog S 404 4x4 | 1960 | 12000 | 24000 | 15000 | 16200 | not sold | 0.63 |
