Lars997:

Car looks stunning and price is a joke

My opinion: ... Old cars suck! Why? Last year I first wanted to buy a Pagode then a Lambo Espada. I test drove both and... The dynamics is sooo boring... Cars are feeling so slow and bad in behavior so not much fun to drive but good to look at. For me the nice face is not enough,,,, behavior is important, too!

So - go for a younger car and enjoy the ride... Those old bricks are right for the museum to watch!

 

Well ... i don't know.

I got myself a very good 928 GTS in excellent condition, i.e everything works as it was designed and ment to some decades ago and nothing is worn or torn. And i have quite some experience with a PanameraS. And i would choose the 928 GTS any day. For example the suspension setup in the 928gts although not 4WD is so nimble, safe and well balanced, that it feels like a rock in all weather conditions with the exemption of snow. With the Panamera 2WD i occured several situations, where i had to have an eye on a loose rear in the wet, without beeing fast.

Gas consumption is a little bit higher maybe ... approx. 17l/100km ... but as i drive it every day with lots of city driving in Berlin, i think it's o.k. If i want to safe gas i take on of my Porsche 964 ... only 12l/100km.

 

So ... for me ... i went the opposite road and bought some of the best "old" cars i could get for money ... all of them in perfect working order. And for me, they provide more pleasure and involvement, than most modern cars can.

And as i tend to work a bit on these cars on my own, i would agree, that these things were built with a completely different philosophy. Especially the 928 is truly build like a tank to last and to run several 100.000 miles! All these myths about it, stating it is a complex and hard to be serviced car ... well ... if you don't know, what to do everything is hard and complicated.

And if you take a look of what Porsche offered us the last years in engineering ... it is a shame, that 996 and 997 are allowed to carry the Porsche badge ... looking at the faulty and short-sighted constructions, leading to lots of capital engine failures for example. And ... yes ... i owned 996 and 997s ... and would never buy them as old used cars. With well kept 911, 964 and 993 ... i would.

Of course i don't have to ride a car for business purposes 80k kms per year ... airfare and rail is much more efficient for me, combined with rentals. So driving for me know is some sort of fun/wellness.

So ... i would buy this 450 SEL immediately for that money, if it is rust free. It would lead you to the core of a Mercedes-Benz and especially the S-Class ... what it was all about at that time. And i think you'd be astonished, what it could do to your "soul". In the best case, this car can take some of the daily stress from you, as it is not just another dynamic business beater/accelerator or crappy worn out car you buy for budget reasons ... it might relax yourself, if you treat it the way it was meant to be used and it can be such a sovereign car, because it does it with grace. Worst case is the experience Lars had with the Pagode. He did not understand the car and could not adapt to it. You have to have the will to go back in time and experience a piece of automotive history in these cars. And that can be very rewarding for some people. But not for all.