Just Cool Cars: '61 Mercedes-Benz limo cost only $1,500
BEVERLY HILLS -- When it comes to great buys on cars, paying $1,500 for a remarkable 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300d limousine has to be one of them.
Barry Sohnen knows. That's what he shelled out for the long, stately black car 38 years ago and he's treated it with a lot of love -- including a meticulous four-year restoration that brought the old Mercedes back to new condition.
"It may be the oldest possession I have," he says.
It's notable for not having the view out the side windows interrupted by pillars. And even though the 300 has a small "d" in its designation, it has a gasoline engine, not a diesel.
Sohnen, of Los Angeles, not only has all the car's service records going back to 1961, but some of the advertisements for the car as well that speak to its prestige.
A U.S. Army captain stationed in Germany bought the car new for $11,000, a luxury car that at the time, "was more expensive than a Rolls-Royce," Sohnen says. By the time Sohnen picked it up for a song, the Mercedes was still running. As time went on, it grew a little rough around the edges. Hence, the restoration.
Today, Sohnen says he takes his limo out for a spin about every six weeks, including the day we encountered him at the Rodeo Drive Concours d'Elegance here. "It's a big car, but it's amazingly quiet," he says.