Author Archive: Dutch Doubleclutch

Howard Otten was the original owner living in Rancho Santa Fe, CA who was a client of the King family who ran the local Culligan soft water business in Solana Beach. Mr. Autman used to come personally to the office to pay his bill and one time in 1968 he drove this car to the Culligan store at which time Mr. King saw it and was quite impressed. At some point he mentioned to Mr. Otten that if he ever wanted to sell the car, he would be interested in purchasing it. Around 1986 that is exactly what happened. Family lore indicates Mr. King may have purchased the car as a gift for Mrs. King, possibly on a birthday or at Christmas time.

The Kings had several other cars in their collection, so the use of this car [...]

A 55,444 mile textbook Preservation Car, featured on episode no. 70 of Hagerty’s Barn Find Hunter (Follow link Here), featuring Tom Cotter. This original Virginia Mercedes 280SL was purchased by a new car dealer in a 30-car package of barn find cars and was subsequently purchased by an enthusiast. This individual had Gus Kidonakis at Beverly Hill Motors in Houston to do an $80,000 preservation in preparing it for the road after its decades-long storage. You might ask, “How could someone possibly spend $80k addressing storage-related items?” We have all the receipts! The enthusiast, our client, found his situation changing and we acquired the car and now offer it to its next long-term caretaker. It is turnkey ready for the road and is among a very limited number of mostly original W113 Pagodas. Certainly, with something like 85% original paint, this car is in rare company indeed. This might be the holy grail of original [...]

We were tasked with building our clients dream 280SL. We purchased the vehicle online but thoroughly vetted for any issues that could be considered serious. Cosmetically this vehicle needed work but the bones are strong.

The state which it was found it was tired, but none of the current aesthetic of the 280SL is expected to stay for very long.

Essentially a one family car from Portola Valley, California, this 250SL was purchased from Mercedes dealership Autohaus Brugger in Redwood City. The owner and family matriarch was an equestrian and maintenance was performed by her physicist husband before passing the car to their son when she stopped driving due to age.

The longtime owner, the family matriarch and an equestrian, loved the car as her daily transportation whether she was hauling a bale of hay in the trunk or going about her daily chores, hair flying in the wind and red leather driving gloves grasping the steering wheel. Her eccentric physicist husband performed maintenance on the car. She loved it so much that when he suggested the car was getting old and she should get a new one, she exclaimed, “If it stops running, I will push it.”

Her son told us the story of when his 16-year-old, older brother, told their mother he [...]

The original owner was a centenarian who cared for it until his passing. Now it has moved on to its next caretaker. We provided much of the servicing and reconditioning and also provided support for the transfer to the next owner on behalf of our seller.

What a treasure to find a long-term single owner California car in unsullied condition with what definitely looks like 67,000 actual miles on this Mercedes Benz 280SL. Backing this up are the all-original upholstery, wood, and carpet. Underneath we find untouched factory-original undercoating. She’s never been rusted. The gaps are great. The headlight notches are intact. The sides are straight. The paint is lustrous and beautiful. In short, there is only everything to like here. If you’ve been looking for an automatic ‘71 model, this could definitely be it.

You can follow our YouTube Page to see more walkarounds like this, and you can find this walkaround on YouTube here

Crucial to any Mercedes Benz 280SL

Determining value on a 560SL – Certainly, there are super low mileage examples available. However, odometer readings are not the only driver of value. First, one must look at the car and logically make the determination that the condition the car matches the odometer reading. Has the upholstery already been renewed? If so, one can draw their own conclusions and one should be skeptical of history reports. Automated reports can miss things and odometers are known to fail.

From here, one should be aware that with all collector cars, the more original the better. Top modern collectibles (560’s) are essentially “all original,” meaning they are still wearing their original paint and have their original upholstery. Obviously, there has never been a crash or repair to the body. In the real world this is rare – and why highly original examples sell for the highest prices. This particular example has been confirmed by expert in-person [...]

This 2021 Tesla Model X with Long Range Plus includes a 7-seater interior, was used this past year at our client’s winter home in Palm Springs, CA. The color is ‘Deep Blue Metallic’ and the interior package is the cream with oak wood décor. This car is essentially like new. Given the Premium Upgrades Package upon purchase, the Tesla comes with autopilot drive and includes the Full Self-Driving software. As standard for the Tesla Model X, it includes 2 electric motors with regenerative braking and microprocessor-controlled Lithium-Ion batteries.

All necessary items such as the home charger, charging adapters, towing hitch (5000lb max rated), and key function without issue, and come included with the Tesla branded baggage. All cameras, displays, and sentry mode functions are operational as well. It is exactly what you would expect from the Car of the Future, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, on-board navigation on the generously [...]

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This low mileage Pagoda was purchased new at Mercedes’ factory store in Hollywood California. A life-long California car with records showing she’s been well serviced; she has spent the last 20 years, cherished and garage kept on a eucalyptus grove in Temecula. This is exactly how we like to find our cars!

With a smooth overhead cam, in-line six engine mated to a four-speed manual gearbox, she’s a joy to drive on country roads or a wonderful partner to consume freeway miles in stride.

Whether as a top-down roadster, with soft top up or hard top in place for that elegant Pagoda coupe look, she garners admiring glances wherever she goes.