1960 Mercedes-Benz 190SL

• white paint looks glossy and clean in the rooftop photos, panels look straight, so no paint bill is evident from above
• chrome bumpers, grille and mirrors look bright, but a close-up shows small rust spots on a hubcap trim ring, so budget a little for chrome tidying
• black soft top is shown raised and looks taut and presentable, no top replacement is obvious from the photos
• red interior is only glimpsed in the exterior shots and looks tidy, but no close seat photo was in my sample, so seat wear cannot be judged properly
• dash close-up tells a plainer story: pitted chrome ashtray, aged radio face, light rust staining along the lower dash edge and dirty red carpet at the pedals, so expect an interior detailing and small-parts bill
• engine bay is all black paint and dust, complete-looking but tired and grimy, so budget for a proper service and clean-up rather than show preparation
• underside close-ups are the warning: rust bubbling and flaking through cracked black underseal at the sills and floor edges, that is a welding and rust-repair bill hiding under a pretty car
• workshop photos in the gallery show the car on a lift with a hub pulled, a torn-apart axle boot and a new brake wheel cylinder, so mechanical work was clearly needed and partly under way

Money: at the $79,690 sold price the top side looks the money, but the underside rust and the workshop photos say the buyer should keep a real reserve for metal and mechanical sorting.