1967 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL Pagoda, front three-quarter
W113 · 1967 · California car

Mercedes-Benz 230 SL "Pagoda"

A documented 1967 230 SL roadster — a California car from new, exported from Long Beach and imported to Germany in 2007, with a continuous paper trail of title, customs, appraisal and service.

Overview

The car at a glance

Every figure on this page is taken from the car's original documentation — the California Certificate of Title, the California DMV bill of sale, the 2007 Rotterdam import file, the 2024 Classic-Data appraisal, the Allianz classic insurance valuation and the TÜV / OldieTech inspection and service records. Where the paperwork disagrees, the discrepancy is shown rather than smoothed over.

◆ Identity

Model
230 SL (W113) "Pagoda"
Body
2-door roadster / convertible
Year
1967
VIN / chassis
113042 12 016094
Colour
Weißgrau (white)
CA plate
5FWV232

◆ Engine & mechanical

Engine
M 127.II inline-6
Capacity
2,306 cc
Output
150 PS (~110 kW)
Emissions
Euro 2 (cold-run regulator)
Tyres
185 HR 14

◆ Body & interior

White (Weißgrau) coachwork with the signature concave "Pagoda" hardtop and a soft top. Nardi wood steering wheel and an Alpine radio/CD. Appraiser's note: "minimal dents to the body … paintwork orderly with light traces of age … interior very well kept."

◆ Chassis & running gear

Recommissioned by OldieTech GmbH (Berlin) in December 2024: full brake-system overhaul, fuel-system overhaul, ignition service, rear-axle suspension & bushings, propshaft and centre bearing — see the underside photographs.

Model note — honest: the rear badge, the California title, the US dealer bill of sale, the German appraisal and the workshop invoice all read 230 SL. The 2007 Dutch customs entry alone records it as "280 SL"; the VIN is identical on every document, so this is a customs-clerk classification, not a different car.
Provenance

From California to Berlin

California title State of California Certificate of Title. "Year first sold 1997"; title issued 2004.
Sale, 1 Feb 2007 Sold by the California dealer Goodman Reed Motorcars, Santa Barbara, CA, to the current owner (California DMV REG 262 bill of sale).
Export, May 2007 Shipped from Long Beach, California to Rotterdam via forwarder Sillevis B.V. — "import of one 1967 MB 230SL #016094 ex USA."
EU customs, May 2007 Cleared at Rotterdam ("Dagtekening 15 Mei 2007"), declared a vehicle over 30 years old; customs value €17,290. Delivered to Berlin.
2024 — Germany Classic-Data appraisal, Allianz classic-car insurance valuation, TÜV §23 historic-vehicle assessment and a full OldieTech recommissioning.
Mileage — stated honestly: the mechanical five-digit odometer reads about 16,600 mi (16,507 km-stand at the Dec-2024 service). However, both the 2007 DMV transfer form and the earlier California title have "mileage exceeds the odometer mechanical limits" checked, and the 2004 title shows 116,500 — the odometer has rolled past 99,999. True total mileage is therefore not established (TMU — true mileage unknown); 16,600 is not represented as original mileage.
The selling dealer

Goodman Reed Motorcars, Santa Barbara

The car was sold by Goodman Reed Motorcars, a boutique vintage-car dealership in downtown Santa Barbara, California (4283 State Street), operating by appointment only. By its own description the firm specialised in the sale, sourcing and brokerage of rare, collector-quality automobiles, with services spanning consignment, storage, shipping and titling. It positioned itself not as a volume-driven lot but as a curated, low-volume operation run out of a genuine passion for the design and engineering of fine motorcars — the kind of dealer that hand-picks cars rather than stocks them. The business is recorded as closed as of December 2025; this 230 SL was one of the California collector cars to pass through it.

Condition & value

Independent appraisal (2024)

◆ Classic-Data

Condition grade
4 (scale 1–5)
Market value
€68,000
Replacement value
€76,000
Dated
04.07.2024

◆ Allianz

Agreed market value
€92,000
Cover
Classic, partial-cover
Dated
22.08.2024

◆ TÜV Rheinland

Assessed as a historic vehicle ("Oldtimer i.S.d. §23 StVZO"), December 2024. "Good care and preservation condition"; original or permissible-modification equipment confirmed.

◆ Classic-Data model band (07/2024)

Grade 1
€184,000
Grade 2
€150,000
Grade 3
€98,000
Grade 4
€70,000

→ See all 98 photographs in the Pagoda gallery