1978 Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz

• Light blue paint looks shiny and straight in the wide views, and the trunk badge reads 450 SL, so the body presents well at a distance.
• Close-up inside a wheel well shows serious rust — flaking metal, orange corrosion and a split, holed area by the sill — so budget real rust-repair money, not touch-up.
• Rear panel and front plate bracket also show rust spots and corrosion, so the rust is not just one photo.
• Blue seats are badly cracked, split and peeling, with foam showing through tears, so budget a full reupholstery, not a repair.
• Engine-bay close-up shows a rusty brake booster and aged reservoir, so expect mechanical freshening money too.
• Chrome grille and trim look decent in front views, so chrome is not the big bill here.
• Bundt wheels look dull but serviceable and tires look usable, so wheels are low on the spend list.
• Hardtop is fitted, matches the paint and its glass looks clear, so that top needs no work.
• Soft top is not shown in the sampled photos, so I can't judge its cost.
• Dash is only glimpsed through the cabin views, so I can't judge its cracks up close.

Money: At $13,000 this is priced like a tidy driver, but the holed, rusty wheel-well/sill area and the torn-up blue seats are thousands in work — the photos make it a project-price car, not a $13,000 driver.