G required - 460 basic spec

Hi all,

Life without a G has little meaning so I'm looking to get back to the action. I'm going to sell my R129 500SL so should have up to £5k to play with which should get me a very good example, however, I'd prefer to pay less and get less.

I went to have a look at this one yesterday...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201108380304827/sort/price...

 The current owner has had it for over 10 years but has very little paperwork. It went to G-wagen (Caversham) 2 or 3 years ago when they treated the normal rust, replaced a few bits and pieces and gave it a bit of a tidy up. I wouldn't call it a professional restoration as there's still a fair few blisters here and there and the interior is a bit tatty. This was after several years spent sat in a barn and it hasn't been used a lot since either. The window seals need replacing, the exhaust is blowing (probably at the not-so flexible joint) and is fairly well corroded all over. The heater blower has packed up and the window winder broke in the owners hand when he tried to wind it back up yesterday so I would think the mechanisms need a bit of an overhaul. 1st gear is also very difficult to engage and the gaitor comes off when you eventually get it in.

On the plus side, I like the spec, the engine sounded smooth, it went and stopped well, I'm fairly sure the milage is genuine and it's only an hour and a bit away from me.

What do you guys think is a fair price? My feelings are that without the provenance it has a ceiling value of c. £4.5k and to get it to a condition that would command that price would take an awful lot of work. If all the bits listed above were done then maybe it's worth £3.5k but I don't think it's worth much more than £2k as is. Am I being unfair?

Cheers all,

Tom