1984 Mercedes-Benz 380SL

• Dark blue paint is glossy and deep in the showroom photos and the panels look straight — no paint budget from these photos.
• Chrome grille and bumpers look bright, but the headlight lenses look hazy with age — budget small money for lens polishing or replacement.
• Blue soft top looks taut and its plastic windows look clear for their age — no top replacement budget from these photos.
• Gray-blue leather seats show wear and yellowing along the driver's bolster piping, and the carpets look stained and dirty — budget for a deep interior clean and leather repair or dye.
• Dash looks intact and the gauges are clear and legible — no dash budget from these photos.
• Trunk and trunk-lid underside look clean and dry — no trunk money needed.
• Underside shows a rusty, heat-worn exhaust and patchy aged undercoating with surface corrosion at the edges — budget for an exhaust and a closer rust inspection underneath.
• Bundt wheels look clean and tires show tread — no wheel or tire budget from these photos.
• No engine bay photos in the sample — can't judge the engine bay, hold back money for that inspection.
• The last photos in the gallery are dealer showroom and aerial promo shots, not this car — they add nothing to judging its condition.

Money: At $18,500 the blue paint and top look strong, but budget real money for the worn driver's seat, dirty carpets, rusty exhaust and an underside rust check before calling it fairly priced.