At Mercedes the cherished car business is booming

"Sometimes a complete restoration can take more than a year," said the man in charge of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Centre at Fellbach near Stuttgart. Since 1993 the centre has set itself the task of nurturing the heritage of Mercedes-Benz, the marque which celebrated its 100th anniversary this month.

The classic car business is booming in Fellbach and for fiscal 2000 Roehrig is set to post a turnover of 110 million marks (around 52 million dollars) - ten per cent more than in 1999. Mercedes, which belongs to the DaimlerChrysler empire, was the first marque to establish a restoration centre for cherished cars. In the early days around 600 customers came to Fellbach for advice and expertise, now the figure stands at 2,000 a month. Improving the supply of spare parts was a key reason for setting up the centre. "In the old days there were a lot of people we simply couldn't help and now they have the entire high-tech facilities of the company at their disposal," said Roehrig. In other words, there is virtually nothing for an old Mercedes car that the specialists in the Daimler plants in Untertuerkheim, Sindelfingen and Felbach that the experts cannot recreate. Money is the only object.

An American client is currently paying for the meticulous restoration of his 300 SL prototype, the car which won the 1952 Le Mans 24-hour race. There wasn't much left of the orginal vehicle, just a few pieces of chassis, since the racer had been gutted in a fire and even parts of the engine had melted. Renovation on this scale is very expensive and calls for sophisticated resources. The team even has a computer tomography machine on hand to digitally scan components if need be. The 50 or so Mercedes-Benz clubs around the world can count on 100,000 members between them and nothing but the best is good enough for their beloved cars. "Between 500,000 and 650,000 German marks for a complete renovation is not out of the ordinary," said Roehrig.

These cars are not owned by the bulk of the centre's clientele and Fellbach caters for 400 Mercedes dealers who pride themselves on being able to supply spare parts for the company's former products. The catalogue covers 25,000 parts, including parts lists, wiring diagrams, handbooks and even period radios. Mercedes defines a classic, referred to in German as an "Oldtimer", as a car which has been out of production for 20 years. Pre-war models are classed as vintage or veteran. Contrary to popular belief most of the owners of these motoring gems are not old themselves. "Our surveys show that the drivers of classic cars are often younger than regular Mercedes owners," said Roehrig. It seems 75 percent of the classic car owners are under 50.

Every ten years an obsolete Mercedes model starts to gain a cult following which is good for enthusiasts since many of the established classics cost astronomical sums of money to buy. At the moment the bulky Mercedes E-class saloons from 1975-1985 are attracting attention. People who don't like getting their hands dirty of touring scrapyards can buy one of the oldtimers on offer at the Classic Centre. The range extends from a handsome 20 SE couple made in 1958 for 120,000 German marks (around 60,000 dollars) and currently reserved for a Thai prince, through to a legendary Gullwing Mercedes from 1955 (480,000 marks) and a 380 Sport Roadster from 1933. It used to be driven by Fritz von Opel and carries a price tag of 1.8 million marks.

The rarest car on the premises is the 8/18 limousine which once belonged to American industrialist John Jacob Astor - he was a passenger on the luxury liner Titanic when it sank. The car was the first to carry the Mercedes three-pointed star. "I'm sorry, that one's not for sale," said Classic Centre boss Roehrig.

(dpa)