The Daily Vroom

MARKET LEADERBOARD

💰 The figures shared below don’t count any other sales such as car seats, memorabilia etc… All online auction sites are analyzed to put this leaderboard together.

I only include websites that have sold 5+ vehicles in the chart below.

YESTERDAY’S TOP 5 SALES

Want to dive deeper into any of these listings? Just click on the car to take you directly to the listing. Always good to see a mix of different platforms featuring in the top 5 sales and yesterday we had PCarMarket as top dog.

The Futura Collection

Collecting Cars has just unveiled The Futura Collection in Lugano, Switzerland, a curated mix of American muscle and modern European performance.

The Lamborghinis feel at home in Europe. The Huracán STO, Sterrato, Countach 25th Anniversary, they fit naturally within that market.

What stands out are the American cars.

 1968 Shelby GT500-KR
 1969 Hemi Roadrunner
 1971 Challenger R/T 440 Six-Pack
Plus Multiple 442 W30s & Big-block Corvettes.

These are cornerstone U.S. muscle cars sitting overseas.

Which raises the obvious question (certainly to me): is there an arbitrage opportunity?

For a U.S. buyer, bringing one home typically means factoring roughly circa +/- $10,000 in duty, tariffs, shipping and related costs, depending on value and logistics. It’s real money, but on a six-figure car it’s rarely the deal-breaker people imagine.

And speaking personally, I’ve brought over plenty of cars from Europe. The process is far more straightforward than most assume. Yes, there’s paperwork. Yes, there’s waiting. But it’s not some mysterious, painful ordeal. Once you’ve done it once, it becomes part of the playbook.

So the real variable isn’t shipping. It’s pricing.

If these cars trade at European expectations while U.S. muscle demand remains stronger, there could be room. If they’re already aligned with top U.S. comps, then geography becomes neutral.

Either way, The Futura Collection is a reminder that today’s collector market is fully global. Cars move. Capital moves. And occasionally the opportunity isn’t in the car itself, it’s in where it happens to be parked.

Three Pagodas, Three Personalities

We are going to start this Pagoda run with the one that feels the most human.

This 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SL is currently sitting at $50,000 with just a few hours to go. Dark Olive over green MB-Tex. Automatic. 62k miles. Delivered new to Ohio for $8,807.

Let’s talk about the color first.

Dark Olive over green is not safe. It is not silver. It is not white. It is period correct and unapologetically 1971. You either love it or you don’t. I love it. When Mercedes got color right in this era, they really got it right.

This is an automatic car, which means it fits the original brief of the 280SL. Comfortable, refined, usable. Most U.S. delivered cars were ordered this way and that is exactly how they were driven. Windows down. Blue Ridge Parkway. Dinner an hour away. The seller is turning 90 this year and has owned it for over a decade. That part matters more than people admit.

The listing reads like stewardship rather than flipping. Long drives with his wife. A Mercedes specialist maintaining it. Regular use but not abuse. That tone comes through in the comments.

Condition wise, it presents as an honest driver. Some door dings. A crease in the soft top window. Surface corrosion noted in the trunk. The seller was asked about compression tests and weld marks and answered directly. That is the dance with Pagodas. Buyers want to know the metal is right. Always.

At $50,000 this is sitting in realistic territory for an automatic 280SL that has not been over restored or over marketed. It is not a concours car. It is a story car.

The color will probably narrow the buyer pool but it will also create conviction. The right buyer will pay for that spec. If the structure checks out and the underside confirms the story, I would not be surprised to see it stretch into the high 50s or low 60s. That is where solid automatic 280SL drivers tend to live today.

Pagodas are no longer about chasing the next spike. They are about buying the right example and actually using it. This one feels like it has been used the right way.

And sometimes that is exactly what you want to buy.

A fresh restoration Pagoda just hit the market and this one checks a few important boxes.

This is a UK RHD Mercedes-Benz 230SL finished in silver blue over grey leather. Extensive bodywork completed December 2025 including a bare metal respray and corrosion correction. There is photo documentation. That matters more than almost anything else on these.

Let’s start with the obvious. Pagodas are not rare. They are not cheap either. The spread between an average car and a properly sorted one is massive. Rust is the killer. If the metal work was done correctly, that is real value.

This is a 230, not a 280. Some buyers prefer the later car for torque. Purists will tell you the 230 is the purer drive. I tend to agree. It feels lighter on its feet. More delicate. More original in character.

It is an automatic, (which counts me out) That will narrow the audience slightly. But here is the thing. Most Pagodas live their lives cruising. For that use case, the automatic works.

Interior appears largely original with light patina. I actually prefer that over a fully over-restored cabin. You want it tidy. You do not want it sterile.

There are a few honest notes. Some gauges not perfectly accurate. Minor tear in the soft top. A non matching spare. None of that scares me. What would scare me is hidden rust or sloppy restoration. That is where the real money disappears.

My two cents is if the restoration is as solid as presented and the pricing reflects the automatic transmission, this could be a sensible buy in a very stable segment. Pagodas are not speculative plays anymore. They are quality plays.

You buy the right car. You enjoy it. You hold it. And if you pick carefully, you rarely regret it.

If I am buying a Pagoda, I am waiting for the manual.

This 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL checks that box. Factory four speed. North American car. White over tan. Currently sitting at $49,280 with a day left.

Most 280SLs, especially U.S. delivered cars, were automatics. That was the brief. Comfortable grand touring. Smooth. Effortless. And that is fine. But the manual changes the personality of the car. It turns it from something you cruise in to something you actually drive.

The 2.8 liter M130 already gives the later cars better torque than the early 230. Pair that with a four speed and you get the best version of the W113 formula. More power, more involvement, same timeless shape.

This one presents as a good driver rather than a freshly restored showpiece. Tan vinyl interior. Regular exercise per the seller. Some back and forth in the comments about trunk photos and minor surface corrosion. None of that is unusual. Anyone serious about Pagodas knows the only thing that really matters is structure. Rust is the story every time.

At just under 50k it is still sitting in interesting territory. If the underside checks out and the metal is honest, I would expect a manual 280SL to live comfortably north of where it sits today. The reserve will decide how realistic that expectation is.

My view has not changed on Pagodas. They are no longer speculative rockets. They are quality holds. You buy the right spec, you buy the right structure, and you enjoy it.

And in this market, if you can choose, you choose the manual.

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