Mercedes-Benz June 1973 Saloon Car Price List

November 9, 2026

I recently came across a price list from Lanes Motors in Melbourne for the Mercedes-Benz saloon car range in mid 1973. June 1973 meant that the W116 had just been released, but only the initial models of 280S/280SE and 350SE. The 450SE and SEL wouldn’t be launched until the following month.

The W114 and W115 models had been in production since 1968 and the facelift was coming very soon. So while the W114/W115 was getting a refresh rather than being replaced, you had the contrast of a brand new S-Class with a model that was reaching the end of its life.

That is reflected in the comparison with the December 1969 price list. If we compare the two time periods, CPI rose 23.9% and average male weekly earnings rose 37%. Most of the W114/W115 models rose in line with inflation, mostly around 25%. That made them cheaper in real times. If we take a W114 250 Auto, it grew by 26.6%, a real increase of 2.2%, but went from 111.5 weeks wages down to 103.

The new S-Class was the opposite. If we compare the 280S and 280SE W108 with the W116 models, they went up by just under 45%. That meant they cost 16-17% more in real terms. Against wages, a 280S W116 took 133 weeks wage to pay for vs 125 weeks on the W108. The 600 was similar, going up just under 44%, 16% in real terms and represented a whopping 452 weeks of average wages.

Since this new price list is from just after the W116 launch, not all models were replaced. The 300SEL 3.5 and 300SEL 6.3 stand out. The 6.3 wouldn’t be replaced until the introduction of the 6.9 in the late 70s. The 350SE was the replacement for the 280SE 3.5, which was introduced after the December 1969 price list.

Probably the closest replacement for the 300SEL 3.5 was the 450SEL. It wasn’t an exact replacement. While the 450SEL had leather as standard, it didn’t have the exclusivity over the rest of the W116 range that the W109 had over the W108s. In any case though, the 450SEL ($21,807) still cost 21% more in real terms than a 300SEL 3.5 and was 216 months of an average wags vs 197. The 6.3 was 283 weeks wages in 1969.

It is also notable that the regular cars did not include a radio. My understanding was that Becker Radios were not standard until 1976.

It is interesting to look at the comparison to Jaguar. The Jaguars were much cheaper. The XJs were priced like a W114, but closer to a W116 in terms of what you got. If you take an XJ6 4.2 Auto ($11,000), for the price of a manual 280E, you got a car closer to the 280SE. And the XJ12 Auto ($15,000) was priced like a 350SE, but with significantly more performance. Build quality was much better on the Mercedes, but I would have had an XJ6 over a W114 at the time.