Clunkerized Mercedes-Benzes Clog Up Junkyards, Ghost Of Karl Benz To Haunt White House

You'd think that a car that cost as much as a new Mercedes-Benz W126- for example, $61,000 for a 1989 420SEL ($106K in 2009 bucks)- would be safe from the Clunkpocalypse. Think again!

I stopped by a couple of my local self-service wrecking yards yesterday, just to see what new and interesting clunkerization victims I might find. Not long ago, we saw a glut of clunkicided Japanese luxury machines, and now it's Mercedes-Benz's turn. This is just a small sampling of the dozens of big Benzes with the telltale pink paint on the engines. You want really nice body and interior parts for your spared-from-clunkdown Mercedes? Come on down!

Just for fun, let's price a few more of the cars we see here (2009 dollars in parentheses).
1990 560SEL: $73,800 ($121,871)
1988 260E: $37,250 ($64,837)
1988 300TE: $46,980 ($85,713)