Mercedes E500.....so tempted

[HardDrive]

Came across an E500. 2004, 23000 miles. Beautiful. Certified.

I have read the horror stories online. I am only hearing the cream of the complaint crop, or are they all really that bad?

[VaSteve]

Dunno...

I don't this it's as much of an enthusiast car that people go online talking about. My brother has had 2 E class mercs, but he works for MB and only keeps them a year. Very nice cars. Solid.

[tonypeoni]

Ill say this my everyday car is a old 94 E series V8. It has cost me around $3000 in repairs ($1200 for cap and rotor) in the past 2 years this despite being a garage queen when I purchased it.

[Nostril Cheese]

Mercedes quality went in the ****ter after 1999

Know several people who have had problems. Buy a BMW instead. You can get it with a manual transmission

[89911]

I agree. That company has sank so far down compared to other similar products (BMW, Lexus), its a real shame. On top of that, the cars there making have just lost there appeal.

[VaSteve]

When I was young, BMW had Mercedes beat hands down in the looks department. I have a BMW but I think MB has upped the ante in style and looks a LOT. Build quality may suffer due to all the gadgets, but they look way nicer than they used to....case in point that 94 is pretty bland by comparison.

[island911]

The up side of the German For Taurus is that lots of parts ought to become available.

btw, I'm concurring w/ others... It' seems that the design goals shifted dramatically (at MBz) in the mid 90's. Kinda like when Porsche saw that everyone wanted a "Poarsh' . . so they came out with the 924...

Edit: tho still better than a Lexus.

[RKC]

Is the E500 the big-engined, Porsche-made, Mercedes of that era? Or am I thinking of something else?

[tonypeoni]

Originally posted by RKC
Is the E500 the big-engined, Porsche-made, Mercedes of that era? Or am I thinking of something else?

Yes and no, The 500 E which is the earlier version of the E 500 (same car just freshened up for 94/95) was built at Stuttgart by Porsche. Somewhere around 2000 cars were produced at a price of $79,000. BTW the first 1000 or so 400Es were built at Stuttgart too. Porsches main involvement had more to do with the suspension tuning than anything else. The E500 was not built at Stuttgart Porsches role from then on became engineering consultant.

[schamp]

IMO the company/dealers have gotten as bad as the old used car ripoffs. My mothers E 320 had a recall on the balancer and instead of pulling the engine and doing it right and then charging Mercedes the dealer pulled the oil pan and put BLUE GUE sealer in it. They just happened to get caught a year later and had to do it right. This by a Mercedes dealer. My mother recently wanted to go down and buy another one. I reminded her of how they tried to rip her off. I wonder how many lost sales it will take to clean up the company/dealers out there. That dealer is in Columbus Georgia. Go look at a Lexis or BMW. My .02 Good luck.

[HardDrive]

My mind says no, but.....

[tonypeoni]

Originally posted by HardDrive
My mind says no, but.....

Heck if you want it just buy it. life's to short. Does it have the remainder of the factory warranty? Every car I have ever owned has cost me big$ all cars that are worth drooling over are maintenance nightmares!

[bwell]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The original 500E was built by Porsche in Stuttgart. I can probably dig up an article from the MBCA magazine if anyone is interested. The following isummary s from another document I saved:

The 500E is built on the Mercedes W124 platform which first debuted in the U.S. in 1986 as the 300E. The clean lines and handsome modern styling of the 300E proved quite popular, but by the end of the decade the competition (mainly BMW) was catching up to Mercedes. BMW had introduced an all new 5-series for 1989 which was expected to take some sales away from the now 3 year old and familiar 300E. So in 1990, Mercedes decided to develop a high performance version of their successful 300E model. Porsche was contracted to engineer the modifications necessary to transform an ordinary 300E into the very special 500E. However, the extensive modifications to the floor and external sheet metal meant the 500E could not easily be built on the normal assembly line at the busy Mercedes factory. It was decided that Porsche would perform the assembly of the 500E at its Rossle-Bau plant in Zuffenhausen. Compared to modern automobile manufacturing, the 500E was nearly a “hand built” car taking 18 days to completely assemble each vehicle.

Porsche's extensive modifications to the original 300E included splaying-out and reinforcing the frame rails, widening the driveshaft tunnel and modifying the front axle crossmember to accept the 5-liter 322-hp V8 engine. Remarkably, this engine weighed only 70 pounds more than the 300E's inline-6 engine. The battery was moved to the trunk to achieve an ideal 50:50 weight balance. 500SL-sourced wishbone suspension pieces and steering linkages were reinforced to accommodate the 500E's increased weight. The 500E stands over an inch lower than the 300E due to shorter and stiffer springs with plastic buffers and gas pressurized shock absorbers with internal damping springs. A hydraulic self-leveling suspension is standard equipment. 11.8-inch vented disc brakes in the front were sourced from the 300CE while 10.9-inch vented rear discs came from the 500SL. Wider wheels and tires resulted in a 1 ˝ inch wider track so the wheel wells (probably the most noticeable and beautiful 500E enhancement) were flared out to better accommodate the extra width. Modifications to the engine included Bosch LH Jetronic fuel injection replacing the older KE Jetronic and a redesigned intake manifold with longer runners that bumped torque output to a massive 354 lb-ft at 3900 rpm. The engine itself is an all aluminum design with silicon embedded cylinder liners for reduced wear and dual overhead cams with variable valve timing for maximum power throughout the rev range. In fact, the torque band is flat as can be with 90% available as low as 1500rpm. As expensive as the 500E was to buy, this engine’s maintenance requirements were less compared to other high performance vehicles. Hydraulic valve tappets eliminated frequent valve adjustments and a steel timing chain eliminated periodic timing belt replacements. To handle all that horsepower and torque, the 500E's 4-speed automatic transmission was sourced from the 500SL model. Performance figures were 0-to-60 MPH in 5.5 seconds and a top speed electronically limited to 155 MPH in accordance with the German automakers agreement to avoid escalating top speed wars. Numerous aftermarket tuning firms soon developed chips to eliminate the speed limiter and they found the car capable of topping out at over 170 MPH. Numerous journalists dubbed the 500E the first 4-door Porsche!

[126coupe]

One of the head engineers at Mercedes says the 126 Chassis
was the best built Mercedes 1983-1991 380 SEC's 500 SEC's and 560 SEC's. also 420 and 560 SEL's and SE's

My 2 daily drivers each have 210,000 miles.
One a 1991 the other a 1984.

They just keep on going. I do all the Maintenance
Go find a 126 Chassis, take your time, look for low mileage maintained car.

Remember the cheap MB will be the most expensive car you will ever own.

myself.

[MotoSook]

My next "normal people" car may be an E55 AMG! Same car..but with enough guts to pull off a mid 12 second 1/4 mile! And still haul the kids around without you wishing you could pack the family into the 911.

Been watching the market..and it looks like a 2003 0r 2004 AMG E55 can be had for about $35-45K.

[MotoSook]

Will probably be a Silver one....



Rocket ships...need rocket engine.



And good seats to hold you in place when you and the family go screaming around the corners.

[speeder]

HardDrive, That's one good-looking Benzo you're considering there. How does it drive? Do you love it? If so, bite the bullet. I'm a sucker for a blue car, though.

I have a 126 MB, (1991 420 SEL), they were great cars but not even in the same ballpark or league as that '04 E500 in terms of being an up-to-date, state-of-the-art car.

[island911]

Yep, HD, it is purrdy.

Not quite as rare as a 83 911SC targa, but....

[the]

Looks like a chick car to me.

[HardDrive]

Originally posted by island911


Not quite as rare as a 83 911SC targa, but....

LOL. I don't know how it happened, but it seems every damn SC targa ever built has been shipped to Seattle. Perfect cars for Rainville.