With all the memories (the good & the bad) throughout the ownership of what was my 500E, if I was to go back to October 2004 when I bought the car, I would have taken more factors into consideration that might have made the ownership an even better experience.
But experience is what you get from doing things, if you don't do anything you won't learn anything....even worst is not learning anything out of this!
So lets reflect on some of the priorities and factors in my case, where I had a choice between two 1991 500E both with 200Tkm (only other car model would have been a 500SL, glad I didn't go that route):
Car 1: a 1 owner, registered to a private hospital in Germany, full MB service book, 199 over 278 Grey leather, no 810 sound system.
Car 2 (my choice): 2 owner, Swiss, last owner 4 years, Service book till 120TKM but rest is indy, 199 over beige, full equipment.
*Conclusions that I've made regarding the choice of car:
1 - For long term ownership, F*** what everybody thinks of the colour:
Although I don't mind Grey or Black interior, I put local preference/resale into consideration and we Gulfies can't get enough of sand.. beige interior is a must.
2 - 1300 Euro price difference... not worth it?!
The one with grey interior was more expensive, sure it has better proven history and Full MB dealer service book (didn't fully appreciate importance at that time), but 1300 is not little money. both same mileage.
3 - Equipment:
What no door speakers?! how can this be...Usher needs Bass! (we're talking back in 2004)
OK so price and Colour were the deciding factors on which to get. Called, asked the usual question about the condition, paid and had it shipped over.
Got it a few days before the new year: strong running engine+smooth shift... choice is terrific car that needs some cosmetic work.. never thought the suspension is that stiff in the 500E..hmm.. but any way I was jumping from joy!
Now don't get me wrong, it was a great car, engine/transmission/diff/electronic/control units never touched!
*But "If I knew then what I know now":
1 - You MUST look at/drive multiple cars if you are in the market, and not just what you read about it.
2 - Full MB service history and one owner on a young timer means this person loves the 500E and it was not just a 3-4 years company car.. thus well maintained and no expenses were spared as owner is financially capable = worth the extra price.
3 - Few scratches/dents don't mean a bad car, just bad neighbours.
4 - Only take the advice of the wise/knowledgeable with experience... not just other owners who might know wrong info.
Now regarding the Ownership period: I must say that this car was 13 years old and 200TKM, and I bought it for around 14% of its new price.. so you got to be LOGICAL and don't expect that it will only need an Oil change and a wash. I didn't have an open budget, nor was I cheap... wanted to do things the right way, had priorities but lacked the knowledge regarding the effectiveness of replacing some parts and some repairs.
The first owner was a doctor at a Swiss Ski resort and kept it for 9 years, MB dealer maintained.
The second owner was a Swiss mechanic, cars owned by RESPECTFUL mechanics/garages tend to be in one of two conditions:
1 - Like new (e.g Jeff's car)
2 - Occasional use with the proper basics but cosmetic and other flaws.
Mine was of the later type, Engine/transmission/electronics were as good as it gets for 200TKM. But needed paint work, lots of suspensions/steering work and other cosmetic issues.
*Some of the major repair mistakes during those days:
- Through the years I had to replace most of the suspension & steering bushings/rods/bearings/seals due to rust issues and wear. The SLS was not working at all and the car was bouncing around; had to replace spheres + rods + struts (used ones) in order to get things to work again... Should have known about the needed suspension work.
- Paint work comprised of the bumpers+lower clading + hood + fenders... did that twice due to wrong type of paint used ! (ONLY USE GLASURIT). ($500 dollars to learn)
- When the tachometer died I bought 3 different units till I finally learned that the W124 V8 have specific tachometers! ($200 to learn that)
- The occasional hiccup that all these cars have at Idle shouldn't have been made a priority.. just live with it! (~$300 dollars to learn)
- I don't like faulty electronic/mechanical features so spending here is justified. (e.g AC vent, radio lights, sun blind gearing, sun roof relay, antenna, switches, vacuum hoses)
- Cooling system: my main battle in the car. lots of unnecessary stuff here but the best parts to replace were the Visco clutch and water pump... forget everything else I did... Uh, if the Radiator was shot replace it with the aluminium unit.
- AC system, did this twice due to wrong advice on AC compressor... turns out everything in the market is remanufactured..($300 to learn)
- Timing chain was the biggest mistake done here, later followed by an oil filter check valve, both were not needed ($850 to learn) later found MB Tech document that suggested this to be normal when using Synthetic oil. Just had to live with its.
- Other wrong things done: platinum spark plugs (replaced with copper), under body cladding (500E specific)...
Most of this was lack of information from me, the MB dealership and the Indy workshops... can't do much about that now, but that lead me to enter this field, because I saw the lack of credible information/knowledge especially in the new MBs.
*The main tips here (which I eventually learned) :
1 - Knowledge is money: The more you know the more you save and the better the car will be...so find the right credible sources and read as much as you can.
2 - Spend smartly: Spending money stupidly or on minor things leads to no significant improvement in vehicles cosmetic and technical condition.
3 - Its not new!! : You got to live with the fact that this is a now 20 years old car and that it has a few hundreds of thousands of kilometres on it. W126/W124 are the most efficient old/high mileage cars ever, and they drive damn well. But to get everything back in factory condition will be costly (tens of thousands of dollars). So be realistic about you Goals.
At the end and in any case, once I get in a go cruising with the windows down I forget all that and enjoy the drive with a grin... I just remember the victorious races, the fun I had, how I proved everyone wrong by owning this car...All the rich boys the cried after losing to an old mercedes
Plus If I was to buy a really dorky car that's #1 in holding value (e.g Toyota Corolla) and own it for 7 years, I would have lost the same if not more money in selling it, learned nothing about cars from a Japanese washing machine with warranty and had really boring/miserable college years as you can imagine
Cheers
But experience is what you get from doing things, if you don't do anything you won't learn anything....even worst is not learning anything out of this!
So lets reflect on some of the priorities and factors in my case, where I had a choice between two 1991 500E both with 200Tkm (only other car model would have been a 500SL, glad I didn't go that route):
Car 1: a 1 owner, registered to a private hospital in Germany, full MB service book, 199 over 278 Grey leather, no 810 sound system.
Car 2 (my choice): 2 owner, Swiss, last owner 4 years, Service book till 120TKM but rest is indy, 199 over beige, full equipment.
*Conclusions that I've made regarding the choice of car:
1 - For long term ownership, F*** what everybody thinks of the colour:
Although I don't mind Grey or Black interior, I put local preference/resale into consideration and we Gulfies can't get enough of sand.. beige interior is a must.
2 - 1300 Euro price difference... not worth it?!
The one with grey interior was more expensive, sure it has better proven history and Full MB dealer service book (didn't fully appreciate importance at that time), but 1300 is not little money. both same mileage.
3 - Equipment:
What no door speakers?! how can this be...Usher needs Bass! (we're talking back in 2004)
OK so price and Colour were the deciding factors on which to get. Called, asked the usual question about the condition, paid and had it shipped over.
Got it a few days before the new year: strong running engine+smooth shift... choice is terrific car that needs some cosmetic work.. never thought the suspension is that stiff in the 500E..hmm.. but any way I was jumping from joy!
Now don't get me wrong, it was a great car, engine/transmission/diff/electronic/control units never touched!
*But "If I knew then what I know now":
1 - You MUST look at/drive multiple cars if you are in the market, and not just what you read about it.
2 - Full MB service history and one owner on a young timer means this person loves the 500E and it was not just a 3-4 years company car.. thus well maintained and no expenses were spared as owner is financially capable = worth the extra price.
3 - Few scratches/dents don't mean a bad car, just bad neighbours.
4 - Only take the advice of the wise/knowledgeable with experience... not just other owners who might know wrong info.
Now regarding the Ownership period: I must say that this car was 13 years old and 200TKM, and I bought it for around 14% of its new price.. so you got to be LOGICAL and don't expect that it will only need an Oil change and a wash. I didn't have an open budget, nor was I cheap... wanted to do things the right way, had priorities but lacked the knowledge regarding the effectiveness of replacing some parts and some repairs.
The first owner was a doctor at a Swiss Ski resort and kept it for 9 years, MB dealer maintained.
The second owner was a Swiss mechanic, cars owned by RESPECTFUL mechanics/garages tend to be in one of two conditions:
1 - Like new (e.g Jeff's car)
2 - Occasional use with the proper basics but cosmetic and other flaws.
Mine was of the later type, Engine/transmission/electronics were as good as it gets for 200TKM. But needed paint work, lots of suspensions/steering work and other cosmetic issues.
*Some of the major repair mistakes during those days:
- Through the years I had to replace most of the suspension & steering bushings/rods/bearings/seals due to rust issues and wear. The SLS was not working at all and the car was bouncing around; had to replace spheres + rods + struts (used ones) in order to get things to work again... Should have known about the needed suspension work.
- Paint work comprised of the bumpers+lower clading + hood + fenders... did that twice due to wrong type of paint used ! (ONLY USE GLASURIT). ($500 dollars to learn)
- When the tachometer died I bought 3 different units till I finally learned that the W124 V8 have specific tachometers! ($200 to learn that)
- The occasional hiccup that all these cars have at Idle shouldn't have been made a priority.. just live with it! (~$300 dollars to learn)
- I don't like faulty electronic/mechanical features so spending here is justified. (e.g AC vent, radio lights, sun blind gearing, sun roof relay, antenna, switches, vacuum hoses)
- Cooling system: my main battle in the car. lots of unnecessary stuff here but the best parts to replace were the Visco clutch and water pump... forget everything else I did... Uh, if the Radiator was shot replace it with the aluminium unit.
- AC system, did this twice due to wrong advice on AC compressor... turns out everything in the market is remanufactured..($300 to learn)
- Timing chain was the biggest mistake done here, later followed by an oil filter check valve, both were not needed ($850 to learn) later found MB Tech document that suggested this to be normal when using Synthetic oil. Just had to live with its.
- Other wrong things done: platinum spark plugs (replaced with copper), under body cladding (500E specific)...
Most of this was lack of information from me, the MB dealership and the Indy workshops... can't do much about that now, but that lead me to enter this field, because I saw the lack of credible information/knowledge especially in the new MBs.
*The main tips here (which I eventually learned) :
1 - Knowledge is money: The more you know the more you save and the better the car will be...so find the right credible sources and read as much as you can.
2 - Spend smartly: Spending money stupidly or on minor things leads to no significant improvement in vehicles cosmetic and technical condition.
3 - Its not new!! : You got to live with the fact that this is a now 20 years old car and that it has a few hundreds of thousands of kilometres on it. W126/W124 are the most efficient old/high mileage cars ever, and they drive damn well. But to get everything back in factory condition will be costly (tens of thousands of dollars). So be realistic about you Goals.
At the end and in any case, once I get in a go cruising with the windows down I forget all that and enjoy the drive with a grin... I just remember the victorious races, the fun I had, how I proved everyone wrong by owning this car...All the rich boys the cried after losing to an old mercedes
Plus If I was to buy a really dorky car that's #1 in holding value (e.g Toyota Corolla) and own it for 7 years, I would have lost the same if not more money in selling it, learned nothing about cars from a Japanese washing machine with warranty and had really boring/miserable college years as you can imagine
Cheers
