1991 500e in Silver Vs 1989 560sec in dunkelblau/1991 560Sec in 199

[Surf Blau]

If you are keeping the E50, an SEC seems more like a complimentary choice to me - the first one for spirited drives, and the last one for relaxing drives. If you are replacing the E50, the 500E seems like the more obvious choice. I only wish you had told me that the owner of that car was considering selling it, as I love the 500E in silver :-D

 

[lowman]

If you are keeping the E50, an SEC seems more like a complimentary choice to me - the first one for spirited drives, and the last one for relaxing drives. If you are replacing the E50, the 500E seems like the more obvious choice. I only wish you had told me that the owner of that car was considering selling it, as I love the 500E in silver :-D

definetly a view that is super valid. The e50 And the 500e is indeed kinda very similar and maybe on paper it doesnt look to be two very different cars ( and in historical terms it is not)..but if beeing picky..when it comes to the driving experience..the 500e is almost like the "SEC type relaxing" drive,compared to the e50. But i totally get your point,,and worth considering. hehehe the car is actually not for sale, it is more of a customer/friend kinda deal,where he has thought about selling ,but he does not want to sell to " just one random" guy. Hence the car is not for sale. it has been somewhat" offered" to me,because of my history with my old 500e,,and now with this one..so..that story itself is something i really apreaciate. and yes..i agree..they look fantastic in silve... A Silver Mercedes is just " very correct"

 

[lowman]

News update....
Car added to the "collection".Mission complete.

 

[Trae]

Have had both for years now. Drive the 560SEC to shows, or just locally when I want the old school experience.

Drive one of the 500Es when I crave a little more aggressiveness.

If you can buy both, do it.

 

[lowman]

Have had both for years now. Drive the 560SEC to shows, or just locally when I want the old school experience.

Drive one of the 500Es when I crave a little more aggressiveness.

If you can buy both, do it.

Thank you so much for nice comment. Much apreaciated.I have got one of them now at least..so i will see what time brings.The sad thing..is that now i do debate selling the E50 Amg....no other reason than just because storage " issues"...but have to see what happens

 

[motto123]

I love the 560SEC. It is a big, beautiful, classic, and a pillarless coupe. It is old school Mercedes at its best.

The main thing to look for in my opinion is that it doesn't have dents, that the paint is perfect, and no rust. Sunroof should work. And that the interior is in good shape, meaning the plastic parts, door trim, carpet. Radio is not important, can be easily upgraded including speakers. I would even buy one with a defect engine or transmission if these criteria are met.
Now the drawbacks: The seats are not great and if the springs are broken, you never get them 100% again. The throttle response is not like a modern car, the engine drinks fuel due to the 2 valve design combined with the mechanical Bosch fuel injection and old electronics.

I would modify the following:

Get Recaro front seats from lena-shop in Germany, and the leather for the rear seats (very cost effective and great quality).
Get a suspension kit - Bilstein B8 with H&R springs or CEIKA (adustable). Get rid of the self leveling rear part. It will drive beautifully with responsive steering.Change the transmission to 5-speed 722.6 with Ole-controller. You can get it to Lexus level (I have a LS430 and that auto-transmission is perfect). And you can install paddle-shift if you like.
If you still crave for better throttle response and fuel economy: Change the engine fuel injection system - M117 to EFI or put a M119 engine with EFI into it. Now, you have modern throttle response.
Don't spend any money on AMG nonsense.

The beauty of the 500e is less work, a more modern car.
Seats - I don't know, but they don't look great either. I guess they are similar to the 560SEC version.
EFI is already there, meaning you have good throttle response and fuel economy.
You could change the transmission to 5-speed.
Suspension - should be fine.

Summary:
To get the 560SEC to drive like a modern car, you will need to invest money. The real beautiful 560SECs are the European versions. If you can get one, take it. You will pay a lot of money for headlights and bumpers later if you decide that you want the Euro look (the Euro lights are actually better).
The 500e is a modern car out of the box except for the transmission and I guess the seats are not much better than 560SEC seats.

 

[motto123]

Color choice for the 560SEC: midnightblue. Looks amazing together with a grey interior.