SOLD 1992 400E, Bornite (Blackberry)/Black, 266kkm, BaT auction (Richmond, British Columbia, Canada)

[Rosenfe]

Would anyone care to comment on this car?

Moderator edit - added listing text below:

VIN = WDBEA34E2NB676941

Datacard: Mercedes VIN Decoder | Decode Your Mercedes-Benz VIN[/URL]

1992 Mercedes-Benz 400E​

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This Canadian-market 1992 Mercedes-Benz 400E is finished in Bornite Metallic over black leather upholstery and powered by a 4.2-liter M119 V8 paired with a four-speed automatic transmission. Equipment includes 16″ Alamak [500E] alloy wheels, a sunroof, heated power-adjustable front seats, a cassette stereo, air conditioning, and cruise control. This W124 400E is offered in Canada by the seller on behalf of the current owner at no reserve with a clean Carfax report and British Columbia registration.​

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The car is finished in Bornite Metallic (481) with black bumper trim and features include a sunroof, headlight wipers and washers, a power antenna, and a mono-blade windshield wiper. Close-up photographs of the exterior finish and trim are shown in the gallery below.​

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Silver 16″ Alamak alloy wheels are said to have been sourced from an E500 and are mounted with Toyo tires. Braking is handled by ventilated front and rear disc brakes with ABS.​

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The cabin features seating upholstered in black leather along with wood trim and a color-coordinated lower dashboard, center console, door panels, and carpets. Interior appointments include heated power-adjustable front seats, a cassette stereo, air conditioning, and cruise control.​

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The four-spoke steering wheel frames VDO instrumentation including a 260-km/h speedometer and a tachometer as well as an analog clock and gauges for coolant temperature, oil pressure, and fuel level. The six-digit odometer shows 266k kilometres (~165k miles), approximately 1k of which were added under current ownership.​

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The 4.2-liter M119 V8 was factory rated at 268 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. An oil change was performed in preparation for the sale. Power is sent to the rear wheels through a four-speed automatic transmission.​

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The Carfax report is free of accidents or other reported damage. The vehicle is being sold on its British Columbia registration, which serves as the ownership document in British Columbia, Canada.​

 

[R129 UK]

Would anyone care to comment on this car?

This one?

No Reserve: 1992 Mercedes-Benz 400E

Bid for the chance to own a No Reserve: 1992 Mercedes-Benz 400E at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #185,021.

bringatrailer.com

I'd buy it just for the colour

 

[emerydc8]

Love the color.

 

[gsxr]

Love the color combo, plus heated seats & ASR. Interior wood looks great. Not so crazy about the visible rust underneath. Sagging headliner, mirror boots are toast, tunk bumpers fried. Wrong lug bolts for the 500E wheels, which will require fender spacers & rolling the lips to avoid rubbing when cornering hard.

EDIT: The original decals are missing from the upper radiator support, indicating that very likely the car was in a front-end accident (undocumented, since CarFax is clean) which required replacement of the upper radiator support. This would also explain the higher paint meter readings on the hood and passenger front fender.

 

[gsxr]

1 hour remaining. Current bid $5k USD, no reserve.

UPDATE: Sold for $8k + fees + import + T/T/T/T.

Top bidders:

USD $8,000 bid placed by Randall987CR
USD $7,700 bid placed by darcyjs
USD $7,600 bid placed by 124coupe94
USD $7,500 bid placed by Caffeinated
USD $7,200 bid placed by 11after9
USD $6,000 bid placed by dbarry
USD $5,100 bid placed by jimoles

 

[gsxr]

@Rosenfe - did you bid on this?

 

[Rosenfe]

@Rosenfe - did you bid on this?

No I’m not looking for another 400e.Ihave my own 92. I did feel that car did not have enough service records or real info about its mechanical state

 

[Randall968]

Love the color combo, plus heated seats & ASR. Interior wood looks great. Not so crazy about the visible rust underneath. Sagging headliner, mirror boots are toast, tunk bumpers fried. Wrong lug bolts for the 500E wheels, which will require fender spacers & rolling the lips to avoid rubbing when cornering hard.

EDIT: The original decals are missing from the upper radiator support, indicating that very likely the car was in a front-end accident (undocumented, since CarFax is clean) which required replacement of the upper radiator support. This would also explain the higher paint meter readings on the hood and passenger front fender.

Hi gsxr & forum group & thanx for the overview...
This is my initial post & my 1st MB in 22+ years; I ran across this forum while looking for 400E specific info as a renewed member of
the MB community.
My prior MB was a 77 280SE that I restored & drove daily for 14+ years.
I am very pleased to be back in the Benz family & am very happy to have acquired this car; it will fit nicely within my little car 'family'.
I was aware of several needed upticks but that would hardly be surprising on a 33 year vehicle. Happily this is certainly not my 1st rodeo
so I am already initiating activity for corrections although I haven't laid hands on the car yet. So yeaaahh...I'm one of those guys...

I was intentionally looking for a 400 series & I prefer older cars as I tend to do most of my own work. Been doing less of it post COVID however
due to increased work loads but, I shall prevail... eventually...
I had a couple of ex's that ran multiple 100k's of mileage over several 124ch cars & as I commute 100 miles a day, reliability is always
a priority for me. I've been with Porsche Dealerships since '80 & the 400's always had that extra pull for me due to the familial relations to
the 500E /Porsche connections.
So yes; gotta' admit the color caught my eye initially; he is a handsome lad..!! lol
I was aware & had converse with the seller re the underside prior to purchase. Due to much experience with rust containment & abatement
with the 116ch which was pre-zinc/galvanization & my more recent similar experiences with my El Camino's it is relatively minor & well
within my scope of skillsets. It will be corrected & beautiful underneath shortly...I did say 'corrected', not covered/concealed...

Headliner is already in route, as well as the mirror boots, & door sill strips. No cracked rubber bits for this guy... Not sure what the other rubber pieces mentioned are but I tend to replace most rubber items regardless so will surely find them. Looking at the pix I suspect you are referring to the trunk lid closing alignment rubber blocks..??
Good to know re the lug bolts; I'll need to see what the scoop is there. The tires are in great shape & only 3K miles but; 2018's so those will
need to be replaced.
If replacing anyway, I'm partial to 17" tires as that is on all my other cars aside from the F150. I may end up looking for a nice set of
17" mono blocks instead.
As also noted the outer tire stance looks a little too positive toward the exterior; I'll look into that. After years of racing with the Porsche Club
I do like my suspensions a little tighter re springs & shocks which will help control unnecessary lateral excursions. I'll need to check out the
sway bar options as well.
With 3 decades & 6-fiqure mileage it certainly could have been 'nudged' at some point on the front as noted. I'll get it on the digital plotter
at the bodyshop after I drive it back to make sure nothing has been pulled or pushed out of alignment.

Anyhoooooo; I'll have ample time to review further & doubtless will have a longer list of items to address following the drive back from BC.
Looking forward to the adventure(s)..!!!


ps: the mods may decide to relocate this as it could fit in multiple 'buckets'... we shall see...rlj

 

[emerydc8]

 

[TerryA]

@Randall968,
Welcome Randall!

 

[gsxr]

I am very pleased to be back in the Benz family & am very happy to have acquired this car; it will fit nicely within my little car 'family'.
I was aware of several needed upticks but that would hardly be surprising on a 33 year vehicle. Happily this is certainly not my 1st rodeo

Congrats on the new ride, and in a rare color combo!

Looking at the pix I suspect you are referring to the trunk lid closing alignment rubber blocks..??

Yep, the "trunk bumpers" should be rubber covered. Search the forum for part numbers and photos, I'd stick with OE/Genuine which should last longer than the cheap offshore copies.

Good to know re the lug bolts; I'll need to see what the scoop is there. The tires are in great shape & only 3K miles but; 2018's so those will
need to be replaced.

Those 500E wheels normally use a special lug bolt that is 95mm total length, so the decorative cap is flush with the wheel face. These 95mm bolts are quite difficult to locate in complete sets, and the 500E/R129 bolts are NOT the same as the W126/R107 bolts which are the same length but have minor differences.

If replacing anyway, I'm partial to 17" tires as that is on all my other cars aside from the F150. I may end up looking for a nice set of
17" mono blocks instead.

Be careful with widths & offsets, the narrow-body 124 needs modifications (fender lip rolling, fender spacers, etc) to fit wider wheels without rubbing. If those 500E wheels were fitted without any mods, the tires will likely rub under hard cornering... but will be fine if you never push the suspension near the limits.

As also noted the outer tire stance looks a little too positive toward the exterior; I'll look into that.

Yep, those are 16x8.0 ET34 which is a slightly aggressive fitment for the stock fenders.

After years of racing with the Porsche Club I do like my suspensions a little tighter re springs & shocks which will help control unnecessary lateral excursions. I'll need to check out the sway bar options as well.

The Sportline front springs are NLA but IIRC you can still get 500E front springs with 400E Sportline rears, which may work well. I'd avoid aftermarket springs which will dump the car into the weeds, unless that's what you want. 500E swaybars are NLA, there are some aftermarket bars available but they are pushing $1k USD.

ps: the mods may decide to relocate this as it could fit in multiple 'buckets'... we shall see...rlj

Once you get the car home, maybe start an "OWNER" thread with details of the restoration & upgrades.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

 

[DLL]

Love the color combo, plus heated seats & ASR. Interior wood looks great. Not so crazy about the visible rust underneath. Sagging headliner, mirror boots are toast, tunk bumpers fried. Wrong lug bolts for the 500E wheels, which will require fender spacers & rolling the lips to avoid rubbing when cornering hard.

EDIT: The original decals are missing from the upper radiator support, indicating that very likely the car was in a front-end accident (undocumented, since CarFax is clean) which required replacement of the upper radiator support. This would also explain the higher paint meter readings on the hood and passenger front fender.

In BC Canada, we have Provincial Government run Auto Insurance, known as ICBC. Claims through them don't usually show up on CarFax

 

[DLL]

I had

In BC Canada, we have Provincial Government run Auto Insurance, known as ICBC. Claims through them don't usually show up on CarFax

Edit to my own post. In BC, when ordering a Carfax, you can easily add on an ICBC report. I'm surprised the seller didn't do that.