SOLD 1993 E500, Pearl Black/Black, 125kkm, Japan spec, BaT auction (Mill Valley, CA)

[gsxr]

No affiliation. Shockingly, this non-USA car is titled in California, not in Montana.

UPDATE: This car originally was delivered with fabric seats, but those were replaced in the past by leather seats. Good catch by the BaHaT PeanutGallery™.


VIN = WDB1240361C052706

Datacard: https://www.lastvin.com/vin/NLpwWEb84ovABz8a5

No Reserve: Japanese-Market 1994 Mercedes-Benz E500

Bid for the chance to own a No Reserve: Japanese-Market 1994 Mercedes-Benz E500 at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #201,021.

bringatrailer.com

Japanese-Market 1994 Mercedes-Benz E500​

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This 1994 Mercedes-Benz E500 was produced for sale in the Japanese market and was later relocated to Europe, where it is said to have spent time in Austria and the Netherlands. It was purchased by the seller in 2021 in the Netherlands and used to travel throughout Western Europe before it was imported to the US in 2022. The car shows 125k kilometers (~78k miles) and received $17,936 worth of service and repairs since 2021. Finished in Anthracite over a black leather interior, it is powered by a 5.0-liter M119 V8 paired with a four-speed automatic transmission. Equipment includes 18″ AMG Monoblock wheels, a power sunroof, fog lights, Automatic Slip Control, automatic climate control, a cassette stereo, heated power-adjustable front seats, and cruise control. This W124 E500 is now offered at no reserve with the owner’s manual, a maintenance booklet, a binder of documentation, Japanese-language service records, service records under current ownership, a tool kit, a damage-free Carfax report, and a California title in the seller’s name describing the car as a 1993 model year.​

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The 500E was assembled by Porsche and featured wheel arch flares, revised bodywork, and a lower ride height when compared to other W124 models. This example left the factory finished in Black Pearl Metallic (199), and the seller tells us that it was repainted in Anthracite under previous ownership. [GSXR note: "Anthracite" is not a paint color, it's a name for an interior color. Repaint appears to be the original Pearl Black 199. ] Exterior features include gray lower cladding, headlights with washers and wipers, integrated fog lights, a retractable antenna, and a power sunroof. There is an imperfection in the lower cladding and an indentation in the driver’s door. Detailed photos of the exterior, including the aforementioned imperfections, are provided in the gallery.​

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The 18” AMG Monoblock wheels are mounted with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. The front right wheel shows signs of curb rash. The car is equipped with Automatic Slip Control (ASR), and braking is handled by four-wheel ventilated discs.​

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The heated power-adjustable front seats feature position memory settings and are upholstered in [non-original] black leather and joined by wood veneer accents on the dashboard, center console, shifter, and door panels. Amenities include automatic climate control, a cassette stereo, a power-adjustable steering column, dual front airbags, and cruise control.​

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The wood- and leather-trimmed steering wheel frames a 260-km/h speedometer, a tachometer with a 6k-rpm redline, an analog clock, and gauges for oil pressure, coolant temperature, and fuel level. The six-digit odometer shows 125k kilometers (~78k miles), approximately 21k of which were added under current ownership.​

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The 5.0-liter M119 DOHC V8 was factory-rated at 322 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of torque. Various engine air hoses were replaced in October 2023, the EGR solenoid and change-over valve were replaced in December 2023, and the throttle body actuator, a portion of the related wiring harness, and the EGAS module were replaced in April 2025.​

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A binder of documentation includes Japanese-language service records from Mercedes-Benz dealerships, invoices from current ownership, a European Certificate of Conformity (eCOC), and more.​

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The car has been issued an Assigned Identification Number by the state of California. The assigned number corresponds to the VIN located on the dashboard, a photo of which can viewed in the gallery.​

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The Carfax report is free of accidents or other reported damage, and entries in February and May 2022 note that the vehicle was not built to US standards.​

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The current California title carries a “Non USA” brand and is described as a 1993 model year.​

 

[akrca4]

Is it my illusion or does the rear suspension looks uneven between left and right?

 

[gsxr]

Final pics attached below.

The rear ride height does appear to be higher than normal, although with the fuel tank near empty the rear end does lift noticeably.

 

[Bogeyman]

Sold for $46.5K - @$49K all in. Good auction - lots of bidders at the end.

 

[gsxr]

Top bidders below. Strong supprt in the mid-40's. I'm curious how many of those bidders were CA residents, since this is the rare bird which is actually titled in CA, not MT.

$46,500 bid placed by pablo7
$46,250 bid placed by marc.stein
$46,000 bid placed by Honeybadger
$45,250 bid placed by Ndanway
$43,500 bid placed by W108Fan
$38,500 bid placed by lakernation24

 

[TerryA]

I wonder if we will see Pablo here on the 500Eboard.

 

[pablo7]

I wonder if we will see Pablo here on the 500Eboard.

 

[TerryA]

@Pablo,


That was fast!

 

[gsxr]

Congrats on the purchase, @pablo7! Are you located in Argentina?

 

[Otrebla49]

Final pics attached below.

The rear ride height does appear to be higher than normal, although with the fuel tank near empty the rear end does lift noticeably.

Thanks for the photos, Dave!

This E500 has an interesting story/vita - looking at the documents from the ad you've posted, there are a few uncommon details.. it's no big deal, but I'd like to contribute (just for the ones who don't speak German here) with some comments:

- 2016/2018 the car undergoes homologation as to get a registration in an EU-country (Salzburg traffic authorities in Austria perform the initial compliance checking - based on a Certificate of Characteristics in English provided 'as to filed data / without vehicle presencial inspection' by M-B as manufacturer)

- 2021 the E500 gets twin-monolith catalyst and O2-sensor (among other element) replaced /AND/ simultaneously gets an assessment for a German registration being issued (legal requirement to obtain 'Begutachtung nach § (paragraph - which reads for bill/law-article in Germany) #19 - subsequence 2 and - und §21' ...this is necessary when a vehicle was first registered outside the EU, or if certain modifications are introduced and change the cars characteristics (such as suspension elements with altered heigh or geometry, tyre and/or wheel size, etc.) ...and the workshop where this was done is located in 'Olching', which is a small Bavarian town in the Munich area I happen to know, since some members of my family live only a few miles away from there!

- the thing with the California title.. well, I'm being too picky now for sure, but not all I'm gonna say is to be seen as bad or untruthful from the seller's side.. but it is true, that in the 1990's M-B still had to prove even stricter emission limits for market like Japan (or Sweden, Switzerland, and Australia - besides North America), and that might in fact lead to CA-authorities accepting this version of the E500 as compliant to their requirements.. nevertheless I noticed that both stickers on the front cross member (which describe the emission related components, such as EGR, vacuum lines..) are very NEW, and contain wrong information.. '491+494/802' means in M-B language 'code for BOTH Federal and California specifications according to model-year 1992' (what is shown in the silver coloured sticker) ..PLUS another yellow sticker that says '491+494/803' meaning 'Federal/California specs. accord. to 1993-MY' (shortened by me..) BUT this E500 has a '498' code on its plate in the engine bay (and datacard, e.g. lastvin-reading) due to having been built to Japanese specification, and 09/1993 as manufacturing date would normally make it a 1994-MY, so it the US/Canada the '804' code would have shown up on the datacard and plate..

Now, let's look forward to Pablo's joy after his successful purchase if this very nice looking E500..

 

[Otrebla49]

Felicidades por tu nuevo auto! -- Congrats, Pablo!!

 

[gsxr]

I noticed that both stickers on the front cross member (which describe the emission related components, such as EGR, vacuum lines..) are very NEW, and contain wrong information.. '491+494/802' means in M-B language 'code for BOTH Federal and California specifications according to model-year 1992' (what is shown in the silver coloured sticker) ..PLUS another yellow sticker that says '491+494/803' meaning 'Federal/California specs. accord. to 1993-MY' (shortened by me..) BUT this E500 has a '498' code on its plate in the engine bay (and datacard, e.g. lastvin-reading) due to having been built to Japanese specification, and 09/1993 as manufacturing date would normally make it a 1994-MY, so it the US/Canada the '804' code would have shown up on the datacard and plate..

GOOD CATCH! I wasn't paying close attention to this car. The person who got it registered successfully in CA added reproduction USA emissions decals (the big yellow decal). These decals were never sold separately by Mercedes, and are only present on vehicles originally delivered to North America. They do not exist on Japanese, German, or any other ROW car. Great trick to sneak past CARB... not sure if this will always work. CARB officials won't know what the codes mean (491/494, 803/804 etc) and would never catch that the decal was added later.

Well, that explains how the previous owner obtained a California title without shelling out ±$10k for a so-called "federalization" process which does nothing (except, possibly, replace top-quality factory cats with lower-quality aftermarket cats that do not fit properly in the transmission tunnel - the replacements are round, not triangular, and protrude below the chassis floor).

The emissions systems are identical worldwide for catalyst models. Same LH modules too. MB could have installed the North American decals on all 036's with catalysts, as the tailpipe emissions are the same.