SOLD 1995 E500 Limited, Sapphire Black/Green Leather, 81kkm, sold for €41.5k, Collecting Cars auction (Latvia)

[Otrebla49]

No affiliation..

I had seen this ad last week, but forgot to insert link to the auction-site onto a thread and posting data.

Collecting Cars auction ended on 3rd Dec. 2025 - appears to have sold for a € 41,5k bid - location was/is Latvia

Does anyone on the board know this particular E500 Limited, or anything more about its history?

Built 12/1994 - so it might be considered 1995 MY (?)

Alberto


VIN = WDB1240361C213786

https://www.lastvin.com/vin/BPr5q2v7wL9AXmxML

https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1994-mercedes-benz-w124-e500-limited-11

1994 Mercedes-Benz (W124) E500 Limited​

KEY FACTS

• This W124-generation Mercedes-Benz E500 Limited is a sought-after modern classic super-saloon, created in collaboration with Porsche.
• It is powered by a naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8, delivering 320PS to the rear wheels through a four-speed automatic transmission.
• This E500 Limited is believed to have been delivered to Germany before being exported to Japan soon after. It has recently been imported to Latvia, where it is awaiting registration.
• The odometer indicates 80,574 kilometres. The seller is unsure if this is the genuine total, as a previous auction report apparently referred to 180,000km. However, this may have been a typo, as the service history on file appears to support the figure on the odometer.

EQUIPMENT AND FEATURES

• For the 1994 model year, the ‘Limited’ special edition was launched. This variant included the 17-inch wheels found on the homologation 190E Evo II, as well as two-tone leather upholstery and steering wheel. They can be identified by a ‘958’ factory option code, as this car has.
• Co-developed with Porsche and hand-built in the marque’s Zuffenhausen plant, the E500 features a wider track, lower suspension, flared wheel arches, 320mm brake discs with four-piston callipers, and a naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8.
• This example car is finished in Sapphire Black over a black and green leather-trimmed cabin featuring walnut inlays and patterned seat centres and door cards.
• It rides on a set of 17-inch ‘Evo II’ alloy wheels, fitted with Continental tyres.
• Equipment includes an electric sunroof, heated and electrically adjustable front seats with two-position driver’s memory, cruise control, air conditioning, a rear sunblind, and a CD stereo.
• Accompanying the sale is the owner’s manual, service book, Japanese service history, and warning triangle.

CONDITION

• Please refer to the photo gallery to assess exterior and interior condition.
• Specific notes from the seller include: stone chips and minor damage on the paintwork, and clearcoat damage under both wing mirrors.
• The vehicle has reportedly been resprayed and retrimmed.

SERVICE HISTORY

• Service history documents accompany the car as shown in the photo gallery.

Dates and mileage:

• Mar 1995 - 1007 km
• Apr 1999 - 15365 km
• Apr 2003 - 28446 km
• May 2005 - 37699 km
• Mar 2007 - 46669 km
• Nov 2008 - 49797 km
• Mar 2009 - 54558 km
• Jul 2011 - 61369 km
• Aug 2013 - 66658 km
• Mar 2015 - 70145 km
• Jul 2017 - 74989 km
• Feb 2019 - 76566 km
• Nov 2021 - 79698 km
• Jul 2023 - 80023 km

SUMMARY

The W124-series Mercedes-Benz E500 Limited is a highly collectible modern classic super-saloon, often seen as a precursor to the modern AMG variants and developed in collaboration with Porsche, with the build process taking place at the Zuffenhausen plant. This limited-edition example would make a notable addition to any collection, as well as a stylish, sophisticated, and refined driving companion for its next owner

 

[AdamCabrio]

Does anyone on the board know this particular E500 Limited, or anything more about its history?

In my file this car shows having a mileage of approx. 180K km (= 100K more than indicated above), that it lived in Japan for some time, that it had a completely restored exterior and interior, featuring burl walnut wood in stead of the usual Ltd birds eye maple wood, that its EZ date was 12 January 1995 (= same date as its factory delivery date) and that is was located previously in Garbsen (Germany). That might explain its relatively low sales price in the auction (if it was sold). I'll try to look up later where I got that info from. And yes, it is considered a Model Year 1995 (it's a late Ltd, #942/951)

 

[AdamCabrio]

Found it. It was on sale (@ astronomical asking price, €130k) in March 2025 in Garbsen/Germany. Don't know whether or not it was sold back then; selling dealer might be willing to provide information on that (if he's reputable, he should imho). In the attached he mentioned an earlier Japan repaint. Unfortunately I didn't make screen shots of the car (with mileage on dashboard) at the time...

 

[gsxr]

Headlights are aftermarket TYC or Depo, standard 124... interior neon Green looks like a dye job, although that's probably better than badly faded original leather (assuming the fresh dye survives normal use). Non-original wood doesn't help either.

At least the car was polite and apologized for the errors.

 

[gsxr]

The NLA engine splash shield is MIA... someone added a metal bracket across the front to connect the two fender liners (which normally attach to the splash shield).

 

[Otrebla49]

In my file this car shows having a mileage of approx. 180K km (= 100K more than indicated above), that it lived in Japan for some time, that it had a completely restored exterior and interior, featuring burl walnut wood in stead of the usual Ltd birds eye maple wood, that its EZ date was 12 January 1995 (= same date as its factory delivery date) and that is was located previously in Garbsen (Germany). That might explain its relatively low sales price in the auction (if it was sold). I'll try to look up later where I got that info from. And yes, it is considered a Model Year 1995 (it's a late Ltd, #942/951)

Thanks a lot for completing the history of this E500.

At 'KEY FACTS' (kindly added by - very probably - admin/Dave) text for auction claim stated:

"The odometer indicates 80,574 kilometres. The seller is unsure if this is the genuine total, as a previous auction report apparently referred to 180,000km. However, this may have been a typo, as the service history on file appears to support the figure on the odometer."

This is consistent with the information you provided from previous add (asking at € 130k).

Alberto

 

[AdamCabrio]

Non-original wood doesn't help either.

The wood might be original (not sure) as elsewhere on this forum I found a chart (attached) indicating that only 807 units (out of all 036's) had the SA code 732 for birds eye maple wood, meaning that 951 - 807 = 144 Ltd's did not have it; some original Ltd owners simply didn't like it and wanted the standard/pedestrian burl walnut wood instead (which could be ordered as well). Assuming that code 732 always ended up on the datacard when birds eye maple was ordered (which is another if....., you never know, strange things sometimes seemed to have happened when datacards were being prepared).

previous auction report apparently referred to 180,000km. However, this may have been a typo

I agree! The 180K km might very well have been a typo. The previous asking price of € 130K was very high and would have been completely over the top (imho) for a 180K km car. What I find strange about this car, however, is the apparent need to completely restore the interior and the exterior, according to the statement of the previous seller - see attachment in german above; he says that the car already had been repainted in Japan at some point and in Germany afterwards (supposedly for the March 2025 sale) was "Lack erneut aufbereitet" (meaning what?: paintwork redone again? on a 80K km car that had hardly moved since July 2023 and no service report since?).

 

[gsxr]

The wood might be original (not sure) as elsewhere on this forum I found a chart (attached) indicating that only 807 units (out of all 036's) had the SA code 732 for birds eye maple wood, meaning that 951 - 807 = 144 Ltd's did not have it; some original Ltd owners simply didn't like it and wanted the standard/pedestrian burl walnut wood instead (which could be ordered as well). Assuming that code 732 always ended up on the datacard when birds eye maple was ordered (which is another if....., you never know, strange things sometimes seemed to have happened when datacards were being prepared).

Ah, good point - I was looking for the Burled Walnut wood code 731 and didn't see it. But as you noted above, that may be normal for a car without BEM/732.

I agree! The 180K km might very well have been a typo. The previous asking price of € 130K was very high and would have been completely over the top (imho) for a 180K km car. What I find strange about this car, however, is the apparent need to completely restore the interior and the exterior, according to the statement of the previous seller - see attachment in german above; he says that the car already had been repainted in Japan at some point and in Germany afterwards (supposedly for the March 2025 sale) was "Lack erneut aufbereitet" (meaning what?: paintwork redone again? on a 80K km car that had hardly moved since July 2023 and no service report since?).

Yeah, I always question why super-low-mile cars would need a repaint and/or a complete interior restoration. Either the odometer is wrong, or the car was not cared for.