Hi everyone. I’m looking for some help on a car I’m looking at. It’s a 1993 500E that was imported into the US from Japan a couple of years ago. My main concern is that it has the 1994 facelift and EVO wheels. Dealer claims that other countries got the facelift before the US. Does anyone know if this is true? Thank you in advance for the help!
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93/94 facelift
- Thread starter Bigduke94
- Start date
There is not a simple answer to this question. However, if you can provide the VIN / FIN of the car in question, the datacard will tell us if it left the factory as pre-facelift, vs facelift.
BTW - welcome to the forum!
Nope, totally incorrect information you received. Outside of North America, there are no "model years" per se. But for the facelift, there was a cutoff of production of pre-facelift (exterior hood/trunk) and the next VIN was the facelift. Not sure exactly what the VIN cutoff for this was, but it was roughly in June/July time frame of 1993. That roughly corresponds to 1994 "US Model Year" production, but has no meaning for the rest of the world.
You either get a car that is before the cutoff (pre-facelift) or after the cutoff (facelift).
You either get a car that is before the cutoff (pre-facelift) or after the cutoff (facelift).
Need the VIN. If you don't want to post that publicly, send it to me via PM / Conversation.
OK - based on that VIN, this particular car was delivered as PRE-facelift. Production date was approximately February 1993.
Datacard:
Note this car was originally delivered in Germany, before it went to Japan. For European (or, non-USA, non-Japan) chassis the facelift was as of C020765, and also chassis as of B891779 with option code 859. This chassis is B931368 which comes after B891779, but does NOT have code 859... so it was definitely 500E, pre-facelift. A previous owner likely updated to the facelift appearance (best case), or updated toe facelift due to accident damage (worst case).
If you are looking for a car that won't have any questions raised upon resale, stick with examples that have full history & documentation, and no question marks like this one.
On a side note, this car has the basic stereo system (no front door midbass, no dual-tweeter rear speakers)... no roller blind... and may have had other modifications during it's visit to Japan. USA models all had the same equipment (including the top-shelf audio system, roller blind, heated seats, etc). Euro models had all options a la carte, so you need to look carefully if there are any specific options you want. On the flip side, USA/Japan cars did not get the engine oil cooler or the fancy braking system found on facelift Euro E500's.
Datacard:
Mercedes VIN Decoder | Decode Your Mercedes-Benz VIN
Datacard for 1993 Mercedes-Benz 500 E (124.036) - WDB1240361B931368
www.lastvin.com
Note this car was originally delivered in Germany, before it went to Japan. For European (or, non-USA, non-Japan) chassis the facelift was as of C020765, and also chassis as of B891779 with option code 859. This chassis is B931368 which comes after B891779, but does NOT have code 859... so it was definitely 500E, pre-facelift. A previous owner likely updated to the facelift appearance (best case), or updated toe facelift due to accident damage (worst case).
If you are looking for a car that won't have any questions raised upon resale, stick with examples that have full history & documentation, and no question marks like this one.
On a side note, this car has the basic stereo system (no front door midbass, no dual-tweeter rear speakers)... no roller blind... and may have had other modifications during it's visit to Japan. USA models all had the same equipment (including the top-shelf audio system, roller blind, heated seats, etc). Euro models had all options a la carte, so you need to look carefully if there are any specific options you want. On the flip side, USA/Japan cars did not get the engine oil cooler or the fancy braking system found on facelift Euro E500's.
I see it's for sale on Pee Car Market. I'll add it to the forum classifieds for posterity:
www.pcarmarket.com
36k-Mile 1993 Mercedes-Benz E500 Euro | PCARMARKET
The result of a collaboration between two of the most legendary German automakers, the Mercedes-Benz 500E was created in 1989 with the help of Porsche’s engineers to equip a 5.0-liter V8 engine from the SL-Class roadster with the W124 E-Class chassis. This 1993 European-spec "E500" example comes...
www.pcarmarket.com
I know it doesn’t have the shade, phone and memory seats but didn’t know about the sound system. Knowing it’s an aftermarket facelift I’m going to pass on it so thanks a lot for the information! CheersOK - based on that VIN, this particular car was delivered as PRE-facelift. Production date was approximately February 1993.
Datacard:
Mercedes VIN Decoder | Decode Your Mercedes-Benz VIN
Datacard for 1993 Mercedes-Benz 500 E (124.036) - WDB1240361B931368www.lastvin.com
Note this car was originally delivered in Germany, before it went to Japan. For European (or, non-USA, non-Japan) chassis the facelift was as of C020765, and also chassis as of B891779 with option code 859. This chassis is B931368 which comes after B891779, but does NOT have code 859... so it was definitely 500E, pre-facelift. A previous owner likely updated to the facelift appearance (best case), or updated toe facelift due to accident damage (worst case).
If you are looking for a car that won't have any questions raised upon resale, stick with examples that have full history & documentation, and no question marks like this one.
On a side note, this car has the basic stereo system (no front door midbass, no dual-tweeter rear speakers)... no roller blind... and may have had other modifications during it's visit to Japan. USA models all had the same equipment (including the top-shelf audio system, roller blind, heated seats, etc). Euro models had all options a la carte, so you need to look carefully if there are any specific options you want. On the flip side, USA/Japan cars did not get the engine oil cooler or the fancy braking system found on facelift Euro E500's.
