FOR SALE FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 329kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

[Dario]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/302079996971 <-- Reserve auction ended 9/26/2016. Sold for $7800 (reserve met).

VIN = WDBEA36E8NB760856

1992 Mercedes-Benz 500E Project Car

I am selling a 1992 Mercedes 500e project car. I've had this for about ten years and the wife says I have too many projects so it has to go. Here is the history on the car as I know it. Mileage is 315K. At some point the timing chain or tensioner went bad and the timing chain became derailed rendering the engine inoperable. Vehicle was brought to a dealership in Chicago and was parked for awhile and I ended up buying it. The car was then placed in my garage and has sat ever since. Bodywise everything is there. There is a dent on the right front door that can be seen in the pictures. Original paint, no sign of any collision damage. Interior can use a good cleaning but the seats and other 500E specific bits are in good shape.

Also when I first picked up the car I ended up buying a takeout motor from Turner Motorsports that they had gotten for a project. This motor was from a different 500E that was wrecked and has < 20K on it. I remember doing a carfax on the engine and I believe that the actual mileage was 16,000 and change. Car was hit in the back so no damage to the motor. I also bought the transmission and rear axle differential as well so I have basically all new running gear for the car. This is INCLUDED in the auction. So you are bidding on the car plus a complete set of running gear to get it operational again. I have additional pictures so please email me and I can send you additional information. ​

 

[leadphut]

Re: F.S. 1992 500E Ann Arbor MI 315K project car dark red/ black

NOT AFFILIATED
==============

I am selling a 1992 Mercedes 500e project car. I've had this for about ten years and the wife says I have too many projects so it has to go. Here is the history on the car as I know it. Mileage is 315K. At some point the timing chain or tensioner went bad and the timing chain became derailed rendering the engine inoperable. Vehicle was brought to a dealership in Chicago and was parked for awhile and I ended up buying it. The car was then placed in my garage and has sat ever since. Bodywise everything is there. There is a dent on the right front door that can be seen in the pictures. Original paint, no sign of any collision damage. Interior can use a good cleaning but the seats and other 500E specific bits are in good shape.

Also when I first picked up the car I ended up buying a takeout motor from Turner Motorsports that they had gotten for a project. This motor was from a different 500E that was wrecked and has < 20K on it. I remember doing a carfax on the engine and I believe that the actual mileage was 16,000 and change. Car was hit in the back so no damage to the motor. I also bought the transmission and rear axle differential as well so I have basically all new running gear for the car. This is INCLUDED in the auction. So you are bidding on the car plus a complete set of running gear to get it operational again. I have additional pictures so please email me and I can send you additional information.

 

[samiam44]

Re: F.S. 1992 500E Ann Arbor MI 315K project car dark red/ black

Great color!

 

[Dario]

Re: F.S. 1992 500E Ann Arbor MI 315K project car dark red/ black

How many in this color came with black interior?

 

[Maui]

Re: F.S. 1992 500E Ann Arbor MI 315K project car dark red/ black

How many in this color came with black interior?

Less than I can count on one hand. Very rare.

 

[KarlC]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

Calling Dave

 

[TerryA]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

Looks like a "KarlC Car" to me. It's your specialty.

It's a unique color combo.

Karl, I believe you would be the first in US with that combo.

 

[gsxr]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

This is the same paint color as my '93 with tired gray interior. I have a nice black interior that I will be swapping in to create the same combo as the one for sale here.

To answer the previous question, of the 15 total Garnet/Almandine cars imported to USA... ten had cream-beige interior, three had black interior, and two gray.

This could be a really nice project car, but keep in mind that shipping the powertrain separately from the car could be a challenge; and if the car is not running it will cost extra to transport the car as well.

 

[8899]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

GermanAutoService in Minnesota would be a good candidate to bring this one back. I think Minnesota is kinda close to Ann Arbor...

 

[Dario]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

God damn 315k miles not running and fetched $7800. Is it the color???

 

[TerryA]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

Such a Deal. You even got an extra engine to play with.

This could end u a nice car. I like the color combo for sure.

 

[Stevester 500E]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

Is the original motor unsalvageable?
I am wondering if this could be fixed to be a numbers matching car?

 

[gsxr]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

Is the original motor unsalvageable?
I am wondering if this could be fixed to be a numbers matching car?

Very likely it could be repaired, but it's likely easier & cheaper to swap in the low-miles powertrain than spend a pile refreshing a 300k motor. Depends how much damage there was from the "derailed timing chain".

 

[Harv]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

Looks who's back:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/302093304468

Note: I am relisting this due to the high bidder not paying deposit or contacting me. Please do not bid on the car if you don't intend to buy it.

I am selling a 1992 Mercedes 500e project car. I've had this for about ten years and the wife says I have too many projects so it has to go. Here is the history on the car as I know it. Mileage is 315K. At some point the timing chain or tensioner went bad and the timing chain became derailed rendering the engine inoperable. Vehicle was brought to a dealership in Chicago and was parked for awhile and I ended up buying it. The car was then placed in my garage and has sat ever since. Bodywise everything is there. There is a dent on the right front door that can be seen in the pictures. Original paint, no sign of any collision damage. Interior can use a good cleaning but the seats and other 500E specific bits are in good shape.

Also when I first picked up the car I ended up buying a takeout motor from Turner Motorsports that they had gotten for a project. This motor was from a different 500E that was wrecked and has < 20K on it. I remember doing a carfax on the engine and I believe that the actual mileage was 16,000 and change. Car was hit in the back so no damage to the motor. I also bought the transmission and rear axle differential as well so I have basically all new running gear for the car. This is INCLUDED in the auction. So you are bidding on the car plus a complete set of running gear to get it operational again. I have additional pictures so please email me and I can send you additional information.

On Sep-25-16 at 19:38:44 PDT, seller added the following information:
I've gotten a lot of questions about the body on the car so I added some pictures from underneath. Body is pretty clean on the underside. I did notice some door dings on the left side that don't show in the pictures and there is a dent on the small panel which is right underneath the trunk. Headliner is sagging in the back. As noted in the ad, car has 300K on it and is not perfect. It is NOT driveable and it will need to be towed to its new home. As stated in the ad I bought the car in its current state and never had it running. Dash lights come on and the starter engages. As far as pickup, the vehicle is at our farm on the west side of Michigan and I can meet there on the weekends only as I work M-F.​

[FONT=&quot]

Detailed Vehicle History

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Calculated Owners: 3
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Below are the historical events for this vehicle listed in chronological order. Any discrepancies will be in bold text.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Report Run Date October 3, 2016 9:55:35 AM EDT[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Vehicle: 1992 Mercedes-Benz 500 Series E (WDBEA36E8NB760856)[/FONT]
[TABLE="class: report listing, width: 871"][TR][TD="align: left"]Event date[/TD][TD="align: left"]Location[/TD][TD="align: left"]Odometer reading[/TD][TD="align: left"]Data Source[/TD][TD="align: left"]Details[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]10/30/1992[/TD][TD]TN[/TD][TD]3,500
[/TD][TD]Motor Vehicle Dept.[/TD][TD]ODOMETER READING FROM DMV[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]05/25/1995[/TD][TD]TN[/TD][TD]3,500
[/TD][TD]Auto Auction[/TD][TD]ODOMETER READING FROM DMV[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]02/19/1997[/TD][TD]TN[/TD][TD]
[/TD][TD]Motor Vehicle Dept.[/TD][TD]TITLE (Title #:45011678)
CORRECTED TITLE[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]12/22/1997[/TD][TD]TN[/TD][TD]
[/TD][TD]Motor Vehicle Dept.[/TD][TD]TITLE (Title #:45011678)
CORRECTED TITLE[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]05/20/1998[/TD][TD]TN[/TD][TD]
[/TD][TD]Motor Vehicle Dept.[/TD][TD]TITLE (Title #:45011678)
CORRECTED TITLE[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]08/27/2001[/TD][TD]CHICAGO, IL[/TD][TD]320,397
[/TD][TD]Motor Vehicle Dept.[/TD][TD]TITLE (Title #:T1239879006)[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]09/27/2001[/TD][TD]CENTRAL REGION[/TD][TD]328,962
[/TD][TD]Auto Auction[/TD][TD]REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]12/17/2001[/TD][TD]ANN ARBOR, MI[/TD][TD]328,962
[/TD][TD]Motor Vehicle Dept.[/TD][TD]TITLE (Title #:121M3510553)[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]

 

[Ntrepid]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

Looks like no reserve either.


Robert

 

[TerryA]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

I wonder if the extra engine is still part of the deal? No write-up but there is still a pic of an engine in a crate.

 

[gsxr]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

I wonder if the extra engine is still part of the deal? No write-up but there is still a pic of an engine in a crate.

The current listing states the engine/trans/diff are still included. The winning bidder was an eBay newbie, but the seller could have offered it to the second highest bidder...

 

[Maui]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

I am sure glad this car is in Michigan.

Someone could make a very nice car out of this.

 

[Dario]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

I am sure glad this car is in Michigan.

Someone could make a very nice car out of this.

I live in Chicago 4 hours away but its already at $5000 and I dont think its worth half that considering it does not run and 315K miles regardless of engine included

 

[ccrelan]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

The question is what is a running and driving 315k mile car with this albeit great color combo really worth? I can't imagine paying much over 10k for any 500e with that amount of miles.

 

[gsxr]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

For the right person, it would be a bargain at $5k for parts alone (not that it's in bad enough shape to part out, IMO). Half that would be an insult, sheesh. I agree with Maui, I'm very glad this car is far away from me... and also that it would present serious transport issues; due to the separate powertrain and the car not moving under its own power.

The miles are somewhat irrelevant if you plan to keep & drive the car, and only affect resale if it's 300-400k worn-out, beat-up miles. Look at Glen's car over 600kmi with fresh paint and all mechanicals taken care of as an example of what this COULD be... with a no-miles powertrain and super-rare color combo. My Garnet Red car has 200k on it and after I swap in the nice black interior and (eventually) get it painted, I seriously doubt I'd part with it for under $30k based on current valuation. Would anyone pay that much? Maybe not, but if the car looks like new and drives like new, the odometer reading becomes somewhat irrelevant. I mean, these aren't old Chevy Citations or some other turdbucket that becomes rubbish when the odo clicks into six digits...

 

[remotemark]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

"Turdbucket"!

 

[ccrelan]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

How much time and money would it take to get a car that hasn't driven in 10+ years up to speed? I have a feeling Gerry's 5k rule would be an appetizer here.

 

[sheward]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

A 30,000 mile M119 drivetrain and a complete chassis with nice interior. I've been paying attention since I have family nearby.

drew

 

[Dario]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

For some reason the only attention this car is getting is color. There were much cleaner less mileage 199 cars and they never got this high and they were complete running cars.

 

[gsxr]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

How much time and money would it take to get a car that hasn't driven in 10+ years up to speed? I have a feeling Gerry's 5k rule would be an appetizer here.

Probably a LOT of time but it's hard to say how much money... for someone who has parts cars laying around (coughjonocough) it might not be too bad to get the mechanicals done, assuming DIY. It's tough to estimate part costs since it's very unlikely that everything on the car has 300kmi of wear. By that point, many wear items would likely have been changed once if not twice. But yeah, I could easily see $5k in parts at Naperville/MBCC discount prices.

For someone with spare time, mechanical skills, a decent selection of MB tools, and a barn/shop to store everything while working on it... could be semi-affordable with DIY labor.

Now, anyone paying a shop labor of $75-$150 per hour... OMG it would be insane. I could see it going past 100 hours to get everything sorted. The powertrain swap alone would be 20-40 hours.

 

[Maui]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

For some reason the only attention this car is getting is color. There were much cleaner less mileage 199 cars and they never got this high and they were complete running cars.

For sure the color combo is what is pushing this car up. If you aren't inclined to do the work yourself it probably isn't worth much unless you have very deep pockets.

On one hand it is a shame to see such a rare combo in this condition but on the other hand it was obviously someone's driver for quite some time.

 

[Dario]

Re: FS: 1992 500E, Garnet Red / Black, 315kmi, eBay (Ann Arbor, MI)

Carfax show 328K in 2011 so that that 315K out of the park

 

[psmith]

Gentlemen,

Just came across this post and felt that I needed to chime in after reading some of the postings here. I am the owner of the red 500E in question. The miles on the car are indeed 328K, when I first listed it I knew it was in the low 300's so I guessed 315K. I live about 2.5 hours from where it is stored (family farm) so its not like I can just go in the garage and get specs. Didn't think it mattered much at this point. Anyway, odometer shows 328K as I haven't driven it obviously. Bought it a long time ago in a different part of my life after having to sell my first '92 pearl black 500E. Car is a project to be sure but it all depends what someone is looking for. I was lucky to find the complete donor powertrain and I don't have the carfax anymore from it but the last entry was either at 16 or 18K. As far as offering it to the next highest bidder, I have NEVER had that work out for me in all the times I have sold things, plus it took almost a week to confirm that the high bidder wasn't going to pay the deposit or show up. Figured it was easier just to relist. Just didn't want people to think something weird is going on. Relisted items always made me wonder as well. Hopefully it will find a good home this time.

 

[600Eric]

I really hope someone on the board buys this car and brings it back to life. If the power train from the donor car indeed has less than 20K miles this could be a good opportunity for the right individual.

 

[Stevester 500E]

It would be a great opportunity. If it were closer to Cali, it would be mine.
Transport costs might kill the deal for me, and not seeing it in person might make me a tad gun shy.