FOR SALE FS: 1992 500E, Pearl Black/Black, 157kmi, $30k (Diamond Bar, CA)

[canyoncarco]

No Affiliation

VIN = ???

https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/d/diamond-bar-1992-mercedes-benz-w124-e/6806349396.html

1992 Mercedes Benz W124 E500 E 500 - $30000 (Diamond Bar)

Classic and rare collectible in BEAUTIFUL CONDITION Two Owners in CA Title.
These rare 500E Models were was hand-built in close cooperation with Porsche Engineering Team that modified the engines for this model...With the 500E's aggressive stance featuring 1.5 inches wider track 0.9 inch lower profile flared fenders side skirts front air-dam and wide tires and over 325hp the 500E sets itself apart from other E-Models. These models were built only from 91′-94′ and only have production numbers just over 1398 units making these extremely desirable on the market.

I am the 2nd Owner, title in hand. NO Test drive unless you have Cash in Hand. 156800 Miles, turn up and service less than 200 miles ago. New Koni shocks with H&R lower springs, 18" AMG wheels, AMG Steering Wheel.

$30000.00 come with Original Wheels, Radio, and Steering Wheel

Looking for trade with #911 #993 #964 manual ​

 

[Jlaa]

I like the wheels. But 30K USD seems optimistic. It has an aftermarket stereo which means that the original BE1432 stereo system's wiring is probably all hacked up. As well, "new Koni shocks and H&R lowering springs" do not sound like an improvement to me.

I noticed that the owner wants to trade for a Porsche 911, 993, or 964. If he wants to do that, he/she will probably have to pony up not insignificant amounts of cash to do so.

 

[gerryvz]

$30K would have been a good price, a year ago.

Agree that in the current market, it is optimistic. Though if all the good stuff had been done, perhaps not as out of bounds as I’ve seen other cars being asked at.

Getting a handle on maintenance and paperwork is key for this one. Has all of the typical/requisite stuff been done? Koni + the H&R springs give me a bit of pause. Koni is not best for these cars — only the factory struts with the internal rebound limiting springs are what should be used.

No question there is $10K of deferred maintenance though — all of the cars at this mileage level have it.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[Jlaa]

$30K would have been a good price, a year ago.



No question there is $10K of deferred maintenance though — all of the cars at this mileage level have it.

Cheers,
Gerry

Yeah. I wonder if the reason why the owner installed new koni shocks is because of misdiagnosing the need for new motor mounts.

 

[r44raven]

No question there is $10K of deferred maintenance though — all of the cars at this mileage level have it.

Cheers,
Gerry

Gerry, I'm just wondering about this comment. There must be many diligent E500E owners on this site who have cars with 150k kilometers on them, who would be somewhat upset if they were told there was $10k of deferred maintenance due. My 500E is now on 150k MILES, and although there may be some "preventative" maintenance I could carry out (i.e. should I be replacing the exhaust, 'cos one day it might collapse?), I like to think that in the main, the car is very much up to speed!

Rgds, Stephen

 

[gsxr]

Gerry, I'm just wondering about this comment. There must be many diligent E500E owners on this site who have cars with 150k kilometers on them, who would be somewhat upset if they were told there was $10k of deferred maintenance due. My 500E is now on 150k MILES, and although there may be some "preventative" maintenance I could carry out (i.e. should I be replacing the exhaust, 'cos one day it might collapse?), I like to think that in the main, the car is very much up to speed!

Gerry's trolling level is up to "Unhinged", and he revels in stirring the pot. Many 036's are under-maintained and would indeed take ±$10k USD to bring up to snuff mechanically (note - this assumes full retail on dealer parts, and indy or dealer labor rates). Sometimes, the worst culprits have fantastic paint & interiors, but are a total mess underneath.

There are exceptions where the owner has maintained the car properly, and would need nowhere near this level of $$$, €€€, or £££. This also assumes only mechanical / functional issues are included in the $10k number, not cosmetic / subjective items. The gray area gets shadier when discussing items which are worn/wearing, but not yet failed... how do those get valued? If the transmission has a slight delay engaging reverse, do you automatically assume $4k+ for a Sun Valley rebuild installed at your indy, despite the fact that the tranny may last another 10-15 years while otherwise working just fine? As always, beauty (and required maintenance) is in the eye of the beer holder...

 

[TerryA]

I wonder who’s car this is? Obviously not on this board.

Diamond Bar is just over the Orange County line off of the 57 Frwy north side of Fullerton.

 

[gerryvz]

Gerry, I'm just wondering about this comment. There must be many diligent E500E owners on this site who have cars with 150k kilometers on them, who would be somewhat upset if they were told there was $10k of deferred maintenance due. My 500E is now on 150k MILES, and although there may be some "preventative" maintenance I could carry out (i.e. should I be replacing the exhaust, 'cos one day it might collapse?), I like to think that in the main, the car is very much up to speed!

Rgds, Stephen

A common response when this GVZ Rule is invoked/quoted. It's quite common for people to get butt-hurt when they are told / rule is quoted that their car has $5K or $10K of deferred maintenance.

It's also quite common that these $5K and $10K rules are indeed quite accurate -- and many many times are even too conservative. PLENTY of folks here have spent big bucks on supposedly "near-pristine" cars and have come back with huge loads of needed/deferred work. More than a few have outright said that the GVZ rules are right on, and even conservative.

Of course there are unicorn/exception cars out there, which are "open checkbook" cars maintained along the way. But those are honestly few and far between.

What I have observed, however, is that it is very common for people to feel that THEIR car has few to no issues. They often don't know what they don't know. That buzzing at idle is just the nature of the 500E "V-8" beast, rather than the car needing motor mounts. That two and three-second delay when shifting into reverse, is just an "old-school" analog transmission characteristic rather than a transmission in need of a rebuild. That hot air coming out of the center dash vents is a feature, rather than something that shouldn't be happening. The list goes on......

It's not trolling, it's just borne of many years of observation.

The rules are as follows (and assumes dealer or quality independent shop servicing / labor rates / retail or near-retail parts prices that these shops/stealers typically charge):

- ALL E500Es with <100K miles on them, have at least $5K of deferred maintenance.

- ALL E500Es with >100K miles on them, carry at least $10K of deferred maintenance.

Common contributors to these totals include:

- Motor mounts, if not documented as being done by the 80-100K mile mark, probably have not been done
- Transmission reverse slippage, requiring an eventual rebuild (sooner or later)
- Various chassis rubber bits, including front and rear suspension (and rear subframe) rubber mounts
- Rear 5-link control arms and bushings (i.e. wheel carrier bushings), and LCAs
- Climate control vacuum pods
- Climate control evaporator
- Tandem pump leakage
- Power steering, coolant and transmission coolant lines leaking/seeping
- All soft rubber hoses on the top of the engine (fossilisation)
- Front and/or rear crankshaft seal leaks/seepage (typically front seal, rear is rare)
- Front struts being tired; rear hydro-legs and hydraulic accumulators
- Steering gear - tie rods, idler arm bushings, steering damper, etc.
- COSMETICS
- Rust removal/replacement as per degree of rust penetration

the list goes on.

It's not trolling ... it's reality. And no, I'm not throwing stones at others' glass houses.

My car has 139K miles on it. I'll happily be the first to tell you that I could easily spend $10K to bring my car up to snuff, if I had someone else do the work. I actually had it in to a local indy shop late last year to get an alignment, and they came back with a $4.5K "bill" for needed repairs after helpfully "inspecting" things my car needed.

 

[2phast]

I like the wheels. But 30K USD seems optimistic. It has an aftermarket stereo which means that the original BE1432 stereo system's wiring is probably all hacked up. As well, "new Koni shocks and H&R lowering springs" do not sound like an improvement to me.

I noticed that the owner wants to trade for a Porsche 911, 993, or 964. If he wants to do that, he/she will probably have to pony up not insignificant amounts of cash to do so.

OE stereo is garbage. You still listen to cassettes though paper cone speakers? Come on, its extremely outdated technology.

Nothing wrong with Koni and H&R, assuming the SLS bypass was done correctly and you don't mind the harsher ride (compared to the OE setup)

 

[2phast]

$30K would have been a good price, a year ago.

Agree that in the current market, it is optimistic. Though if all the good stuff had been done, perhaps not as out of bounds as I’ve seen other cars being asked at.

Getting a handle on maintenance and paperwork is key for this one. Has all of the typical/requisite stuff been done? Koni + the H&R springs give me a bit of pause. Koni is not best for these cars — only the factory struts with the internal rebound limiting springs are what should be used.

No question there is $10K of deferred maintenance though — all of the cars at this mileage level have it.

Cheers,
Gerry

Although I don't scour the internet looking for 500e's, my last check through the normal channels netted quite a few cars in that price range and above, with the lowest at 25k.

FWIW, I drove a 500e with Koni's and H&R's on it, the handling was excellent, would be nice for a track setup, but too harsh for daily use IMO. I agree the factory struts with the H&Rs is the preferred route, not too low and minimal compromise on ride quality.

 

[gerryvz]

You don't need to scour the internet looking for E500Es....the good folks here do it for you. All you have to do is subscribe to the "Cars For Sale" RSS feed on this site, and you're as good as gold because it includes both BaT and all other commonly known sources of cars.

Asking and selling prices, as you know, are very different animals. We certainly see plenty of cars advertised here (and on BaT) in the $30-50+K range. You've seen the results on BaT recently -- stuff isn't selling ala RNMs, and there are even some deals to be had !!

My observation is that E500E prices have declined 20-25% in the past 6-9 months, given rising interest rates and stock market (401k) volatility. The 401K loan and HELOC borrowers aren't feeling as flush as they were a year ago.

 

[Jlaa]

OE stereo is garbage. You still listen to cassettes though paper cone speakers? Come on, its extremely outdated technology.

Why yes, I do. Indeed, I treasure my brittle paper cone speakers, replete with rips, I mean patina, and I always keep my 30 set caselogic casette holder in the trunk. BTW all my casettes are either high bias Maxell XL][S or TDK metal types. How about yours?

You must please excuse me, I think Western Union is at the door, they must be here to deliver a telegram I am expecting from my sister — she’s finally coming here to the States via steamship!! No more sailing schooners for her!!!!

 

[gerryvz]

Don't knock cassettes! I was just listening to Ratt's "Out of the Smellar" debut album on my Becker 1492 cassette yesterday morning on the 75-minute drive on the I-495 ("Washington Beltway") from my house to Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia. Sounds great with my paper-cone Rainbow speakers in the E500.

And lamenting the dearth of good-quality "hair metal" screams these days.

 

[Jlaa]

Don't knock cassettes! I was just listening to Ratt's "Out of the Smellar" debut album on my Becker 1492 cassette yesterday morning on the 75-minute drive on the I-495 ("Washington Beltway") from my house to Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia. Sounds great with my paper-cone Rainbow speakers in the E500.

Dyin' of laughter over here.

 

[Jlaa]

(Link) Anyone Else Think Paper Cone Speakers Sound Better?

 

[gerryvz]

Dyin' of laughter over here.

[video=youtube;9-TcWYnsEiM]

 

[janos_z]

Bumped into this car while window-shopping craigslist. Looks like it hasn't sold yet (though admittedly the ad was posted 23 days ago); current asking price: "$32000.00 come with Original Wheels, Radio, and Steering Wheel; $28000.00 without AMG wheels and AMG steering wheel."

https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/d/diamond-bar-1992-mercedes-benz-w124-e/6883108862.html

 

[linjam]

[video=youtube;9-TcWYnsEiM]

Good heavens. It's the real life Spinal Tap