Re: Vin check for a E500 in the netherlands
Hi everybody,
So i viewed the car today ,and i will share some of my findings (what i can recollect) with you guys
Let me say upfront that i work with cars as an occupation and have for almost 20yrs of which the biggest part has been with porsche's ,so i have spent a big part of my life up close to cars and i am a very particulate person when it comes to the fine details..
The first impression was not too bad, but definately not perfect.. the front right door ,roof and engine lid where the only parts not painted of which the roof and engine lid both had some small rust blisters, underside as far as i could see had not much rust, drivers door was rusty underneath and some small patches here and there and as our forum member living in dubai had stated there was rust underneath the washer bottle, only thing is they had now welded in a new piece of metal which was not done very nicely and was also starting to rust on the welds again, paint was OK, a lot of body filler on the offside rear wheel arch and enough imperfections and paint defects here and there to annoy me, headlights had been opened before and where not in a good condition but then again the car is not priced to be perfect..(but certainly not a bargain, since it has absolutely no history documentation)
many electrical things where not working :drivers seat headrest, rear sun shade,foglight warning bulb,radio,antenna,central locking,rear headrests, and i am forgetting some more things that i have tested.
the engine wiring harness was stripped close to the rear of the engine ,also the engine was slightly stumbling on idle, not running as smooth as i know they can do, it was all a bit grimey under the bonnet and when it shifted gear under power the multi belt would slip and i could see that the underside was definatly not free from oil leaks, the exhaust no longer had the original cat's but something aftermarket welded in place and the rear muffler had been welded on pretty poorly ,and there was a fair bit of overspray from painting the sacco side plates in high gloss anthracite, there was no oppertunity to lift the car up.
the gearbox was clearly hesitating when shifting at normal speed and under full load i could regularly detect it shift too harsh or not holding the revs nicely, so to my opinion it will need an overhaul.
it was clear that the car had seen hot climates as most of the vinyl interior panelling on the pillars ,doors, center console and ceilling was coming loose from the intense heat it had endured and the leather had become pretty hard and was slightly tearing at different places, wood had a few cracks and damages which you see often at this age, under the offside floormat there was a lot of aftermarket cables and other stuff that was left there.
i most certainly got more of a 200kkm+ vibe then the 73K it was showing..
Engine still felt powerfull tho ,but under power the rear end felt sloppy and not very controlled, and the car did not feel as planted as it should.
By now i am skipping many little details that i have seen but it is too much to list, it is not an awfull car but another typical example of wherever you look you will see something that needs attention..
I am slowly starting to come to the conclusion that maby the combination of my OCD habits and the prices that these cars are now collecting might mean that the car that i am looking for is out off my reach by know.. it is a real shame because i REALLY like these machines and am envious of you guys owning a fine example, if only i was 5 years earlier ...
i will still keep my eyes peeled , but will focus on the cars sold privately by the enthousiast.. somebody who is on the same page as me.
thanks for helping me out and i hope that me sharing my findings will help out with the whole 500E archive here
Jeroen.
