Looking at a 500e

[Lantz]

Hi all,

New potential 500e owner here and wanted to get some tips and advice from this knowledgeable group. The car I've been looking at is ostensibly in good shape and drives well. Claimed mileage and overall condition appear to match. The one major gripe I have is that the car has zero service history. I'd normally walk away at this point but it appears to be a clean and honest car. Do any of you know if service history is logged centrally at MB or if there is some other way of ascertaining what has been done to the car over the years? Just find it odd that a car would have zip in terms of service documentation (aside from the recent work undertaken by the current owner).

I've been doing a bit of research here and on the web, and the main other (more obvious) points to check appear to be:

- Wiring harness. I've read a few conflicting reports but does this primarily affect face-lifted models?
- Headlights; there appear to be differences between the 0.36 versions and those fitted to regular w124s.
- Any others?

Kind regards,

Lantz

 

[gsxr]

Service history is logged centrally at USA Mercedes dealers, but only for work done at dealers... and trying to get this information can be difficult. Not sure about other countries. You can pull a Carfax report for USA cars, which will have some third-party indy repair shop info but not all of it.

Wire harness affects ALL YEARS, period. Upper harness is available new and is relatively cheap/easy to DIY replace if needed. Lower harness can be sourced rebuilt from Blue Ridge, or buy a kit from Kurth overseas.

Headlights are unique to the 036 and if this car is missing the correct lights, it will be difficult and/or expensive to rectify.

How long as the current owner had the car? If it's short-term ownership with zero records, I'd be concerned.

BTW, welcome to the forum!

 

[TerryA]

@Lantz,

You should try to get some history if at all possible. Even a well maintained E500E can have $5K to $10K of “Deferred Maintenance” that needs to be addressed. A poorly maintained car can be a “Money Pit”

If the car came from Japan it’s pretty normal to have no documentation. I would ask the seller what he knows about the history. If he’s honest he should be able to tell you something. It didn’t just show up on the seller’s doorstep.

What country is the car located in? You misbehaved able to trace some of it’s history thru the VIN#

Choose Wisely

 

[Lantz]

Thanks very much for the responses and the warm welcome

The car is currently for sale in Belgium through a specialist Porsche dealer. The add can be found here: Mercedes-Benz de € 48 911,-

The car was delivered new to Switzerland but was kept in Portugal (albeit kept on its original Swiss plates). Based on some desktop research, I found the following:

- The original car & classic ad (1991 Mercedes 500E (1.Serie) w124 E 500 For Sale) which sets out a similar story to what the current seller told me
- An Autobild article (Legendäre Limousine: Mercedes 500 E bei eBay zum Verkauf - AUTO BILD) which has a few images of the prior ebay listing.

Car looks nice and drives well but, as mentioned, has no service documentation. Also, is it just me or is the passenger side headlight a non 036 version?

Lantz

 

[036]

Put 20 grant aside, than you´ll sleep better.

 

[TimL]

Maybe take a look at this ad for this car. It has some more information, talking about a repaint and “always MB maintained”:

https://link.mobile.de/GYfdUpZ6ox49z6kZA

Proceed with caution on a repainted car and take a long, hard look at the underside, as it ran in Switzerland. Question is what precipitated the repaint, rust (Swiss roads get salted) or sun damage to the clear coat (from its days in Portugal).

Best of luck!

 

[gsxr]

The car is currently for sale in Belgium through a specialist Porsche dealer. The add can be found here: Mercedes-Benz de € 48 911,-

€49k EUR / $53k USD is quite a bit for a car with zero history and 210kkm / 130kmi. Is it difficult or expensive for you to import a car from another country?


https://www.autoscout24.be/fr/offre...omepage_last-search&position=2&source_otp=t10

Car looks nice and drives well but, as mentioned, has no service documentation. Also, is it just me or is the passenger side headlight a non 036 version?

There are no photos at all of the left headlight, but yes, the right side appears to have the wrong lens (and/or wrong lamp assembly).

 

[Lantz]

Many thanks all!

@TimL: yes, saw that other add. "Always MB maintained" is great but would be much better with some contemporaneous evidence of the same

@gsxr: not hugely difficult or expensive to import but it is definitely more work (I'd need to travel further to look at cars etc.). Buying locally has its advantages. Good to know regarding the headlight. The passenger side one is different to the driver side light, and the former doesnt look like it's the correct spec.

Will keep digging.

Kind regards,

Lantz

P.S. It's great to see that this is such an active forum. I used to post a lot on M5board back in the day but it's pretty dead these days unfortunately.

 

[Jlaa]

My opinion, since you asked for it:

Even disregarding the mileage (130Kmi), with the age of these cars, everything mechanical is going to need replacing sooner or later anyways.

Bushings, suspension arms, struts/shocks, SLS components, starter, HVAC blower motor / regulator, transmission rebuild, ignition switch, wiring harnesses if not done, all rubber hoses and stuff on the top end, radiator, maybe visco fan clutch, exhaust / catalyst, regular tuneup stuff like spark plugs / wires / distributor caps/rotors/covers, cam magnet reseal, etc etc ..... it doesn't matter so much if this stuff has been serviced before, you will have to service it again.

So if this current condition is really good without any corrosion, especially on the underside and battery box area, then go for it. The REALLY expensive stuff is cosmetic - bodywork / paint / exterior trim / headlamps and interior bits which might be NLA.

 

[maw1124]

Many thanks all!

P.S. Its great to see that this is such an active forum. I used to post a lot on M5board back in the day but its pretty dead these days unfortunately.

Yeah, they're dying off quickly, unfortunately. There's a thread on it somewhere here. Makes me glad I used to "Print to PDF" a lot of stuff I would see and find useful on the internet, because it's gone now. A large part of it here is that these cars aren't ones you tire of in 4 years, generally, so most of us (many of us anyway) have owned them for a decade or more.

The perspective @Jlaa has just shared is exemplary of what I'm saying -- most parts either have been replaced or will need replacing, so that's your go forward assumption, and it's a lot cheaper (and more satisfying IMO) than paint or rust. I don't mind replacing worn out parts. I never want to paint a car.

maw

 

[Eno]

Also keep in mind that as soon as you buy your preferred color/combo 500E, you will need to buy some more parts and invest on preventive maintenance.
Some parts are no longer available at Mercedes-Benz.

 

[Lantz]

Thanks and fully agreed. I fully anticipate budgeting for and undertaking preventative maintenance. My main concern is trying to figure out what has been done (and what hasn't) over the years given the absence of service history.

 

[Jlaa]

Thanks and fully agreed. I fully anticipate budgeting for and undertaking preventative maintenance. My main concern is trying to figure out what has been done (and what hasnt) over the years given the absence of service history.

I do not think this matters because the car is so old that you will be redoing whatever has been done before anyways!

Ok I am exaggerating. Somewhat.

 

[maw1124]

I do not think this matters because the car is so old that you will be redoing whatever has been done before anyways!

Ok I am exaggerating. Somewhat.

But not by much... seriously... and generally because a good portion of what you'll put on the car are better condition used parts (new ones being NLA) which are often just as old (or close) and will need another replacement. Charge it to the game...

A blank check is hard, but FWIW that car looks to be a good one. It's certainly priced like it. I'd check with my "friendly" Benz dealer to see what they have on it. They may or may not print it all out for you pre-purchase, but they can read it to you. And post purchase, of course they'll print it out for you.

maw

EDIT... off the top of my head, the big stuff that you should get while you can are harnesses, headlights, rear SLS struts, AC condensers and vacuum pods, seat covers and not much else I can think... which is I think what you're really asking us here... everything else seems more or less consumerable or interchangeable to me... and people here have AMAZING parts hoards.

 

[Jlaa]

But not by much... seriously... and generally because a good portion of what youll put on the car are better condition used parts (new ones being NLA) which are often just as old (or close) and will need another replacement. Charge it to the game...

A blank check is hard, but FWIW that car looks to be a good one. Its certainly priced like it. Id check with my friendly Benz dealer to see what they have on it. They may or may not print it all out for you pre-purchase, but they can read it to you. And post purchase, of course theyll print it out for you.

maw

EDIT... off the top of my head, the big stuff that you should get while you can are harnesses, headlights, rear SLS struts, AC condensers and vacuum pods, seat covers and not much else I can think... which is I think what youre really asking us here... everything else seems more or less consumerable or interchangeable to me... and people here have AMAZING parts hoards.

I know I know - I was incredulous as well —— but even simple maintenance stuff like OE front struts are ….. not available!

 

[500AMM]

Hi all,

New potential 500e owner here and wanted to get some tips and advice from this knowledgeable group. The car I've been looking at is ostensibly in good shape and drives well. Claimed mileage and overall condition appear to match. The one major gripe I have is that the car has zero service history. I'd normally walk away at this point but it appears to be a clean and honest car. Do any of you know if service history is logged centrally at MB or if there is some other way of ascertaining what has been done to the car over the years? Just find it odd that a car would have zip in terms of service documentation (aside from the recent work undertaken by the current owner).

I've been doing a bit of research here and on the web, and the main other (more obvious) points to check appear to be:

- Wiring harness. I've read a few conflicting reports but does this primarily affect face-lifted models?
- Headlights; there appear to be differences between the 0.36 versions and those fitted to regular w124s.
- Any others?

Kind regards,

Lantz

Hello Lantz - and welcome to the forum!

Your profile says your living place is Norway. If it's correct I guess you have checked out FINN.no. Only one '93 500E for sale at the moment with some flaws, pedestrian headlights/lenses -- at an all time high asking price [$60k USD] for the Norwegian market:

Bruktbil til salgs: Mercedes-Benz E-Klasse - 1993 - Svart - 326 hk - Sedan | FINN.no

Vår kompetanse er din trygghet - tillit, ærlighet og grundighet helt siden 1995. Vi ber vennlig om at du leser hele annonsen. - Visning av bil etter avtale – se...

www.finn.no

 

[Lantz]

Thanks 500AMM! I'm based in Belgium although originally from Sweden. I ended up purchasing the car I posted about . It needs a few things doing, and will detail all of that in a separate thread.

Kind regards,

Lantz