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OWNER makemann

It's been a busy summer work-wise and I haven't had a chance to do much with the Grey Wolf™ other than change my plugs, spark plug wires, distributor rotors and caps. The sagging headliner has been bothering me since I bought it earlier this year, so I finally dropped my car off last night at Motorwerks to get it replaced with a light grey Alcantara. Photos to come this Friday!
 
Hey Drew! I made a stop at your brother's place a few weeks back and introduced myself. He's a real gentleman and a savvy businessman. I'm sure Kip has survived in this difficult business because he's doing something right! It was a pleasure meeting him and he spoke highly of you.

I sold my 997.2 and was dreaming about getting into an air-cooled 993. He has a cherry looking Cabriolet that caught my eye, but after sleeping on it, I realized I would have about three hours of seat time during a typical Michigan summer.


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It's fun to drop into his place. He always has something that gets me thinking I could find room for another car... I have told friends for years I will own another Porsche and it will be a 993 but i'm beginning to think the 500E will prevent that from happening. Alacantra headliner will be a very nice upgrade!

drew
 
Well, I was hoping to have my car back this past Friday, but it needed a bit more time to get the headliner put in. While it was in the shop I also had the front struts, steering damper and center link replaced. Hopefully finished tomorrow.

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This CLS63 was on the lift next to mine. Apparently it had so much power it ripped the entire rear subframe from the chassis!


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I took a quick iPhone shot last night after picking up my car. Photos do not do it justice. It looks soooo good. I'll use my DSLR with a wide angle lens for a better view, but I had to share this one.

Motorwerks did excellent work. Also had the A-, B- and C-pillars finished in Alcantara. Notice how it forms around the seatbelt on the C-pillar.
 
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That is very nice! The sort of attention to detail that fits these cars well. Now I kinda wish mine was sagging...

drew
 
DarkStar said:
Did you use foam of any kind on the headliner or B pillars when you covered them?
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I don't know if foam was used or not. It feels like there is no foam as there's not a lot of give if you press into the Alcantara with your finger. It doesn't sound any louder or quieter than the OEM liner. It does look like a million bucks though.
 
Really does look amazing

I still haven't redone mine yet as have been figuring out my audio upgrades as am going to do audio and headliner all at once since am installing hushmat while the interior metal (including the roof) is fully exposed

Did you use the "real" alcantara branded material or one of the generic "ultrasuede".....at least through my guy the real alcantara is about 3x more for material. I have black interior (yes I know factory headliner was grey and I'm going for the coffin vibe by using black) and from what I have read elsewhere I'm a little scared not to use the real alcantara as have read about experiences with the ultra suede showing more charcoal/dark grey than true black


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Thanks. I used the ultrasuede. I had about four different shades of grey to choose from. The light grey that I chose was a perfect compliment to the stock vinyl headliner. If interested, Motorwerks did a perfect job on the install.
 
It's been one year of ownership of the 500E and I'm still loving the car as much as day one. Since purchased, I've put exactly 10,000 miles on it as of today!

Things I enjoy about it in no particular order: the vault-like sound of the door closing; the nearly 270° twist of the ignition key upon starting; the luxurious tone of the exhaust; the surge of a first-gear start; the perfect resistance of the turn signal stalk when signaling; the ridiculously over-engineered single windshield wiper; the seat springs; the "kick-down" and how smooth it rides at insane speeds; the quick visual scan and knowing nod of appreciation from a driver in the next lane (usually in a new MB); the timeless lines of the car, and finally the folks on this board who have provided me help with keeping it maintained.
 
It's been a while since I've updated my owner thread. Other than the windshield being replaced this past August, I haven't had to do anything to it all year. I'm getting ready to store it for the winter shortly, so I took it for a nice long ride this morning. Still love it!
 

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Got stranded at work last night due to the starter going bad. Had it towed this morning to the shop for a replacement.

I should have known it was going bad when it began taking longer to start.

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ARRGGHH! Bummer. And I hate having cars towed. Always anxiety-inducing affairs. Glad to see a flatbed was employed - I'm sure that lowered the stress levels a bit.
 
Only on a FLATBED or get another tow company.

Also you have to watch the ass end when it starts up the ramp.
Especially if you have exhaust tips under the bumper.
 
Just checked the VMI: 10/03/2003 the Upper Harness was changed. Nothing noted about Lower. I'll have them look this morning.


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When I first bought my car the starter went out within year. Changed it myself on my back in the driveway.

Mak, your doing the right thing by giving it to a Tech.

Never again, it was a PITA job that took me about 4 hours. IMOP, that's a long time to R&R 2 bolts and a couple of nuts.

Still have the original harness down there but I have seen some deterioration of the wiring over by the compressor.

Anyway, I'm sure you will go first cabin on it.

Take Care
 
I thought about changing it out myself, but it is supposed to be a high of 15 degrees this weekend.

Thanks for confirming I made the right decision Terry.


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DerFuror said:
Has the lower harness been replaced?
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It has been replaced within the past six years.
Klink said:
Bingo was his name, oh! If it is original, it is even more likely to be the fault than the starter motor...
:shitnot:
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It's confirmed that it is not the original and upon inspection it looks good.
TerryA said:
When I first bought my car the starter went out within year. Changed it myself on my back in the driveway.

Mak, your doing the right thing by giving it to a Tech.

Never again, it was a PITA job that took me about 4 hours. IMOP, that's a long time to R&R 2 bolts and a couple of nuts.

Still have the original harness down there but I have seen some deterioration of the wiring over by the compressor.

Anyway, I'm sure you will go first cabin on it.

Take Care
Click to expand...
I just got my car back, and I'm really glad I had MotorWerks replace the starter. Apparently, the starter has been replaced by the PO and the two bolts were over-torqued. The tech had to remove the exhaust for better access and leverage.

While they were in there, I had the transmission filter and fluid replaced.

Also had an oil leak at the oil level sender, so they replaced the oil sump gasket, oil drain plug gasket, oil filter, oil level sender and the oil pump adapter. Oh, and the oil.

Wallet is a little lighter, but I'm glad it was done right.
 
If anyone needs a reminder to make the most of every moment with your family and friends, here's one. If you go back to the beginning of my owner thread, you'll see that instead of having my 500E transported from California to Michigan, I opted to fly out with my older brother, Marc, and drive it 2,500 miles cross country during the winter with summer tires. It was a trip of a lifetime and one that I've memorialized here.

Well, three weeks ago he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. He never smoked and was the healthiest person I know. Apparently, he was so healthy, he overcame the symptoms of stages I through III. He's a fighter and will make the most of the time he has.

Carpe diem.

Thank you Gerry for all the work you put into hosting this site and allowing like-minded people to share their vehicle passions. I greatly appreciate it. And thanks to the folks I've met along the way who've helped me keep my wallet lighter, made me spew coffee out my nose while reading your posts, and have become friends.
 

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Max,

Thank you for sharing with us here. I know what you are going through as my own sister went through a similar set situation. I'm glad you were able to maximize your time with your brother --- no regrets in life! Be strong, my friend.

Cheers
 
This past weekend I bought a third Yakima Frontloader bike rack from a gentleman on Craigslist. We agreed to meet at a gas station that was central to both of us. He said he would be driving a Miata and I told him I would be driving a gray Mercedes.

He arrived before me. When I pulled in, his eyes opened wide and he started to grin broadly.

He jumped out of his car and he joked, "That's no Mercedes, that's a Porsche!"

Love it when you run into someone who appreciates these cars. We ended up talking cars for a while.

Anyway, here's the purchase.



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It's always fun to meet folks that recognize the car. The rack is nice. I like how it gives the car a utilitarian look and adds a little more to the Q ship appearance. Some years ago I passed on a factory 124 roof rack. I now wish I had bought it.

Drew
 
Thanks Drew. I know exactly what you mean. I enjoy taking the 500E to the MTB trail over my wife's Jeep Wrangler, even though it's probably more appropriate to take the Jeep.

I've searched for a factory 124 rack, but they just don't come up for sale.


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Can't wait to get my A/C blowing again. I ordered the new blower from mboemparts on Monday and it just arrived this Thursday morning at 9:45 am. They rock!
 

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