Need opinions - E500 for sale locally

[leftyflyer]

Hello guys,

I'm new to the forum here but I have a 190E 16v and am part of the 190Rev forum (I know captruff and 5thscaleracer). There is an elderly gentleman that is looking to sell his 1994 e500 and want to buy it but I don't know much about these cars and need some opinions about what it is really worth and any issues that I should look out for. I have and will continue to soak up the great info on this forum but I thought that this specific situation may warrant a post of its own.

Info:
vin - WDBEA36E1RC170577
126k miles
Interior in good condition
Paint is bad on the roof and on the trunk lid. Whole car probable needs a respray
Needs a new transmission, reverse won't engage


I'm curious about what you guys think that It is worth. I actually know the gentleman personally because he is my grandparents' neighbor. I think he isn't trying to get top dollar for the car because he already has; 2x porsche 356, 996 gt2, clk 63 AMG black, two other amgs, and a Ferrari 575 Maranello.

I was hoping that 4k might be reasonable given that I know him personally and the condition that the car is in, but that said I don't want to low ball him. Please correct me if I'm wrong...

Thanks,
Alec

 

[Dario]

Well $4k is a steal as there is more in parts there. Value depends on maintenance. Does it have clear title? Has wirring harness been replaced? ETA replaced? What is color inside out? Plan on arpund $2500 for transmission. Then i am sure need other things replaced so plan min on $5K to dump into car. With those miles its worth like $12K if all mechanical in good order minus paint issues.

 

[leftyflyer]

I got a quote for $3500 for the transmission and $2k for just the roof and trunk respray plus I already figured about $3k in general maitnence. All that added up is how I got to $4k value as is. It has a tan interior and smoke silver exterior (looks gold). I don't know any service history of the car, but a free carfax shows a few things. The car hasn't moved in about 1.5 years though.

 

[Dario]

Have you tried sun valey for transmission? They are close to you i think and they are experts done many of these and i think they charge $1700 for rebuilt one with core exchange just need someone to install it. It should be around $2500 for that job. Paint is tricky one could be cheap if need something quick or could be very expensive for a show car. I would leave that last and get car in right mechanical order then down the road paint it. Sitting for that long is always not good for suspension and rubber.

 

[sheward]

It is difficult to attach a price with the information you have but I agree with Mario. Pictures and maintenance history would go a long way.

drew

 

[leftyflyer]

I actually plan to do the tranny myself, I can get a one remanufactured wholesale for $1300 through my work and install it there myself for free (but we don't have to tell him that now do we ). I'm just trying to get a feel for what you guys would offer for the car/ estimate what needs to be done. Thanks.

 

[leftyflyer]

I did manage to dig a few, maybe this helps...

http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/leftyflyer/library/E500

hopefully this works

 

[sheward]

Just guessing, but with a stable of cars that he has the E500 is likely in decent shape and something in the $7000-9000 range might be fair.

drew

 

[Maui]

I would not pay more than $4k for the car and then only if your are prepared to pump at least another $10k in it for mechanicals. Paint would easely be in the teens to do it right. These numbers could go up or down depending on how much of the work you can do yourself. In my humble opinion there are plenty of cars out there in the low to mid teens that you could buy and enjoy right away. The cold hard fact is that if all you can afford is a car in this condition you might be biting off more than you can chew. No offense intended.

 

[leftyflyer]

I completely understand. No offense taken. I enjoy working on the car as much as I do driving. I would be able to do every kind of maintenance myself except for paint and any bodywork. Also, aesthetically I'm not really concerned its just mechanicals that need to be rock solid. I have already experienced the Mercedes money pit with my 16v. An E500 would just be a nice daily driver for me and my friends. I am going to call the owner sometime soon. Thanks for the help.

 

[nocfn]

You could find a nice daily driver E420 for the money you speak of....

 

[Dario]

You could find a nice daily driver E420 for the money you speak of....

A pretty nice 400E/E420 for sure those are bargain compared to E500E

 

[nocfn]

same issues, less BS. (sounds kinda like saying but but she has a nice personality...)

 

[leftyflyer]

Yeah. It's just not the same though is it? I'm now quite attached to the idea of having an E500...

 

[Dario]

Yeah. It's just not the same though is it? I'm now quite attached to the idea of having an E500...

Very similar though

 

[gsxr]

Yeah. It's just not the same though is it? I'm now quite attached to the idea of having an E500...

Fix the mechanicals and skip the paint job for now - it's not that bad, based on the few photos. Plus, you have to decide if you want a cheap paint job, or a pro level that will cost nearly as much as the car is worth. Since you can do mechanical work yourself, it's likely you could get a rebuilt tranny installed, take care of the usual deferred maintenance and probably end up with <$10k total including purchase of the car, ending up with a nice E500 that will someday need paint. Oh, on a side note, this was the last smoke silver .036 imported to USA.

BTW - check into insurance, if you plan to have comp/collision coverage. It's usually a big step up from most other 124's.

 

[leftyflyer]

Fix the mechanicals and skip the paint job for now - it's not that bad, based on the few photos. Plus, you have to decide if you want a cheap paint job, or a pro level that will cost nearly as much as the car is worth. Since you can do mechanical work yourself, it's likely you could get a rebuilt tranny installed, take care of the usual deferred maintenance and probably end up with <$10k total including purchase of the car, ending up with a nice E500 that will someday need paint. Oh, on a side note, this was the last smoke silver .036 imported to USA.

That's what I was thinking...Assuming that I can get the car for around 4k. Also, how can you tell that it is the last smoke silver .036 imported into the US?

 

[gsxr]

That's what I was thinking...Assuming that I can get the car for around 4k. Also, how can you tell that it is the last smoke silver .036 imported into the US?

$4k would be a steal, IMO - even with the dead tranny. Gerry has a list of VIN's for US imports (and also worldwide, IIRC) and this chassis shows as the last sequential smoke silver imported to USA. It's also one of the last 1994 USA models period, there was only a dozen or so afterwards. It's a very late build car, probably July or August 1994... close to being a 1995 model year if MB had kept importing them for the final year.

 

[trashtotreasure]

Yeah. It's just not the same though is it? I'm now quite attached to the idea of having an E500...

If you decide to pass on it , let me know please , i have all the parts for it , it looks like it will be a lot less work to finish compare to the one i'm parting out right now.Thank you.

 

[stickyvicky]

I made pretty same mistake, bought
1994 smoked silver for 5k
Already put 7k And even did not come to paint work .
Pm sent


Thanks,
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SG-Motorsports]

I think if you could get it for $4k that would be a steal. I have no doubt on the open market it would fetch closer to 8-10, even with the disclosed condition and trans faults.

Considering wrecked cars with salvage titles in similar condition are selling for 10+ at auctions. I think the only way you get it for $4k is if you know the guy and he either decides to give it away or doesn't know any better. I would buy the car all day, every day for that price. Especially of you can do the mechanical work yourself, it's a no-brainer. If you're paying someone $100-150/hr to sort out the deferred maintenance and repairs, then that may be a different story.

The prices of these 124.036 are elevating rapidly, the days of finding sub-$5k cars in any condition are about over. Get it while you can.......