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I've owned several Mercedes over the years but one has kinda stuck with me: a 1991 Pearl Grey 500E. I bought it new going on 35 years ago and I am still enjoying it. It's an early one, with no airbags, etc. It is pretty-well established as the only 500 in the UK still in the original owner's garage. But is there anyone else out there in the Great Wide World who is similarly bent? I'm feeling a little bit lonely here, lads, help me out.
 
PHK said:
I've owned several Mercedes over the years but one has kinda stuck with me: a 1991 Pearl Grey 500E. I bought it new going on 35 years ago and I am still enjoying it. It's an early one, with no airbags, etc. It is pretty-well established as the only 500 in the UK still in the original owner's garage. But is there anyone else out there in the Great Wide World who is similarly bent? I'm feeling a little bit lonely here, lads, help me out.
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Very cool, I don't think there are many 500E owners out there that bought their car new and still owns it. A lot of people who could afford a 500E when new were people who wanted the latest and greatest always, so they traded it for a new car or just plain sold it when it wasn't new any more.

I would love to hear more about your car and experience of ownership since new. Some pictures of the car would be awesome too!
 
doolar said:
Very cool, I don't think there are many 500E owners out there that bought their car new and still owns it. A lot of people who could afford a 500E when new were people who wanted the latest and greatest always, so they traded it for a new car or just plain sold it when it wasn't new any more.

I would love to hear more about your car and experience of ownership since new. Some pictures of the car would be awesome too!
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Thanks for your interest. There's not that much to tell about the car; it's pretty straightforward. I haven't done anything to modify it except, replace the stock steering wheel with a smaller-diameter Momo, bury a radar detector in it somewhere (it doesn't need line-of-sight), and mount an aviation-grade compass (this was before GPS, youngsters) on the dash. I bought it because my wife decided she wanted my 300E and, hey, I had to drive something. Also, we were doing a lot of miles in Europe and getting the 300E over 140 mph was a bit of struggle. So, on a taxi drive to an appointment we went past a M-B store with the 500E in the window. I stopped in on the way back and, long story short, I bought it. Since then, drove it, maintained it, drove it, maintained it, etc., etc. The only gap was when Covid kept me out of the country for 30 months but it started right up on the first turn of the key as if it hadn't missed me at all!

Driving in the confines of the United Kingdom is a bit of a bore what with all the cameras, traffic, and suboptimal roads. But its real nature comes to the fore on European roads which I am happy to say are the majority of its 107k. It gets a lot of comments, looks, and even pics wherever I go. It continues to amaze me how many people 'get' it. My only concern going forward is the dreaded NLA.

This picture isn't exactly new, but the mountains and the car are pretty much the same.
 

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duuder said:
Thats amazing!!
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It's not so 'amazing' from my point of view. When I bought it, I told my wife that I would forever regret it if I didn't at least give it a try for, say, a year or so. Since then, I've never had reason to give it up. There just has never been anything "better." It just keeps on meeting my needs; it's not a museum piece nor am I looking for a citation in the Guiness World Book of Records. I have had a number of guys (including my chief mechanic) come up to me and say that they had one back in the day and always regretted selling it. I continue to be regrets-averse. Persumably, my estate will be better motivated to sell it.
 
PHK said:
There just has never been anything "better."
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This: ^^^ 💯

I owned a W210 RENNtech E60-RS which would be sort of the successor, and the W210 just doesn't quite hit the mark, despite being faster. I also owned a W211 E63 AMG P30 (link) which came darn close but lacked the widebody to differentiate it from plebian 211's. I regret selling the E60 only because I let it go far too cheap, right before prices spiked... I'd have happily sold it a few years later at 3x the price. The E63 I regret selling partly because I let it go cheap, but at the time living in an area with Draconian speed enforcement, it couldn't be enjoyed much. I now live somewhere that the E63 could stretch its legs on occasion, and kinda wish I had it back. Maybe the current owner will get bored and sell it back to me in the future. 😁



PHK said:
Persumably, my estate will be better motivated to sell it.
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LOL! Yep, that's my plan as well. In reality I should probably plan to sell it as I get to the point of not being able to drive anymore (which also means I wouldn't be able to maintain/repair it for my wife to drive either). Still have a couple decades before I hit that point. I hope.


:oldman:
 
My son is 12, he loves our 500E, not only because it was his grandfather’s car, but he just thinks it’s cool. His favourite things about it are the noise it makes and the colours both inside and out. He appreciates the analog experience that it delivers. Did I say he’s only 12? I bet he got his smarts from his mother. 😂

I’ll happily let him drive it as a learner and when he gets his license, hopefully he’ll keep it after I’m gone. I’m slowly trying to pass the little knowledge I have about cars in general and the 500E in particular so he can take care of the maintenance if he chooses to.

PHK said:
It's not so 'amazing' from my point of view. When I bought it, I told my wife that I would forever regret it if I didn't at least give it a try for, say, a year or so. Since then, I've never had reason to give it up. There just has never been anything "better." It just keeps on meeting my needs; it's not a museum piece nor am I looking for a citation in the Guiness World Book of Records. I have had a number of guys (including my chief mechanic) come up to me and say that they had one back in the day and always regretted selling it. I continue to be regrets-averse. Persumably, my estate will be better motivated to sell it.
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I’m not trying to correct you at all, but it actually is pretty amazing. ☺️ Owners like you are a very rare breed, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Very nice to have you on here and if you feel like sharing more about living with your car for all these years I bet I’m not alone in loving to hear about it.

And if you ever need any help with the car, almost every problem, big or small, with the 500E is covered on this board. Not to mention all of the knowledgable members that happily share their advice and troubleshooting.

All the best, Thomas
 
doolar said:
My son is 12, he loves our 500E, not only because it was his grandfather’s car, but he just thinks it’s cool. His favourite things about it are the noise it makes and the colours both inside and out. He appreciates the analog experience that it delivers.
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Your son's on to something there and, I agree, he must be a smart kid. I think I prefer "sound" to "noise," with its negative connotations, and it makes me think of one of my favorite sounds which is that of the full-throttle 3-4 up-shift at 104MPH. As my car is an early production and way before M-B starting detuning the 500s' engines by altering the ignition timing to reduce full-throttle enrichment on acceleration, presumably for PC environmental and high-octane availability concerns. Unfortunately, that sound is something of a rare treat these days. I'd be interested to know if post-detune cars produced the same.

But I have to say I also loved the sound of my straight-six 300E. It was so quiet at low revs you almost couldn't here it. I will never forget the night in a cold and rainy off-airport car park when I started the car up with a business colleague in the passenger seat. We were chatting while I turned the key and when I started reversing out of the space, he nearly jumped out of his skin! He hadn't realized I had started the car. But the music of the induction and cam shafts at high RPMs was pure magic.

And thanks for your offer of help, Thomas. I never stop learning about the car. Fortunately, I am plugged in to the tight community of like owners in the UK and have a good mechanic, but you never know.
 
gsxr said:
LOL! Yep, that's my plan as well. In reality I should probably plan to sell it as I get to the point of not being able to drive anymore (which also means I wouldn't be able to maintain/repair it for my wife to drive either). Still have a couple decades before I hit that point. I hope.
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@gsxr,
:stickpoke:Dave, I’m now 83 :oldster: with no current plans on giving up my 500E. I’ve owned now since October 2004 (21 years and 50K miles later). I’ll quit when they pull my cold tightly gripped hands off of the steering wheel.:)

I applaud @PHK for his 35 year ownership. That’s an incredible accomplishment.:thumbsup2:
 
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