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PWNER - gerryvz
- Thread starter gerryvz
- Start date
Nice one that will have the girls falling over their fanny batter in droves, like Bambi on ice.
I drove my friends C63 longroof (diaper express) many moons ago. An amazing engine indeed, probably one of the best sounding stock V8:s ever. Cold start is amazeballz. I want one.
I drove my friends C63 longroof (diaper express) many moons ago. An amazing engine indeed, probably one of the best sounding stock V8:s ever. Cold start is amazeballz. I want one.
Sadly and unexpectedly last Thursday, I received notice that my good friend in Germany of 20+ years and member @tgrevel passed away at the age of 72, that same day.
Thomas was the creator and driving force of the annual “Alpentours” that I drove in from 2004 onward. Many of my old “GVZ Euro Tour” posts here involved doing things together with Thomas.
It is hard to express how much of an influence and impact Thomas had on me over the years, in so many ways. Including buying my G-wagen 10+ years ago.
In his honor I created this remembrance for our group of German and international friends.
Thomas was the creator and driving force of the annual “Alpentours” that I drove in from 2004 onward. Many of my old “GVZ Euro Tour” posts here involved doing things together with Thomas.
It is hard to express how much of an influence and impact Thomas had on me over the years, in so many ways. Including buying my G-wagen 10+ years ago.
In his honor I created this remembrance for our group of German and international friends.
All of us have people who have had significant influence in our lives. Our parents, our professional mentors, our spouses, perhaps an aunt or an uncle. And for many, there are perhaps one or two people who wield a profound influence that is even larger than others.
Thomas was one of those people, for me. And from the very first time I met him.
I first met Thomas online in a Mercedes-related Internet forum in 2001-2002. He approached me (as many people did) with some occasional questions and conversation. In 2003, on my annual trip to Germany to visit friends and Mercedes-related contacts and the Techno-Classica show in Essen, Thomas suggested that we meet in person, for dinner, at the Castle restaurant in Dachau. I was staying with good friends in Landsberg/Lech, and Dachau was relatively half-way between Kranzberg and Landsberg.
Arriving in Dachau, I parked my car at the bottom of the hill, below the castle, and began walking up the hill. About half-way up, I heard the familiar rumble of a Mercedes 6.3-liter V-8 engine behind me. Turning around I saw Thomas and Sonny in their anthracite 1970 300SEL 6.3, similar to my own. I waved them down. They beckoned me to get into the back seat. After a quick greeting, we continued up the hill. Thomas mentioned that the tachometer in the center of the dashboard was not working, and it was perplexing him.
I reached forward between the front seats (Sonny was in the passenger seat) and twisted the chrome tachometer rim, and the needle sprang back to life. As I retreated back into the rear seat, Thomas let out his signature “Whaaaaa!” and had a look of wonderment and appreciation on his face.
And that simple gesture, within one minute of meeting him, was the first gesture in a genuine friendship that I truly treasured for the following 22 years.
Starting the next year, Thomas invited me to the “Alpentour,” and I attended and drove every single year from 2004 all the way to 2017, and again in 2024.
Over the years Thomas came to visit me a couple of times in Portland, Oregon where I lived, and then he and Sonny visited us later on in Houston. And I visited him and Sonny every year on my annual trips to Germany (which usually either began or ended with the Alpentour).
We had so many adventures together both in the US and in Germany. We went hiking several times in Oregon, climbing Beacon Rock and climbing to the top of Multnomah Falls, the second-highest waterfall in the USA. In Germany we went on many adventures and day trips near and far from Kranzberg. We visited the Porsche Museum and the Maybach Museum together. Thomas showed me his boyhood home near Stuttgart. One of my favorite memories was when we went to the Allershausen fall festival, walking 3 km from the Grevel Ranch through the forest to the festival grounds. In 2014 Thomas even took me to the Oktoberfest in Munich!
Thomas and I bonded with our shared love of Mercedes-Benz cars, and we both owned a number of similar models – 300SEL 6.3, W126 chassis (Thomas – sedan, me – coupe), early 1990s G-wagens. It always gave us a basis for talking cars. Thomas indulged my lifelong love of World War II, and visiting important WW2 sites in Germany and all over Europe. We joked that my WW2 German military rank was “Obersturmbannführer.” In return, I named his custom, higher displacement Mercedes engine (which was a secret kept from the TÜV authorities) the “V-3” retaliation weapon.
But more important than all of that, was that Thomas knew me better than almost anyone ever has. Over the years he saw both the victories and the challenges that I’ve had, and I confided much in him. I also at several important points asked him for his counsel, which he willingly provided. He gave me comfort through my horrible divorce with my first wife, and during my father’s long descent into dementia. He met my girlfriend (now my wife) Laura and he and Sonny welcomed her.
Thomas was also one of only two men (the other being my father) I’ve ever known who were truly men of integrity. Both my father and Thomas were always like a rock. Always solid, well grounded, never losing control of their emotions, and telling the truth. Always strong. Always supportive. Always faithful. But also always pointing out problems they saw, or letting you know how you can do better, especially if asked.
Just a few weeks ago in December, Thomas asked me to help him fill in some “holes” in the US branch of his family tree. Over the course of a few days I was able to get all of the information that he needed, except a couple of birthdates for some very young child relatives. Over the Christmas holiday he sent me the records he had updated with the information I had provided, and was genuinely thankful for my assistance. It was my pleasure to help him, and I thought nothing of it.
And that was the essence of our friendship – we always helped each other, never thinking twice about it.
I will miss Thomas greatly. So greatly. But the memories that we made over the years I carry with me, and I have many photographs of. What Thomas did for me, and the generosity with which he did it, is something very rare and precious to me. I learned so much from – and through – Thomas. I am a better person for having had him as my friend, and watching the example he set.
Godspeed and thank you for everything, my friend.
Thomas was one of those people, for me. And from the very first time I met him.
I first met Thomas online in a Mercedes-related Internet forum in 2001-2002. He approached me (as many people did) with some occasional questions and conversation. In 2003, on my annual trip to Germany to visit friends and Mercedes-related contacts and the Techno-Classica show in Essen, Thomas suggested that we meet in person, for dinner, at the Castle restaurant in Dachau. I was staying with good friends in Landsberg/Lech, and Dachau was relatively half-way between Kranzberg and Landsberg.
Arriving in Dachau, I parked my car at the bottom of the hill, below the castle, and began walking up the hill. About half-way up, I heard the familiar rumble of a Mercedes 6.3-liter V-8 engine behind me. Turning around I saw Thomas and Sonny in their anthracite 1970 300SEL 6.3, similar to my own. I waved them down. They beckoned me to get into the back seat. After a quick greeting, we continued up the hill. Thomas mentioned that the tachometer in the center of the dashboard was not working, and it was perplexing him.
I reached forward between the front seats (Sonny was in the passenger seat) and twisted the chrome tachometer rim, and the needle sprang back to life. As I retreated back into the rear seat, Thomas let out his signature “Whaaaaa!” and had a look of wonderment and appreciation on his face.
And that simple gesture, within one minute of meeting him, was the first gesture in a genuine friendship that I truly treasured for the following 22 years.
Starting the next year, Thomas invited me to the “Alpentour,” and I attended and drove every single year from 2004 all the way to 2017, and again in 2024.
Over the years Thomas came to visit me a couple of times in Portland, Oregon where I lived, and then he and Sonny visited us later on in Houston. And I visited him and Sonny every year on my annual trips to Germany (which usually either began or ended with the Alpentour).
We had so many adventures together both in the US and in Germany. We went hiking several times in Oregon, climbing Beacon Rock and climbing to the top of Multnomah Falls, the second-highest waterfall in the USA. In Germany we went on many adventures and day trips near and far from Kranzberg. We visited the Porsche Museum and the Maybach Museum together. Thomas showed me his boyhood home near Stuttgart. One of my favorite memories was when we went to the Allershausen fall festival, walking 3 km from the Grevel Ranch through the forest to the festival grounds. In 2014 Thomas even took me to the Oktoberfest in Munich!
Thomas and I bonded with our shared love of Mercedes-Benz cars, and we both owned a number of similar models – 300SEL 6.3, W126 chassis (Thomas – sedan, me – coupe), early 1990s G-wagens. It always gave us a basis for talking cars. Thomas indulged my lifelong love of World War II, and visiting important WW2 sites in Germany and all over Europe. We joked that my WW2 German military rank was “Obersturmbannführer.” In return, I named his custom, higher displacement Mercedes engine (which was a secret kept from the TÜV authorities) the “V-3” retaliation weapon.
But more important than all of that, was that Thomas knew me better than almost anyone ever has. Over the years he saw both the victories and the challenges that I’ve had, and I confided much in him. I also at several important points asked him for his counsel, which he willingly provided. He gave me comfort through my horrible divorce with my first wife, and during my father’s long descent into dementia. He met my girlfriend (now my wife) Laura and he and Sonny welcomed her.
Thomas was also one of only two men (the other being my father) I’ve ever known who were truly men of integrity. Both my father and Thomas were always like a rock. Always solid, well grounded, never losing control of their emotions, and telling the truth. Always strong. Always supportive. Always faithful. But also always pointing out problems they saw, or letting you know how you can do better, especially if asked.
Just a few weeks ago in December, Thomas asked me to help him fill in some “holes” in the US branch of his family tree. Over the course of a few days I was able to get all of the information that he needed, except a couple of birthdates for some very young child relatives. Over the Christmas holiday he sent me the records he had updated with the information I had provided, and was genuinely thankful for my assistance. It was my pleasure to help him, and I thought nothing of it.
And that was the essence of our friendship – we always helped each other, never thinking twice about it.
I will miss Thomas greatly. So greatly. But the memories that we made over the years I carry with me, and I have many photographs of. What Thomas did for me, and the generosity with which he did it, is something very rare and precious to me. I learned so much from – and through – Thomas. I am a better person for having had him as my friend, and watching the example he set.
Godspeed and thank you for everything, my friend.
Here are a few brief memories of my good friend:
Packing the “500Eboard Group Buy” 500E headlight lenses for the trip back to the US, A number of you bought these lenses!!
Loading the custom-made 3.2L M103 motor into the G-wagon at the machine shop in Pfaffenhofen, Bavaria, Germany. I nicknamed this motor the “V-3” (Vergeltungswaffe-3) because it was kept a secret from the TÜV authorities — outward a standard M103 but packed a hidden punch).
Washing the 1970 four-speed manual Pagoda I drove for many years on the Alpentours.
Packing the “500Eboard Group Buy” 500E headlight lenses for the trip back to the US, A number of you bought these lenses!!
Loading the custom-made 3.2L M103 motor into the G-wagon at the machine shop in Pfaffenhofen, Bavaria, Germany. I nicknamed this motor the “V-3” (Vergeltungswaffe-3) because it was kept a secret from the TÜV authorities — outward a standard M103 but packed a hidden punch).
Washing the 1970 four-speed manual Pagoda I drove for many years on the Alpentours.
Thanks. I appreciate your reply Jon. I’ve had a tough time at several points over the past week. I think I’m going to head over to Germany for his service next Tuesday.
During March, I've had two business trips where I've flown out of Washington Dulles airport. It's a 150-mile round trip each time I go to Dulles and come back home.
Went to fill up the E500's gas tank today, and I noticed when I got home that the odometer hadn't changed from where I had recorded it at the gas station to update the fuel-up into the Fuelly app.
So, finally after 150,800 miles, it seems that the odometer gears have given up the ghost, around 150 miles ago by my calculations per the last fuel-up in late February. So, my next job will be to replace the bad odo gear(s). Fortunately I bought a couple of sets from Garagistic about 10-11 years ago, and conveniently had them in my garage tool chest, sitting in one of several drawers containing my collection of MB special tools.
I also need to replace the headlight switch, of which I've had a brand new one for the past couple of years, but haven't bothered to do the job.
Also noticed that my front struts are now totally shot (they are originals as far as I know), so I will replace them too. Front suspension is REALLY rough when taking bumps (speed bumps, frost heaves in the road, and so forth). I have new factory MB 500E struts (with the internal limiting springs) in my parts stash, as well as new MB buffers and boots. I will also do the upper strut mounts, though the current ones don't have any cracks.
So, some maintenance is coming my way soon.
Coincidentally, I noticed that my E500's instrument cluster has a Stage 0 case of DDD on the inside. It's BARELY visible and not nearly at the point of needing remediation, but I will watch it, and when it hits stage 1+ or 2-, I will have to pull the cluster and take care of this. I won't let it get to Stage 3 or 4 (terminal DDD).
Went to fill up the E500's gas tank today, and I noticed when I got home that the odometer hadn't changed from where I had recorded it at the gas station to update the fuel-up into the Fuelly app.
So, finally after 150,800 miles, it seems that the odometer gears have given up the ghost, around 150 miles ago by my calculations per the last fuel-up in late February. So, my next job will be to replace the bad odo gear(s). Fortunately I bought a couple of sets from Garagistic about 10-11 years ago, and conveniently had them in my garage tool chest, sitting in one of several drawers containing my collection of MB special tools.
I also need to replace the headlight switch, of which I've had a brand new one for the past couple of years, but haven't bothered to do the job.
Also noticed that my front struts are now totally shot (they are originals as far as I know), so I will replace them too. Front suspension is REALLY rough when taking bumps (speed bumps, frost heaves in the road, and so forth). I have new factory MB 500E struts (with the internal limiting springs) in my parts stash, as well as new MB buffers and boots. I will also do the upper strut mounts, though the current ones don't have any cracks.
So, some maintenance is coming my way soon.
Coincidentally, I noticed that my E500's instrument cluster has a Stage 0 case of DDD on the inside. It's BARELY visible and not nearly at the point of needing remediation, but I will watch it, and when it hits stage 1+ or 2-, I will have to pull the cluster and take care of this. I won't let it get to Stage 3 or 4 (terminal DDD).
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Funny you mention DDD, when I followed your expert HOW-TO on the 126, I noticed the lower right corner of my case has some DDD. This cluster case is one I purchased when I got the car as the one original to the car was showroom perfect. It was removed and put in climate controlled storage the first week I got the car to preserve it.During March, I've had two business trips where I've flown out of Washington Dulles airport. It's a 150-mile round trip each time I go to Dulles and come back home.
Went to fill up the E500's gas tank today, and I noticed when I got home that the odometer hadn't changed from where I had recorded it at the gas station to update the fuel-up into the Fuelly app.
So, finally after 150,800 miles, it seems that the odometer gears have given up the ghost, around 150 miles ago by my calculations per the last fuel-up in late February. So, my next job will be to replace the bad odo gear(s). Fortunately I bought a couple of sets from Garagistic about 10-11 years ago, and conveniently had them in my garage tool chest, sitting in one of several drawers containing my collection of MB special tools.
View attachment 210533
I also need to replace the headlight switch, of which I've had a brand new one for the past couple of years, but haven't bothered to do the job.
Also noticed that my front struts are now totally shot (they are originals as far as I know), so I will replace them too. Front suspension is REALLY rough when taking bumps (speed bumps, frost heaves in the road, and so forth). I have new factory MB 500E struts (with the internal limiting springs) in my parts stash, as well as new MB buffers and boots. I will also do the upper strut mounts, though the current ones don't have any cracks.
So, some maintenance is coming my way soon.
Coincidentally, I noticed that my E500's instrument cluster has a Stage 0 case of DDD on the inside. It's BARELY visible and not nearly at the point of needing remediation, but I will watch it, and when it hits stage 1+ or 2-, I will have to pull the cluster and take care of this. I won't let it get to Stage 3 or 4 (terminal DDD).
Some views of the top black odometer gear. Looks like 3-4 teeth were gone. Replacement took about 30 minutes. I applied some VERY LIGHT dabs of gleitpaste to the teeth, but not much at all.
Will reinstall the cluster and test things out after dinner.
Will reinstall the cluster and test things out after dinner.
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Re-installed everything and went out for a three-mile test drive. Everything is working A-OK with no issues. Odometer and trip odo are all back to normal operation. Glad I had a set of new gears in my parts stock (I also recall replacing a gear on my 560SEC some years back, so I also had some remnants from that gear kit).
I ordered a couple of new sets of gears from Garagistic (they are currently having a 25% off sale on odometer gears) for the future, just in case I need to change more gears again either on the SEC or the E500. I have a hunch that I haven't seen the last of this problem.
Here are some close-ups of my cluster, after I re-installed the speedo in the center. You can see that the DDD is Stage 0+ / 1-, and not at all bad at this point in time. But, it will relentlessly advance in the coming years, no question. Accelerated if I still lived in Houston humidity.
I posted large photos, so you can blow them up to see the DDD around the warning light row better.
The SEC has been holding up excellently since I did the HOW-TO on DDD remediation and gauge face replacement.
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I had my speedometer rebuilt by Palo Alto Speedometer in January and had a good experience - although expensive.
I think Jouser currently only has 124's in his fleet with mechanical speedos... would be interesting to know what Palo Alto did, and what it cost!
Took the E500 out again yesterday for about a 10-mile run to do some errands, and everything is working excellently with the odometer and trip-odo. So I'll chalk this one up to being fixed. I need to do the headlight switch. Maybe I'll have the motivation to do it after work today.
Re-installed everything and went out for a three-mile test drive. Everything is working A-OK with no issues. Odometer and trip odo are all back to normal operation. Glad I had a set of new gears in my parts stock (I also recall replacing a gear on my 560SEC some years back, so I also had some remnants from that gear kit).
Time sure does fly, I have the invoice from October, not January...I think Jouser currently only has 124's in his fleet with mechanical speedos... would be interesting to know what Palo Alto did, and what it cost!
My issue was that my trip meter would eventually reset, but I had to punch the reset button like a gorilla a few times or else the meter would not FULLY reset to "000.0" causing clicking noise heartache (this was like this when I bought the car in 2015 @ 217k miles...) Eventually, the manhandling needed to reset to 0 became greater and soon enough the Odometer just stopped working, likely not related, but could be.
I can recommend Palo Alto Speedometer because of the following story:
1. Dropped the ODO off for a rebuild and when I got it back I still had that weird trip ODO reset issue when placed back in the instrument cluser, but not when it was out of the instrument cluster.
2. I brought them a different spare (used) plastic case cluster and swapped the ODO unit and that did not fix my issue.
2b. We narrowed the issue down to the metal pin arm on the rebuilt unit.
3. I brought in (2) spare ODOs (thanks Jeremy Nichols for selling me Diesel #2, Liesl - with a plethora of PnP parts)
4. One of the units had a good face and the other did not, so they rebuilt the known working one...
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I had ordered a few spare sets of Garagistic odometer gears recently, which arrived a couple of weeks back. They are safely in my stash of spare parts for when they will be needed in the future.
I'll be driving my E500 starting this weekend on the 150-mile round trip to Dulles Airport, so hopefully my odometer gear repair job will prove to be good
@gerryvz,
How did you like Brighton? I spent a night in the Hilton facing the beach. We had a seagull that expected to be fed at our window. He would tap on the window and wait to be fed crackers or something.
I don’t remember the name but there was a beautiful home/manor back from the beach that looked like some kind of palace. We also liked the pier across from the hotel. It had all sorts of rides and attractions to check out.
The downside of Brighton, I managed to get a parking ticket in front of the Hilton.
I had just stopped for a couple of minutes to see about a room. There was already a car parked there in front of me. I was at the desk inquiring when the doorman said a cop was writing a ticket on my car. The other car had left. I ran out a sure enough he had put a ticket on my rental car. I got in an argument with him I was really pissed. He said I was parked there to long. I was parked less than 5 minutes and told him there was a car parked here when I pulled up. I told him I wouldn’t pay it.
He said he didn’t care.
Anyway, the Hilton said they could take care of it for me. They DIDN’T. They tracked me down about 6 months later thru the car rental. I finally paid about £100.00 for the ticket about 9 months later.
Other than the ticket we really liked Brighton.
How did you like Brighton? I spent a night in the Hilton facing the beach. We had a seagull that expected to be fed at our window. He would tap on the window and wait to be fed crackers or something.
I don’t remember the name but there was a beautiful home/manor back from the beach that looked like some kind of palace. We also liked the pier across from the hotel. It had all sorts of rides and attractions to check out.
The downside of Brighton, I managed to get a parking ticket in front of the Hilton.
I had just stopped for a couple of minutes to see about a room. There was already a car parked there in front of me. I was at the desk inquiring when the doorman said a cop was writing a ticket on my car. The other car had left. I ran out a sure enough he had put a ticket on my rental car. I got in an argument with him I was really pissed. He said I was parked there to long. I was parked less than 5 minutes and told him there was a car parked here when I pulled up. I told him I wouldn’t pay it. He said he didn’t care.Anyway, the Hilton said they could take care of it for me. They DIDN’T. They tracked me down about 6 months later thru the car rental. I finally paid about £100.00 for the ticket about 9 months later.
Other than the ticket we really liked Brighton.
Brighton was nice, actually. We stayed at the Grand Brighton Hotel, right on the beach, down about 1/2 mile from the pier. The hotel is quite famous as it was where an IRA bombing happened in 1984 when Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party were having their annual conclave. The hotel was seriously damaged, but has been rebuilt and is a very nice Victorian property. We'd stay there again in a heartbeat.
Walked into the town and did lots of shopping, eating and drinking at various pubs, and so forth. A relaxing couple of days there, though the weather was gray, and very windy (though little to no rain).
Second part of the trip was to Germany for the Bohemian Forest Tour. Laura and I eschewed a vintage car this year, and opted to rent a 2025 BMW M850i coupe. This car has a 4.3L twin-turbo V-8 with some 525 HP, eight-speed transmission, and was a real rocket.
On Sunday we did get her up to 228 km/hr (that's nearly 142 MPH) on the A92 autobahn coming back from the Czech Republic toward Landshut, Bavaria. Lots of road time at the 180-200 km/hr range, which was fast enough. The coupe was pretty nice, and I'd say every bit as luxurious as an MB inside, and not of a bad design on the outside. Fortunately it didn't have the huge/ugly current BMW grill design, and was much more tasteful.
Flew back home on Monday. 10 days overseas was long enough, and our one long vacation for the year. We still have about 5 weeks left for the boating season, so we intend to make the most of that before the boat goes into indoor heated storage for the winter.
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Today I replaced the rear rotors and pads on my E500. I didn't bother to do a HOW-TO, because the procedure is pretty much like changing the front brakes and rotors, of which there IS a HOW-TO here on the forum.
I had in recent weeks and trips, noticed that the brake warning light was flickering, which is the classic sign of brake pad sensors indicating brake pad wear.
Looking through my maintenance notes, I had the following notation from January 24, 2015, when the car had 129K miles on it: Rear brake pads getting low, perhaps 20-25% left. Rotor slight lip but OK.
The car currently has 251,400 miles on it, so that last 20-25% of the pads lasted a good 20K miles! The rotors didn't seem discernably more worn than they were in 2015 -- still had a modest lip. The pads were MB pads. I replaced them with Akebono Euro 495 pads, which I had had in my parts stock since 2013. I replaced the front pads with Akebono Euros more than a decade ago, and was just keeping those rear pads for a day like today.
I have no record, in my more than 22 years of ownership, of ever replacing the rear pads and rotors. Evidently I had previously removed the rear rotors and used anti-seize paste on them as a practive measure, becuase both rotors came off like butter, and had clear evidence of silver anti-seize paste on the faces of the hubs. So this made the job IMMENSELY more enjoyable, because I didn't even have to use a hammer to bang on the rotors to coax them off the hubs. They literally came off by wiggling them with my hands.
Here are some photos and close-ups of the four rear brake pads, along with the sensors. As you can see, the sensors were all worn, and one sensor had even come out of its hole!!
I was able to source a proper set of 500E/E500-specific rear rotors, which are officially NLA from MB and aftermarket sources. Some years back, MB superseded the E500E rear rotors to the 400E rotor, which is the same diameter, but the 400E/E420 rotor is 2mm shorter than the E500E rotor in the "hat" portion. This means that the wheel of the E500E, using these superseded 400E rotors, would be set into the wheel well by 2mm each side. Probably not discernable to most, but.....
You can find NOS E500E rotors, but they are around 50-100% more than the 400E rotors available. But, it's nice to have the correct part on the car. For most owners, this is probably a once in an ownership change.
Here is the label from the box of the NOS set of rotors I got, which were made in Germany and branded Textar, one of the MB brake pad OEMs and a quality brand. The rotors came unpainted (bare metal), so I -- at the @gsxr's recommendation -- bought a can of gray zinc chromate paint and gave both rotors a couple of modest coats of paint. The paint is the same exact stuff that the factory MB rotors ship with, and the cost of the can of paint was under $12.00 at Home Depot. It dried quickly in the fall sun. I used about 2/3 of the can.
Anyway, a quick test drive wore the paint off of the pad sections, and the brakes work great. I need to bleed them (replace the fluid), and also need to properly bed in the pads, but this will come with some additional driving.
I had in recent weeks and trips, noticed that the brake warning light was flickering, which is the classic sign of brake pad sensors indicating brake pad wear.
Looking through my maintenance notes, I had the following notation from January 24, 2015, when the car had 129K miles on it: Rear brake pads getting low, perhaps 20-25% left. Rotor slight lip but OK.
The car currently has 251,400 miles on it, so that last 20-25% of the pads lasted a good 20K miles! The rotors didn't seem discernably more worn than they were in 2015 -- still had a modest lip. The pads were MB pads. I replaced them with Akebono Euro 495 pads, which I had had in my parts stock since 2013. I replaced the front pads with Akebono Euros more than a decade ago, and was just keeping those rear pads for a day like today.
I have no record, in my more than 22 years of ownership, of ever replacing the rear pads and rotors. Evidently I had previously removed the rear rotors and used anti-seize paste on them as a practive measure, becuase both rotors came off like butter, and had clear evidence of silver anti-seize paste on the faces of the hubs. So this made the job IMMENSELY more enjoyable, because I didn't even have to use a hammer to bang on the rotors to coax them off the hubs. They literally came off by wiggling them with my hands.
Here are some photos and close-ups of the four rear brake pads, along with the sensors. As you can see, the sensors were all worn, and one sensor had even come out of its hole!!
I was able to source a proper set of 500E/E500-specific rear rotors, which are officially NLA from MB and aftermarket sources. Some years back, MB superseded the E500E rear rotors to the 400E rotor, which is the same diameter, but the 400E/E420 rotor is 2mm shorter than the E500E rotor in the "hat" portion. This means that the wheel of the E500E, using these superseded 400E rotors, would be set into the wheel well by 2mm each side. Probably not discernable to most, but.....
You can find NOS E500E rotors, but they are around 50-100% more than the 400E rotors available. But, it's nice to have the correct part on the car. For most owners, this is probably a once in an ownership change.
Here is the label from the box of the NOS set of rotors I got, which were made in Germany and branded Textar, one of the MB brake pad OEMs and a quality brand. The rotors came unpainted (bare metal), so I -- at the @gsxr's recommendation -- bought a can of gray zinc chromate paint and gave both rotors a couple of modest coats of paint. The paint is the same exact stuff that the factory MB rotors ship with, and the cost of the can of paint was under $12.00 at Home Depot. It dried quickly in the fall sun. I used about 2/3 of the can.
Anyway, a quick test drive wore the paint off of the pad sections, and the brakes work great. I need to bleed them (replace the fluid), and also need to properly bed in the pads, but this will come with some additional driving.
Didn’t make it up to Bellingham. Was mostly around Tacoma and my original hometown of Federal Way, where my mom still lives in the house I grew up in.Are going to visit Uncle Kent?
Cool pic btw
Nice article about the Lexus IS500. Our 2023 IS500 is the companion to my 1994 E500. Both are unique cars, never to be created again. And for that reason, we shall keep both cars forever.
The IS 500 is One of Lexus’ Best Products Ever – and it’s Almost Gone – Lexus Enthusiast
Lexus' final chapter on rear-wheel drive V8 sedans is bittersweet.
lexusenthusiast.com
ChatGPT discusses whether an 23-year-owned, 155K-mile “driver” car like mine is really worth anything, or not.
====================
There’s a pretty common way people think about the collector car market. Everything gets sorted into two buckets. On one side, you’ve got the low-mile, almost untouched “time capsule” cars. On the other, you’ve got the typical drivers—higher mileage, mixed history, some good, some questionable, a bit of unknown baked in.
Most cars fit neatly into one of those two categories.
But there’s a third category that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough—and it’s where things get interesting. I think of it as the “reference driver.” These are cars that may have real miles on them, but they’ve been maintained, documented, and understood at a completely different level. They’re not museum pieces, but they’re also not just another used car.
A well-kept 500E with ~150,000 miles, long-term ownership, and full documentation lands squarely in that category. It’s not trying to compete with a 25k-mile garage queen—and it shouldn’t. It’s playing a different game, and to the right buyer, it’s actually more compelling.
Now, let’s be honest about something upfront. Mileage still matters. It always will. A 150k-mile car is not going to bring the same money as a 30k-mile example, no matter how good it is. That’s just how the market works. Mileage sets the ceiling.
But within that ceiling? There’s a lot of room to separate yourself from the pack.
And this is where documentation becomes a big deal. When you’ve owned a car for decades and can account for everything—what was done, when it was done, and why—it changes the entire conversation. Most cars out there are full of question marks. Yours isn’t. That alone is worth something.
Then there’s the way the car has been maintained. There’s a huge difference between fixing things when they break and staying ahead of the car—looking at systems, anticipating issues, and addressing them before they become problems. That mindset shows. And people who know these cars can spot it immediately.
Over time, a car like that develops a kind of credibility. It’s not just “running well”—it’s sorted. It’s been gone through, understood, and kept right. In a lot of cases, it will actually drive better than lower-mile cars that have spent years sitting or being maintained inconsistently.
There’s also something else at play here that’s easy to overlook: provenance. Not in the traditional sense, but in a way that matters to enthusiasts. When a car has been owned by someone deeply involved in the community—someone who contributes knowledge, writes how-to guides, helps others keep their cars on the road—that becomes part of the car’s story.
That kind of background doesn’t scream for attention, but the right buyer will immediately get it. It adds a layer of trust and credibility that you just don’t get with a random car off the market.
And then there’s the parts situation. Anyone who has been around these cars for a while knows how big a deal that is. Having a stash of rare, no-longer-available parts isn’t just a nice bonus—it materially changes the ownership equation. It reduces risk, plain and simple.
When you put all of that together—documentation, maintenance approach, ownership history, parts support—you’re not dealing with a typical “driver” anymore. You’re dealing with something much more dialed in.
From a value standpoint, that should translate into a real premium over an average 150k-mile car. Not a small bump—a meaningful one. The exact number depends on how it’s presented and who the buyer is, but it’s not subtle.
At the same time, it’s important to stay grounded. That mileage ceiling doesn’t go away. You’re not going to leapfrog into low-mile collector pricing. That gap is structural. The goal isn’t to erase it—it’s to maximize your position within your category.
What’s interesting is that the market is starting to move in a direction that actually favors cars like this. As the low-mile examples get more expensive and, frankly, more fragile from a usability standpoint, there’s a growing group of buyers who want something different.
They want a car they can actually drive, enjoy, and not worry about every mile. But they also don’t want a neglected or questionable example. They want something that’s been sorted properly.
That’s exactly where a “reference driver” shines.
If and when a car like this gets sold, how it’s positioned makes a huge difference. Calling it a “150k-mile 500E” doesn’t tell the story. It undersells it. The real story is the continuity of ownership, the level of care, the depth of understanding behind it.
You’re not selling mileage—you’re selling confidence.
And that’s not just marketing language. It’s real. A buyer who understands what they’re looking at will see a car that has been developed and maintained with intention over a long period of time. That’s rare.
As the market continues to evolve, I think we’re going to see more recognition of this category. Buyers are getting more sophisticated. They’re asking better questions. They’re looking past the surface and trying to understand the underlying quality of the car.
The 500E, as a platform, is particularly well-suited to this. It responds well to proper care, and it rewards owners who take the time to do things right. A car that has been maintained at a high level over many years becomes something more than just transportation.
It becomes a known quantity.
At the end of the day, a car like this isn’t trying to be something it’s not. It’s not a museum piece, and it doesn’t need to be. It’s a fully sorted, deeply understood example of one of the most important sedans Mercedes ever built.
That’s a different kind of value—and for the right buyer, it’s exactly what they’re looking for.
So no, it won’t be treated like an average driver. And it won’t compete with the ultra-low-mile cars at the very top of the market.
But it will stand apart from almost everything else in between.
And over time, that position is only going to become more meaningful.
====================
There’s a pretty common way people think about the collector car market. Everything gets sorted into two buckets. On one side, you’ve got the low-mile, almost untouched “time capsule” cars. On the other, you’ve got the typical drivers—higher mileage, mixed history, some good, some questionable, a bit of unknown baked in.
Most cars fit neatly into one of those two categories.
But there’s a third category that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough—and it’s where things get interesting. I think of it as the “reference driver.” These are cars that may have real miles on them, but they’ve been maintained, documented, and understood at a completely different level. They’re not museum pieces, but they’re also not just another used car.
A well-kept 500E with ~150,000 miles, long-term ownership, and full documentation lands squarely in that category. It’s not trying to compete with a 25k-mile garage queen—and it shouldn’t. It’s playing a different game, and to the right buyer, it’s actually more compelling.
Now, let’s be honest about something upfront. Mileage still matters. It always will. A 150k-mile car is not going to bring the same money as a 30k-mile example, no matter how good it is. That’s just how the market works. Mileage sets the ceiling.
But within that ceiling? There’s a lot of room to separate yourself from the pack.
And this is where documentation becomes a big deal. When you’ve owned a car for decades and can account for everything—what was done, when it was done, and why—it changes the entire conversation. Most cars out there are full of question marks. Yours isn’t. That alone is worth something.
Then there’s the way the car has been maintained. There’s a huge difference between fixing things when they break and staying ahead of the car—looking at systems, anticipating issues, and addressing them before they become problems. That mindset shows. And people who know these cars can spot it immediately.
Over time, a car like that develops a kind of credibility. It’s not just “running well”—it’s sorted. It’s been gone through, understood, and kept right. In a lot of cases, it will actually drive better than lower-mile cars that have spent years sitting or being maintained inconsistently.
There’s also something else at play here that’s easy to overlook: provenance. Not in the traditional sense, but in a way that matters to enthusiasts. When a car has been owned by someone deeply involved in the community—someone who contributes knowledge, writes how-to guides, helps others keep their cars on the road—that becomes part of the car’s story.
That kind of background doesn’t scream for attention, but the right buyer will immediately get it. It adds a layer of trust and credibility that you just don’t get with a random car off the market.
And then there’s the parts situation. Anyone who has been around these cars for a while knows how big a deal that is. Having a stash of rare, no-longer-available parts isn’t just a nice bonus—it materially changes the ownership equation. It reduces risk, plain and simple.
When you put all of that together—documentation, maintenance approach, ownership history, parts support—you’re not dealing with a typical “driver” anymore. You’re dealing with something much more dialed in.
From a value standpoint, that should translate into a real premium over an average 150k-mile car. Not a small bump—a meaningful one. The exact number depends on how it’s presented and who the buyer is, but it’s not subtle.
At the same time, it’s important to stay grounded. That mileage ceiling doesn’t go away. You’re not going to leapfrog into low-mile collector pricing. That gap is structural. The goal isn’t to erase it—it’s to maximize your position within your category.
What’s interesting is that the market is starting to move in a direction that actually favors cars like this. As the low-mile examples get more expensive and, frankly, more fragile from a usability standpoint, there’s a growing group of buyers who want something different.
They want a car they can actually drive, enjoy, and not worry about every mile. But they also don’t want a neglected or questionable example. They want something that’s been sorted properly.
That’s exactly where a “reference driver” shines.
If and when a car like this gets sold, how it’s positioned makes a huge difference. Calling it a “150k-mile 500E” doesn’t tell the story. It undersells it. The real story is the continuity of ownership, the level of care, the depth of understanding behind it.
You’re not selling mileage—you’re selling confidence.
And that’s not just marketing language. It’s real. A buyer who understands what they’re looking at will see a car that has been developed and maintained with intention over a long period of time. That’s rare.
As the market continues to evolve, I think we’re going to see more recognition of this category. Buyers are getting more sophisticated. They’re asking better questions. They’re looking past the surface and trying to understand the underlying quality of the car.
The 500E, as a platform, is particularly well-suited to this. It responds well to proper care, and it rewards owners who take the time to do things right. A car that has been maintained at a high level over many years becomes something more than just transportation.
It becomes a known quantity.
At the end of the day, a car like this isn’t trying to be something it’s not. It’s not a museum piece, and it doesn’t need to be. It’s a fully sorted, deeply understood example of one of the most important sedans Mercedes ever built.
That’s a different kind of value—and for the right buyer, it’s exactly what they’re looking for.
So no, it won’t be treated like an average driver. And it won’t compete with the ultra-low-mile cars at the very top of the market.
But it will stand apart from almost everything else in between.
And over time, that position is only going to become more meaningful.
This is textbook rationale for all my cars. Especially my 500E! Thanks Gerry
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