OWNER thecarshrink

[thecarshrink]

Sorry guys, I was caught up with some other stuff. I am new to forums so I did not want to break etiquette here. My sloppy work on this forum does need some work. I thought we were just dating here, I didn't realise we were going steady. Sorry for ghosting everyone.

This whole thread was on it more as a thought of if people really do care about the history or not? Not trying to drum up biz on the car. I do not have to sell it but was thinking of making room for house projects and other cars. I was just looking for fun banter and thoughts

This is my personal car that I have owned for more than a year. If I am flipping a car I do not take a year to flip it. Not only that with the money I have in the car it is not a money maker.

The car was owned by one guy who had it from new up until 2 years ago. The second owner Joe is childhood friends with the first owner. Joe is business partners with one of my long time clients James. James and Joe have pretty decent car collections. This car was a bit of a diamond in the rough. Had incorrect suspension some goofy tinted windows and a sound system that was definitely from the period

When I went to see the car in person I noticed it was all original paint and after pulling the car fax it did show a good amount of service history. Joe was upfront and just wanted to get what he had in the car out of it. I stepped up a little just because I liked that the car was always in LA by people I could talk with, and no paint to me was a big factor.

I figured I would buy the car and go through the maintenance and bring the car up to snuff.

I did the following work

- Full service leaking camshaft seals addressed.
- New wiring harness although I later found it out it was changed in 2010
- Full new suspension new factory sachs springs and reconnected the self leveling suspension
- New headliner in alcantara, new B Pilar leather.
- Drive shaft vibration addressed
- New tires/ alignment
- Removal of no stock sound system. Very lucky that no holes were made. Put in Continental radio and small hidden amp
- Various Body clean up- Fix damage minor scuffs on front bumper and paintless ding removal. I got very lucky there as well.


The guys at Star service here in LA love the car and keep telling me to keep it. But it sounds to me that some on this thread that a about 90K mile car with three owners is just not that big a deal to replace. Although it did take me a while to find this one and the story of it being owned by friends of friend made it seem serendipitous. Although somehow I missed the advertisements of the car.

I have been driving the car and it runs great. Although the oil pressure gauge is on the fritz. The oil pressure is fine and the sensor are fine it is just the dash according to Star service any ideas of where to fix that near LA would be helpful.

Thanks guys for all the comments and I will make efforts to be more active on a thread I start!

Best
Bryant

 

[thecarshrink]

One more thought guys.

I did pull out of the convo as I mentioned a bunch of times you guys were accusing I was trying to pre sell the car. That's why I jumped off, I thought stoping the convo would be better than continuing it.

Maybe my words were not chosen perfectly. "essentially one owner" I would never advertise a car like that.

I am true enthusiast with limited experience on forums. I do not have a huge collection, not sure where that is coming from. Yes I have other cars but we could all use more money for house stuff but we all sometimes like to discuss with others, especially 500E enthusiasts. My mistake bringing it up in the wrong way on the forum

Thanks again and hope this explains things a bit better. I will check out the other owners posts to brush up

 

[gsxr]

Although the oil pressure gauge is on the fritz. The oil pressure is fine and the sensor are fine it is just the dash according to Star service any ideas of where to fix that near LA would be helpful.

If the lower wiring harness is original, there's a good chance the harness is the problem. This harness goes to the starter, alternator, oil level sensor, and oil pressure sensor. New harnesses are NLA but Blue Ridge MB rebuilds them, and may be able to sell one outright with exchange.

EDIT: The E500E lower harness should still be available new, ~$300 from discount dealers, click here.

It's pretty unlikely the gauge is faulty, although if the shop knows what they are doing, they can either bench test the gauge and/or measure the reading at the wire behind the cluster to see if the correct signal is present. My money is on the lower harness though.

 

[Jlaa]

If the lower wiring harness is original, there's a good chance the harness is the problem. This harness goes to the starter, alternator, oil level sensor, and oil pressure sensor. New harnesses are NLA but Blue Ridge MB rebuilds them, and may be able to sell one outright with exchange.

It's pretty unlikely the gauge is faulty, although if the shop knows what they are doing, they can either bench test the gauge and/or measure the reading at the wire behind the cluster to see if the correct signal is present. My money is on the lower harness though.

I thought I read somewhere on these forums that the lower wiring harness is actually available again? Am I mistaken?

Anyways, @thecarshrink - right, as @gsxr states - you oil pressure gauge issues are likely caused by the lower wiring har being degraded (as opposed to the upper wiring harness that you replaced).
If you replace the lower wiring harness and you STILL have oil press gauge issues, then it might be the gauge itself. This happened to me, so I replaced the gauge with one from a 300E and the gauge now works well...... I just had to recalibrate the fuel gauge for the E500E’s 90L fuel tank..if you need help w using a 300E gauge, I can point you to the right thread.

 

[gsxr]

SORRY! Yes, the 036 lower harness should still be available. It's the 034 lower harness that is NLA.

 

[thecarshrink]

I have to be honest, this thread seems a bit ridiculous. And yes, there's no question that it is an unofficial "feeler" to gin up interest in the potential sale of a car that the OP:

1) is squishy / fudging a bit about "essentially" being the second owner
2) has owned for what, a year? (short honeymoon)
3) says he needs to sell, and then really DOESN'T need to sell because he has a huge collection
4) is a dealer and seller of cars
5) quickly deleted the post, this after editing some unflattering details out of his original post

I'm going to go out on a limb here. How is a thread like this "having fun on the forum?" I mean, look at the thread. There's little to no actual information about the car other than a couple of sentences, a few photos (not substantive of the interior, engine compartment, or underneath the car), and not providing any details of records ... not even providing the car's VIN !!

To answer the question about whether we care about known ownership of cars?

Well, that depends. Some people care about a known ownership. Some people care about a celebrity ownership. Some people care about buying low odometers. Some people care about maintenance records and mechanical condition. Some people care only about the wheels on the car. Some people care about the car's external cosmetics. Some people care about the car's interior and exterior colors. Some people care whether it is a pre- or post-facelift model.

So, it's difficult to say what all the people on this forum care about, because each person is different.

If you don't NEED to sell, as you say, then why (as with your original post) say that your "priorities are shifting...buying a new house...." etc., yet even if your 500E sold for $50 or $60K (as opposed to some of the higher-end cars that your posts imply that you own), would not materially contribute much to a down payment on a $750K or $1M+ house in LA (assuming you're scraping together a 20% down payment, which is going to be $150-200+K at a minimum)?

My take is that you are of the typical dealer ilk that we see on this forum -- you have had the car for merely a year, spent lots of money making it look pretty, to prepare it for a flip-sale. The folks here are REAL enthusiasts and REAL knowledgeable about these cars ... it's not the typical buyer you see coming into Ferrari of Beverly Hills.

I am 100% sure it's a nice car. Not putting the car down at all. All we ask is that you be honest in stating your intentions and what/why you are posting. Fudges like "essentially" the second owner don't go over well here, and trust me, you will be crucified on BaT with these kinds of squishy dealer-type statements designed to "pump up" a car in the eyes of buyers.

We'd ALL **LOVE** to see and hear more details about the car, what you've done to it, the story behind it (the previous owners, etc.). All of that stuff, is 100% perfect fodder for an OWNER thread on this forum. Look at other folks' OWNER threads, and the stuff they've posted. Many post their history with the car. Others post on an ongoing basis what they do to the car to maintain it.

If the lower wiring harness is original, there's a good chance the harness is the problem. This harness goes to the starter, alternator, oil level sensor, and oil pressure sensor. New harnesses are NLA but Blue Ridge MB rebuilds them, and may be able to sell one outright with exchange.

It's pretty unlikely the gauge is faulty, although if the shop knows what they are doing, they can either bench test the gauge and/or measure the reading at the wire behind the cluster to see if the correct signal is present. My money is on the lower harness though.

They say the y checked the sensors and harness. They are a pretty goood MB

I thought I read somewhere on these forums that the lower wiring harness is actually available again? Am I mistaken?

Anyways, @thecarshrink - right, as @gsxr states - you oil pressure gauge issues are likely caused by the lower wiring har being degraded (as opposed to the upper wiring harness that you replaced).
If you replace the lower wiring harness and you STILL have oil press gauge issues, then it might be the gauge itself. This happened to me, so I replaced the gauge with one from a 300E and the gauge now works well...... I just had to recalibrate the fuel gauge for the E500E’s 90L fuel tank..if you need help w using a 300E gauge, I can point you to the right thread.

According To my dudes at Star Auto In West LA West (he has been working on these since I was in grade school) it is the gauge.

For context they told right out my upper harness was fine even though somebody else told me otherwise. Guess what I changed out a perfectly good wiring harness, the problem I was experiencing was something else which he fixed.

I will double check with him about the lower harness.

Everything in the car is working perfectly except the oil gauge.

Thanks for the insite. Greatly appreciated

 

[gsxr]

You can check manufacture dates on the harness tags near the CAN box. If they are original, they are probably NOT good.

If the tag has 2 dates, you want FD (manufacture date), not ZD (design date).

 

[thecarshrink]

You can check manufacture dates on the harness tags near the CAN box. If they are original, they are probably NOT good.

If the tag has 2 dates, you want FD (manufacture date), not ZD (design date).

View attachment 112584

You were 100% correct. New lower wiring harness being installed as we speak.