The 500 E Merc

I was watching Jay Lenno's garage last night and one of the cars they evaluated for investment purposes was the 1994 MB 500 E. I was surprised to see that it was rated as the best investment out of the three cars (one was a multy million dollar 1 of 3 and the other was a 1 of 40 or something like that.

Anyway the 500 E is a car that have been just off my radar for a long time. The wider fenders and slightly altered stance with the subtle aero adders give it "that look" that so many Mercs just don't have. Then I did some home work and learned that they were actually made over in the Porsche plant in the early 90's. (from the wiki) In the end Lenno said that a good example of one is worth between 40k and 50K. So I said to myself. .. . Lets go shopping and see what we can find locally. And afrer a couple of key strokes on the trusty cell phone I found one that looks to be in excellent shape with about 90K on the clock and they are asking 22K for it. And it is local!!!

From waht I understand the early 90's was stil in the "good" years for Merc's. Is this true? I have never actaully driven on of these. I heve had several E class cars in the past for that vintage and they were all way more fun to drive than you expect. My best was a 2.3 that I got with suspension issues that I corrected and at the same time upgraded the suspension and it was an absolute blast to drive. Yes it was a M3 want to be but for the street is was all you needed. If I read it right the 500 E has upgraded brakes obviously better motor and every option except a CD player that was a dealer installed option.

Anyone have one of these? Anyone drive one of these?

I remember when these were 10 to 15k a few years ago. They drive like a sportier 400e.

There are three or four I just found all around $14-15k. Definitely not the $30-40 Leno says.

I'd never heard of them and they seem cool but I'm dubious as to their value as an investment. Unless it's just that it won't depreciate as fast as other mb's.

My mom had an 87 300E which is the same basic platform. That car was an absolute tank.

Make sure you do your homework when looking. The 500E was built with Porsche's help. The E500 was just a regular E class. Lots of people get confused.

I think the auto transmission in the Benzes will keep them from ever being as sought after as the BMW M cars. Other Benzes that are incredibly cheap for what they are...C36, C43, E55

Absolutely an appreciating classic but expensive to maintain and some parts are becoming unabtainium. For that era, I'd much rather have an Audi UrS4 or S6. More fun and more modifiable. BUt, then a gain, I have a soft spot fur the Audi 5 cyl.

jfryjfry wrote: There are three or four I just found all around $14-15k. Definitely not the $30-40 Leno says.

But how many miles / what condition? He's probably talking about very low mile pristine examples. Something garaged from day 1 with low 5-digit miles. There can be a large spread on a car like this, with the 100k mile daily driver grade cars being 1/3 - 1/4 the top tier examples.

I can link a few examples in the 20s and 30s.

Mercedes is building legitimate top tier cars now with the AMG GT and that 'might' be raising the brand. The problem is that many of the cars out there from that generation are crap, mostly through neglect, but crap nonetheless and that's dragging down collectibility.

Wikipedia says this more succinctly than I can: "Called '500 E' through model year 1993, for model year 1994 it was face-lifted along with the rest of the range and renamed to 'E 500'." The next-gen E500 was, indeed, "just" an E-class, but a 94 is still the extraordinary one.

I have a 400E that I picked up about 6 months ago. No 23 year old car with 191k miles on it has any right to be that good. It is tight everywhere, solid, no squeaks or rattles. The engine has torque for days, but it is delivered in a most serene. Now that I own one, i understand why MB never sold them with a manual - it's just totally out of sorts with the spirit of the car. They are intended to devour huge stretches of road at 120 mph without the slightest hint of strain. A hot rod, however, they are not. I have no desire to put any go-fast bits on it - new dampers, maybe cutting one coil off the springs all around, and a set of AMG Monoblocks and I will be happy.

The only thing I have noticed with mine is that it does not like to sit. If I'm away or leave it parked for 10+ days, when I start it back up it's terrible. Transmission hesitates, idle wanders, car shudders. 20 or so miles later and it's back to its glorious self. I need to figure out the issue, but in the meantime, I try to drive it!

These are neat cars. Most examples you'll find have been driven. They still demand a premium over the rest of the W124 line, but not the high dollar that Jay was getting at. Finding one with low miles that has been carefully preserved...that's where the money is at.

That said, I nearly bought a nice example about 8 years ago at $9k, but I turned it down because I so badly wanted a manual transmission Mercedes.

I now own a manual transmission Mercedes, and while I love it, I now know I made a mistake. These auto trans cars take very kindly to manual selection of gears, and make up for the lack of a third pedal. I have a '95 E320 as well, and I've come to respect and even love the auto trans.

I got to take the 500e I nearly bought for an extended test-drive, and it was an amazing vehicle. Comfortable cruiser capable of smoky burnouts, all with a sleeper style that was just enough more aggressive looking than the normal W124 to make it stand out.

As noted earlier, Jay is talking about collector level cars and not drivers. I've been interested in the 500E since the local car guy dealer had one as a DD for a while, very cool car. But kinda like the E30 M3 overshadows the M-B Evo II, the M5 shades the 500E.

I always have my eyes out for a good 500e and will jump on when the right one comes along. They are exceptional cars and Porsches role in the developement and build was huge.

The 500e is on the list of cars that i want to bone. And i do mean bone.

To me ot is one of those cars that to about 99 percent of the people I deal with it I just going to be a mid size early 90s Mercedes. I like it that way. The other one percent mostly hang out here and really know what it is. That is how I like to roll.

The other side of it is that it is old enough that most people will think it I worth short money. (except those that are in the know).

My wife already said yes even at the 22.5k one I showed her. The problem is that they are not worth that kind of money to me. 22k will get you a some really nice cars. The only way I would get one is if it is to keep and flip at a later date but that means it has to be my wife's car as she puts about 2k a year on her cars so if I got a low mileage car it would stay that way.

What about a regular W124 300E with an engine swap?

T.J. wrote: What about a regular W124 300E with an engine swap?

It would make a fun car but wouldn't compare to a real 500e. Somewhere I have a PDF of all the changes between the regular w124 and the 500e and the list was massive. I think I found that on the 500e board while researching them.

T.J. wrote: What about a regular W124 300E with an engine swap?

I suspect that the 500e is like many other performance oriented German cars in that they always seem to be more than the sum of the parts. To achieve that in a shed is tough. I have tried a couple times with both Mercedes and Porsche and made some really fun cool cars but there was always that somthing missing. I bet trying to build a 500e clone would be the same especially I you were limited to the purchase price of a decent 500e

Porsche had a hand in development but only built specific parts and assembly on 93 models. Mercedes brought I back in house for 94 since Porsche was in bad shape then. That's from the w124 bible from Bentley Publishers.