Discussion
Just got this machine registered and sorted for the UK. Having done a bit of research on these and with the Porsche link and the fact that each car was hand built by Porsche I decided to go for it. It's a proper beast. Nice torquey V8, built like a car should be built, very comfortable and all the mod cons which is very impressive for a 20 yeard old car. This car must have been so ahead of its game when it came out.
Here are some pics.
Here are some pics.
andy43 said:
Love that! Looks like it's come from Japan as it's got the small rear plate recess?
Interior looks fantastic with the half cloth. I'd love one of these I really would. Totally undertheradar, M5 performance, v8 noise and built like a bank vault. More details!!!?
What details do you need? 43k miles (70k KM), just had the bodywork sorted so looking mint. Electric memory seats, heated seats, AC, lovely V8 engine, loads of torque. From all my research the most desirable spec is silver, no sunroof, half cloth/leather. What amazes me is that the suspension, brakes, steering is still so modern. It doesn't feel like a boat at all. It's not sharp like a proper sports car obviously but as a cruiser missile it's brilliant. Have left my R35 Nissan GTR at home the last 2 days as I wanted to drive this to work instead. Planning on keeping it through the summer and then lets see what happens as might think about selling if you are interested.Interior looks fantastic with the half cloth. I'd love one of these I really would. Totally undertheradar, M5 performance, v8 noise and built like a bank vault. More details!!!?
SSL said:
I ran a '94 W124 E500 as a daily driver for eighteen months and it is the only car I regret selling.
This truly is the last hand built Mercedes saloon taking eighteen days to build.
Basically a 500SL, with 326bhp and 354 lb/ft in a four door saloon disguise but with much better steering feedback than the roadster and so, so understated that unless you really know what you are looking at it passes at first glance as a airport taxi car.
43,000 miles is extremely low mileage for these cars which are well known for their ability to run to stellar numbers. Alois Ruf jnr of Ruf Porsche retired his 500E at about 270,000 kms but still keeps it in his collection.
Lovely car. Sure you will enjoy it
Good summary and agree with all your points. I feel lucky to have found the one I did.This truly is the last hand built Mercedes saloon taking eighteen days to build.
Basically a 500SL, with 326bhp and 354 lb/ft in a four door saloon disguise but with much better steering feedback than the roadster and so, so understated that unless you really know what you are looking at it passes at first glance as a airport taxi car.
43,000 miles is extremely low mileage for these cars which are well known for their ability to run to stellar numbers. Alois Ruf jnr of Ruf Porsche retired his 500E at about 270,000 kms but still keeps it in his collection.
Lovely car. Sure you will enjoy it
Hi, sorry, yes it is a Jap import. Lots of history came with it and it's clearly a well loved example unlike a lot of crap that comes over from USA or Japan. Drove it this morning again and it never fails to put a smile on my face. Just need to sort a decent bluetooth aftermarket headunit as I only have Japanese frequencies at the moment but want to keep the original headunit for resale as it's the original Becker headunit. I've been trying to find things that don't work or are not right but I can't find anything at the moment. My 1991 964 Carrera 2 was stunning but it used to do my head in with things not working and in the end you just get fed up but this Merc is actually easier to use daily than more modern cars.
ba65 said:
I live in London and a large proportion of my driving is in the city - I found the E46 M3 too on the edge, hard suspension, sensitive throttle, massive alloys killing the ride and a jerky SMG box all didn't do favours for it as a city car. Even at mid speeds I didn't find it too exciting, I do really miss the brutal acceleration and handling though (my fiance loved the M3 so I will buy her another one soon - manual though - and trade in her golf!). The M3 is a very hard car to beat and absolutely nothing can beat the fun factor when you're driving along on country roads or the effortless light feeling when you squeeze the throttle on the motorway. Running costs are high, insurance was eye watering (for me) and a major service at BMW was £1k each time. I always ran mine at the main dealer for whatever it wanted (even MOT's) and as a result it did cost a small fortune to keep tip top (but mine really was tip-top, practically brand new). I bought it on 28k miles and sold it with 54k - nothing went wrong and I really did thrash it hard at times.
The 500E is practically the opposite in character, look, feel and dynamics. It has such a unique feel to the drive for me, it's hard to describe. Doesn't attract much attention (however anytime I seem to take it out now at least one person asks about it) and now that mine is back on the 8-hole 16" OEM alloys it's even more under the radar, a real sleeper! Handling wise it's sloppy compared to an M3 (of course I hear you say!) and the gearbox really is dull witted (God, they've come a really long way since) but so much more comfortable, especially with the poor roads in the UK and it just moves effortlessly with that big V8 up front and feels so light but strong at the same time (my M3 felt like a tin-can in comparison). I like the cheap classic car insurance (less than £200 and I'm 26), low tax band and bullet proof depreciation makes the frequent fill ups hurt that little bit less. It's an epic car to put it into one word and the more you drive it the more it grows on you...a personaily begins to manifest itself! When I first got in the car I was thinking OMG what have I done, swapped my minty M3 for this old W124 (!) but now that I've driven it more and more (and under different circumstances) I wouldn't consider swapping it for anything in the £15-20k price range.
With LHD, getting a ticket when you pull into a shopping centre is a real PITA though - always remember to take people with you, not meet them there!
The headlining recovered in black alcantera will be about £750 if you have someone remove and refit it or about £500 if you do that work yourself (source - Bespoke Leathering).
Quick shot of my beauty having a bath...
HTH
Bill
This is a really good summary. On paper people (myself included initially) don't get the point of the 500E. It's not really much to look at. By modern standards it's not the fastest saloon out there. 4 speed auto is slow and as you pointed out the handling is a little wallowy.The 500E is practically the opposite in character, look, feel and dynamics. It has such a unique feel to the drive for me, it's hard to describe. Doesn't attract much attention (however anytime I seem to take it out now at least one person asks about it) and now that mine is back on the 8-hole 16" OEM alloys it's even more under the radar, a real sleeper! Handling wise it's sloppy compared to an M3 (of course I hear you say!) and the gearbox really is dull witted (God, they've come a really long way since) but so much more comfortable, especially with the poor roads in the UK and it just moves effortlessly with that big V8 up front and feels so light but strong at the same time (my M3 felt like a tin-can in comparison). I like the cheap classic car insurance (less than £200 and I'm 26), low tax band and bullet proof depreciation makes the frequent fill ups hurt that little bit less. It's an epic car to put it into one word and the more you drive it the more it grows on you...a personaily begins to manifest itself! When I first got in the car I was thinking OMG what have I done, swapped my minty M3 for this old W124 (!) but now that I've driven it more and more (and under different circumstances) I wouldn't consider swapping it for anything in the £15-20k price range.
With LHD, getting a ticket when you pull into a shopping centre is a real PITA though - always remember to take people with you, not meet them there!
The headlining recovered in black alcantera will be about £750 if you have someone remove and refit it or about £500 if you do that work yourself (source - Bespoke Leathering).
Quick shot of my beauty having a bath...
HTH
Bill
BUT, somehow (and I have owned nearly 30 cars in 23 years) it gets under your skin. It's so relaxed but at the same time has effortless power which is more than enough for London roads and also motorways etc. The V8 is actually silky smooth and it just wafts along at a lovely pace without you really having to make any effort. The interior is a nice place to be, it's so comfortable and the ride is really compliant even 20 years on. It's small enough to not be like a boat like an S Class or modern big saloons. And actually put it on an A Road above 40mph and this thing really does go. 0-60 times don't do it justice. The mid range is superb on part throttle, half throttle, full throttle. I'm sure it could embarrass similar modern metal given the chance.
Then once you keep looking at it and then looking at it again you start to notice more and more the flared arches, the little design touches, the meaty front end, the butch rear and you think you know what this thing is actually pretty special.
Good luck to anyone finding a well sorted, low miles 500E for less than 20k. Sure you can find a high miler, which needs paint, probably needs other bodywork stuff done, interior trim, suspension bits, tyres etc. but in reality they will be circa 15k anyway before any spend.
Cars at £11,500 will in my opinion be proper sheds.
Cars at £11,500 will in my opinion be proper sheds.
ras62 said:
Nice car and incredible build quality. Shame they were not made with the later 5 speed gearbox though. I can't see why the E500 would be considerably faster than a SL500?
It probably isn't faster to be fair. Not that it really matters. The 4 speed auto is a bit frustrating as you need to kick it down more than you want to but where the car excels is from around 40-50mph onwards. It really is very impressive from then onwards.Just thought I'd update the thread.
The sound from the stereo was pretty pants which is not surprising considering the age of the car. I bought a fairly boring looking Sony head unit with bluetooth iPod etc. I then took the car to Enigma Audio in Perivale to sort the speakers out. These guys were brilliant. They have put a sub in behind the passenger footwell and fabricated their own bracket to do it. You don't even know it's there. They then replaced the front speakers and rear speakers with JBL speakers. Everything looks totally standard (apart from the head until obviously).
I was shocked by the sound quality. Sounds brilliant. It's leagues ahead of my 997 Turbo S with Bose. Bit annoying really as don't want to drive the 997 anymore.
I still have the standard head unit as well just in case I sell in the future.
Next job is to get the wheels refurbished and restored. In all fairness they are pretty damn good but my OCD won't allow me to let the car be anything less than mint. So hopefully will sort that out in the next 2 weeks.
Car is still running faultlessly and is proving to be the prefect daily driver.
Will post some pics of the stereo install later when I get a minute.
The sound from the stereo was pretty pants which is not surprising considering the age of the car. I bought a fairly boring looking Sony head unit with bluetooth iPod etc. I then took the car to Enigma Audio in Perivale to sort the speakers out. These guys were brilliant. They have put a sub in behind the passenger footwell and fabricated their own bracket to do it. You don't even know it's there. They then replaced the front speakers and rear speakers with JBL speakers. Everything looks totally standard (apart from the head until obviously).
I was shocked by the sound quality. Sounds brilliant. It's leagues ahead of my 997 Turbo S with Bose. Bit annoying really as don't want to drive the 997 anymore.
I still have the standard head unit as well just in case I sell in the future.Next job is to get the wheels refurbished and restored. In all fairness they are pretty damn good but my OCD won't allow me to let the car be anything less than mint. So hopefully will sort that out in the next 2 weeks.
Car is still running faultlessly and is proving to be the prefect daily driver.
Will post some pics of the stereo install later when I get a minute.
Edited by anissut on Tuesday 18th August 21:48
MRPULLHARD said:
can you tell us how you went about importing from japan ? use a buying agent ?
I have a very close friend who used to export high end stuff from the UK to the Far East. He then moved over to the Far East and now also does it the other way, ie: sourcing classic/high end stuff coming back to the UK. I trust him as I've known him a long time. Not sure if I'd even try and buy a car from there without this contact as I'd be scared that I'd get done.Yes, just got the car back at the weekend and loads of stuff updated inside and outside.
Haven't had time to collate all the pictures and write the thread. 500E who is a member on here knows the car inside out and did all the work for me.
Will try and get the thread updated later tonight if I have time.
Haven't had time to collate all the pictures and write the thread. 500E who is a member on here knows the car inside out and did all the work for me.
Will try and get the thread updated later tonight if I have time.
Right guys finally got round to updating this thread. Apologies for the delay.
I gave the car to Raikku (500E on here) who knows the 500E inside out. He has his own which he has literally built from scratch so he knows every little detail.
This what he updated:
"I replaced ccv and most vacuum hoses, rotor caps and arms, plugs, oil change, adjusted shifting pressure and kick down on the tranny.
Some of the rubber and plastic hoses were after 25years so brittle, they just fell apart while removing.
These cars have loads of vacuum hoses in akward places and knowing the system helps where to look out for issues.
Wheels were refurbished as well as top mounts and geo done.
Converted the boot lid to Euro spec, took a while to find a replacement boot handle.
The 1992 onwards and brand new ones are plastic, earlier ones are rubber and do not break in pieces after a few years.
A lovely car that was well taken care of all its life, most of the work was maintenance instead of repair.
Got the driver seat cushion replaced and the rail of the electric head rest.
The leather got re-dyed and a few surface cracks filled while at it.
Spent a lot of time to clean the engine bay, pretty happy how it turned out.
Car was also fully serviced and is now running beautifully."
Here are some pics. Am really quite torn about what to do as want to keep this car forever but at the same time am thinking about selling for another project that needs some time.
I also had the audio upgraded with a new headunit with bluetooth, iPod, phone etc. New speakers and a sub hidden away in the passenger footwell. Sound is now amazing and is better than the Bose etc. in recent cars I have had like the 997 Turbo S, GTR etc. Here are some pics of that install as well.
Have been using the car daily since my Porsche 997 TTS sold and while waiting for my Cayman GT4 and have been really enjoying it.
Oh yes forgot to mention that the interior was also updated. Leather sorted and cushioning replaced.
Overall I'm so pleased with the result.
I gave the car to Raikku (500E on here) who knows the 500E inside out. He has his own which he has literally built from scratch so he knows every little detail.
This what he updated:
"I replaced ccv and most vacuum hoses, rotor caps and arms, plugs, oil change, adjusted shifting pressure and kick down on the tranny.
Some of the rubber and plastic hoses were after 25years so brittle, they just fell apart while removing.
These cars have loads of vacuum hoses in akward places and knowing the system helps where to look out for issues.
Wheels were refurbished as well as top mounts and geo done.
Converted the boot lid to Euro spec, took a while to find a replacement boot handle.
The 1992 onwards and brand new ones are plastic, earlier ones are rubber and do not break in pieces after a few years.
A lovely car that was well taken care of all its life, most of the work was maintenance instead of repair.
Got the driver seat cushion replaced and the rail of the electric head rest.
The leather got re-dyed and a few surface cracks filled while at it.
Spent a lot of time to clean the engine bay, pretty happy how it turned out.
Car was also fully serviced and is now running beautifully."
Here are some pics. Am really quite torn about what to do as want to keep this car forever but at the same time am thinking about selling for another project that needs some time.
I also had the audio upgraded with a new headunit with bluetooth, iPod, phone etc. New speakers and a sub hidden away in the passenger footwell. Sound is now amazing and is better than the Bose etc. in recent cars I have had like the 997 Turbo S, GTR etc. Here are some pics of that install as well.
Have been using the car daily since my Porsche 997 TTS sold and while waiting for my Cayman GT4 and have been really enjoying it.
Oh yes forgot to mention that the interior was also updated. Leather sorted and cushioning replaced.
Overall I'm so pleased with the result.
Freewheeler said:
Annis, how are you Sir?? Long time mate..... hope things are well and you're still training!!
500E looks fantastic, a real credit to you!!
Just to say, I have 2x silver 500E's due into the UK from Japan at the end of month, if anybody does have an interest, keep an eye on the classified.....
Hey buddy, long time indeed. Why did you disappear from the other place?500E looks fantastic, a real credit to you!!
Just to say, I have 2x silver 500E's due into the UK from Japan at the end of month, if anybody does have an interest, keep an eye on the classified.....
Still training, still trying hard.
What's the scoop with your 500Es? What are the specs, mileage etc?
harrykul said:
Really like that four star car- has me pondering selling my s124 and r129 for it....
Was considering the Swiss car too- I was worried about taxes, but I'm now under the impression that it was first registered in Greece, meaning nothing is due upon arrival here.
Hi, just sent you a message as my car nicer than their car and better priced as well.Was considering the Swiss car too- I was worried about taxes, but I'm now under the impression that it was first registered in Greece, meaning nothing is due upon arrival here.
Edited by harrykul on Friday 5th February 10:03
irish boy said:
I've literally had to force myself to close that advert. That car looks absolutely stunning, but every time I buy an older car either somethings wrong with it or my ocd kicks in and it costs me a fortune.
If looked after and kept on top of there is not much financial burden apart from the usual that you will find on any car. That's why I am certain that the cars that are for 13-18k need a lot of money spent on them to get them right. I have the same OCD trust me and even if a bulb is not working it does my head in.evojam said:
Could always pop it into storage for a while and dig it out when you miss it?There inherently strong machines but you do have to keep ontop of maintainance like you say.I've had a whole string of performance cars and it takes a special car for me to want to keep it but the E500 is just such a car,they seem to get right under your skin!
Storage in London is a major issue. Got a R107 500SL and haven't got a bloody clue where to put it, especially on the basis it has just been restored and is literally perfect.Kneetrembler said:
Drop me an email, I store any cars of mine in an air conditioned building with a small classic storage business 1/2 hour from central london, very reasonable prices, and have used the same people for the last 20 years.
My e500 is there at the moment
Hi, not sure PM or email is working on Pistonheads at the moment. Can you drop me a mail at anissut@gmail.com?My e500 is there at the moment
Thanks.
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