Sensible family daily wagon - Mercedes Benz S211 E500

[Biglips]

On my own mini trip with my E500 doing what it does best. Bristol to Harrogate 4 up and fully laden. Excursion across the dales then a quick trip to North Yorkshire to see an old mate from uni. Back to Bristol later today. Looks like she will be in need of a good clean when we get back!

[bolidemichael]

@biglips I would love to hear more about your ownership experience particularly since us non-AMG large capacity estate owners are a rare breed!

[Perc.y]

I keep checking classifieds to see the current going rate for an E500 but I rarely see one for sale.

[bolidemichael]

No, but this E430 82k miles One Owner seems very tidy indeed.

[Biglips]

Perc.y said:

I keep checking classifieds to see the current going rate for an E500 but I rarely see one for sale.

They do come up from time to time. Often the asking prices are a bit optimistic but I think that the s211 sells for about 3 to 6k depending on mileage and options. The s212 is much much rarer and more difficult to price. It will sit closer to e63 than 350 prices.

[Biglips]

bolidemichael said:

@biglips I would love to hear more about your ownership experience particularly since us non-AMG large capacity estate owners are a rare breed!

It was the natural choice for me. I need a large estate for family duties and I like a large displacement engine.

I have had a number of e class estates mostly 124s but also a 210 and have always liked them. I briefly had a Volvo V70 like yourself and whilst it was a very able car i never fell in love with it. It was too slow (2.4 petrol) the interior was low quality plastics after the build quality of a 124 and the turning circle was atrocious

The car I really loved was a s124 AMG E36. Only 7 built in RHD and was pre-merger AMG. Surprisingly fast and of course had all the attributes of the 124s. I sold it with 272000 miles on the clock when it needed some money spending on it to bring it back to its former glory. A house move meant that I couldnt justify the money it needed and so it was sold and the v70 was bought as a worthy workhorse.

As I slowly emerged from the financial pain of a move to a Victorian property in need of a lot of tlc I started to look for a merc again. The e500 seemed to be the ideal modern successor to my E36 estate. I bought it from a very nice man on the Mercedes forum and also here on PH (hi Angus if you are reading!). He moved in to a s212 E500 which he is really just looking after until it becomes mine;)

So that’s my story of how I came to own the car. Had it a little over 12 months and about 12k miles. I will post up some ownership reflections in another post

[muhnkee2]

Hey
Loving your writing and your adventures,on a similar life trajectory as you, and now with two kids (one named Magnus), and having recently arrived in the US, i found my own path to a Mercedes V8. Unfortunately they dont really do V8 wagons here, except the lovely Cadillac CTS-V, so while looking at V8 Mercs i found this lovely brown machine (a 2008 ML550):

As someone else noted european non M/AMG/RS v8s are unfortunatley rare, but totally under appreciated. I already enjoy this more than my earlier E60 M5 (which was awesome but fragile).
So my question is, do you have much of v8 thunder in the E500?
In my 2008 there is absolutely no thunder and i am not stretching to $3,000 custom exhaust to get it..
My review ofML550 ownership so far (includes Avantime ownership too)
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[bolidemichael]

Biglips said:

Perc.y said:

I keep checking classifieds to see the current going rate for an E500 but I rarely see one for sale.

They do come up from time to time. Often the asking prices are a bit optimistic but I think that the s211 sells for about 3 to 6k depending on mileage and options. The s212 is much much rarer and more difficult to price. It will sit closer to e63 than 350 prices.

Dealers ask for £8-£10k for the 5.5L facelift models. They don't seem to shift too quickly though... the most interesting one that I saw was a one owner sub 100k facelift with a full MB history sold by a dealer with a one year warranty. It sold before images were even uploaded and I contacted them as soon as autotrader gave me the alert!

[bolidemichael]

Biglips said:

I briefly had a Volvo V70 like yourself and whilst it was a very able car i never fell in love with it. It was too slow (2.4 petrol) the interior was low quality plastics after the build quality of a 124 and the turning circle was atrocious

I forgot about the crappy turning circle. It felt like trying to turn an oil tanker!

Biglips said:

The car I really loved was a s124 AMG E36. Only 7 built in RHD and was pre-merger AMG. Surprisingly fast and of course had all the attributes of the 124s. I sold it with 272000 miles on the clock when it needed some money spending on it to bring it back to its former glory.

That sounds like a great ownership experience. One of seven... bloody hell!

Biglips said:

So that’s my story of how I came to own the car. Had it a little over 12 months and about 12k miles. I will post up some ownership reflections in another post

In the meantime, feel free to add to mine. Out of interest, what's the 'sweet spot' for you on the motorway?

[bolidemichael]

muhnkee2 said:

Hey
Loving your writing and your adventures,on a similar life trajectory as you, and now with two kids (one named Magnus), and having recently arrived in the US, i found my own path to a Mercedes V8.

As they say across the pond, thanks for reaching out to me! It put a smile on my face that your lad is named Magnus

muhnkee2 said:

Unfortunately they dont really do V8 wagons here, except the lovely Cadillac CTS-V

Whilst researching E500s I learned that the S211 E500 and E550 (with the same engine as yours, I believe) are available in the US.

Isn't there also the Chrysler 300C 6.1L V8 HEMI SRT and there's also a 5.7L which would be right at home!

muhnkee2 said:

so while looking at V8 Mercs i found this lovely brown machine (a 2008 ML550)

That seems like a rare colour, though the photo doesn't seem to do it justice. It appears black(ish) to me. How thoroughly excellent for carting a little family on road trips around the US, how I do envy you for living in a land with cheap petrol and roads that never end.

muhnkee2 said:

So my question is, do you have much of v8 thunder in the E500?

My exhaust is nasty having been an aftermarket unit that has lost the baffling. I am mulling over an OEM quote and discreet item (it is about discreet progress after all) and a custom item which will give a burble and some character...

muhnkee2 said:

My review ofML550 ownership so far (includes Avantime ownership too)

I love love love the Avantime and seriously considered one for the family until I realised that it was a coupe... I would love to know more about it. The photo on your thread looks awesome with the white roof. Incredible styling.

Edited by bolidemichael on Monday 9th April 23:57

Edited by bolidemichael on Monday 9th April 23:58

[Mr E]

My 212 is virtually silent - no V8 rumble at all - unless you’re somewhere north of 4000rpm. Even then, it’s muted. Sort of like muscles being flexed under an expensive suit.

[Biglips]

Mr E said:

My 212 is virtually silent - no V8 rumble at all - unless you’re somewhere north of 4000rpm. Even then, it’s muted. Sort of like muscles being flexed under an expensive suit.

Ditto on my 211

[bolidemichael]

Mr E said:

My 212 is virtually silent - no V8 rumble at all - unless you’re somewhere north of 4000rpm. Even then, it’s muted. Sort of like muscles being flexed under an expensive suit.

BigLips said:

ditto

Guys, do you feel as though there is scope for a little more character? Since MB have NO eta for the stock exhaust at all, I am considering the offer to have a stainless steel item built by Profusion Exhausts, which will give more volume but also remove the drone. Thoughts?

[Mr E]

There’s plenty of scope for more noise, but I don’t particularly want any.
The car is unassuming and debadged. Nobody needs to know there’s a thumping great lump under the bonnet.

If I want noise and drama, I’ll take the Elise out. It does that in spades, and it has this weird lever in the middle of the car that makes it change gear. It’ll never catch on.

[muhnkee2]

bolidemichael said:

muhnkee2 said:

Hey
Loving your writing and your adventures,on a similar life trajectory as you, and now with two kids (one named Magnus), and having recently arrived in the US, i found my own path to a Mercedes V8.

As they say across the pond, thanks for reaching out to me! It put a smile on my face that your lad is named Magnus

muhnkee2 said:

Unfortunately they dont really do V8 wagons here, except the lovely Cadillac CTS-V

Whilst researching E500s I learned that the S211 E500 and E550 (with the same engine as yours, I believe) are available in the US.

Isn't there also the Chrysler 300C 6.1L V8 HEMI SRT and there's also a 5.7L which would be right at home!

The interior on these is terrible, cheap, basic, loads of hard plastics and exposed screw heads,though they make the right noise, they feel like the inside of a brazilian taxi from 1995:

muhnkee2 said:

so while looking at V8 Mercs i found this lovely brown machine (a 2008 ML550)

That seems like a rare colour, though the photo doesn't seem to do it justice. It appears black(ish) to me. How thoroughly excellent for carting a little family on road trips around the US, how I do envy you for living in a land with cheap petrol and roads that never end.

Its very hard to capture the colour, i would describe it as dark green, in the right light its striking, but most of the day it just looks black, here he is in his natural environment (aka a parking lot):

muhnkee2 said:

So my question is, do you have much of v8 thunder in the E500?

My exhaust is nasty having been an aftermarket unit that has lost the baffling. I am mulling over an OEM quote and discreet item (it is about discreet progress after all) and a custom item which will give a burble and some character...

the grass is always greener on the other side! i would love some slightly scary rumble, with many of my neighbours driving ford F150 super duty and dodge ram pick ups, the ML550 seems like a mid sized shopping trolley in comparison.

muhnkee2 said:

My review ofML550 ownership so far (includes Avantime ownership too)

I love love love the Avantime and seriously considered one for the family until I realised that it was a coupe... I would love to know more about it. The photo on your thread looks awesome with the white roof. Incredible styling.

Its the only car i have bought at and sold without loosing any money, the roof was actually silver, but it got so many comments and compliments, actually every time we took it out, we got a conversation or a thumbs up from someone, we sold it when we had our first kid and bought a sensible family friendly E60 M5.

[sinbaddio]

Cracking thread - and a great car, love it!

Will keep coming back!

[bolidemichael]

I took Magnus to MB Brooklands for some bits and bobs and then to a Merc chap on Wimbledon hill for the work.

The bill for the work involved was to replace both o/s and n/s front lower ball joints, o/s/f forward suspension arm and renewing both rear brake flexi hoses, cleaning the rear brake pipes during repair and to bleed the system.

Parts £256.20, labour £239 - total £495.20

[bolidemichael]

There are foibles to which to attend in varying levels of priority. Two of the headrests on the rear bench (not the single), do not retract when the appropriate 'headrest DOWN' button is pressed. Someone that I spoke to attributed this to an issue with the vacuum system.



I also noticed that the rear 'parcel shelf' fails to retract smoothly on the mechanism that operates with the automated boot opening (which is cool even if old technology!). It seems as though Mercedes never designed the seatbelts for the rear bench (rear facing for children) to be left just 'hanging around' and that I key part of the plastic was missing on both sides!

[bolidemichael]

An immediate rectification was required...





There's another thing that I noticed... the boot lid seems to have been adjusted incorrectly and does not sit flush:

[Biglips]

The boot fit I think is normal. Look at the picture of mine earlier in the thread, it too looks poorly aligned. Indeed all of the panel gaps are large by modern standards.