500E future value

[buccal]

Do you think the W124 500E/E500 will go up in value over the long-term?

Given that there was only ~30 officially imported in the UK will these be in more demand than un-official imports in the future? Or do you think the shear numbers available in Europe etc will stop prices increasing over the long-term?

Would LHD-only be an issue for future values in the UK?

Just thinking out loud,

Expert opinions?

 

[moonloops]

Great cars but LHD would put me off. I had a 300E-24V which wasn't exactly a slouch and cost 15% of the 500E's

 

[Will]

Hmm.

If you'd asked the same question 5 years ago, I'd have said that they'd go up without a doubt (which they have done). They did hit a bit of a rock bottom with some tattier/higher mileage cars making silly low prices at one point - £4/5k etc.

Around £10k or so seems to be a ballpark figure for most average/good examples today?

Not having a dig at the 124 500s at all, but other than the Porsche connection, is there much else that makes them collectable. Eg, not as though they were used in motorsport or something?

I'm sure like most things, pristine examples will hold their money well and may even appreciate slightly, but I doubt they'll rocket in value anytime soon.

Perhaps an E500 'Limited' or E60 AMG would be one to choose due to the rarity over the regular 500?

Will

 

[uchiha]

Agreed with Will, it's only really the AMG/Brabus/UBT/Carlsson/Vaeth variants which will see larger increases because there will be always be a niche market. UK vs import makes no difference in my opinion.

The only 500E that will actually increase significantly above inflation will be the mint, low mile garage queens, I think. The biggest issue will be fuel costs and future regulation. Imagine in say 5 years time you have cars doing ridiculous mpg, like 200 mpg say, and you have your 500E doing barely 20 at around £2.00 per gallon or more.

However as an owner I have to tell you that it is one awesome machine. Yes it wasn't used in motorsport, but the M119 engine is a work of art and WAS used in mercedes motorsport with success. It has a presence on the road that few cars can match and believe it or not, people notice. Once a London bus driver was flashing me not stop for 5 mins. I pull over on City Road in the middle of rush hour and he stopped his bus full of passengers in the middle of the road and started shooting offers at me.

The car was around at a time when tuners were still relatively small scale outfits flexible enough to tailor to the whims of wealthy clients, so you get all these unique options and bespoke items / work done to the cars which for me is all a part of the fun.

Also I wouldn't let LHD put you off. You'll have to trust me on this but just try a LHD car in this country for a week and you'll wonder what the fuss was about. It takes a couple of days to get used to the fact that you measure your position in a lane using the lane markings on the left hand side rather than the right hand side but once you've got it, you don't even think about it. The ONLY issue for me is parking meters but most of the time I'm with the Mrs.

For me, there isn't a four door saloon on the market that I would rather have and value is not an issue.

 

[d w124]

Don`t know if they`ll go up,but i know they`ll not go down.

 

[talbir]

The 500e is a special car - the Porsche connection has alot of detail behind it. Consider that Mercedes took a perfectly well selling w124 series car and took it completely back to the drawing board to produce the 500e. They didn't crudely mash in a V8 drivetrain like AMG did - they reworked several detailed parts/components of the car to neatly produce the 500e. To that effect, it is a very special car, not one to be passed off as nothing more than simply a Porsche connection. One has to consider why the Porsche connection exists and at this point it becomes clear that this is a very special car. It has over 1000 different parts to it's base skeleton, the 300e. It was cheaper to produce this on the Porsche production line at Weissach than it was to set up a separate line at MB !

The 500e has made several 'classic' car lists and MB themselves hold this car in the highest regard. Remember, this car is the ONLY MB in the past 30 years to be classified as 'coachbuilt' - with taking 18 days to complete each one between Porsche and MB factories, no other MB since can lay claim to such time and detail.

I've taken apart w124's and w126's....and the 500E has so much more detail than either. I would happily live without any of my other MBs...but to live without a 500e would be impossible !

The car has immense speed (so much so it will eat a top of the range w126 560 for breakfast !), quality looks and is a true 4 seater Q Car ! In terms of 'classic' status the 500e is a few notches above any other model since 1980 and the only one close is the 2.3-16 Cossie.

LHD has no relevance once you have spent two days driving this car...i now have 5 LHd cars and i wish all were LHD !

Thankfully, 500e's are largely stock - one only really has to play with wheels, not with bodykits as was so massively common to other w124/126's. I have yet to see a 500e with a bodykit fitted (apart from Japan AMG ones).

As for value, who knows, i for one don't really care at all. I have never paid more than 6.5k for a 500e and will be looking to add at least 2 more 500e's to my stable in the very near future. I would be quite content to lose all my current collection (except the Hammer !) for a straight swap with 500e's only ! I think these cars are by far and away the best MBs ever produced. and on my list, the 2.3-16 would be a distant second, followed by the w126 560 models.


talbir

 

[Darrell]

If you want one then go for it. The future value of these cars is not part of the deal. If you want one, you buy one, if you don't, then don't.

If anybody bought a 10 plus year old car and worried about the depreciation then the world would be a dull place.

 

[Uberwagon]

When I was looking for a good super saloon I looked at a few cars. The Jag XJR, Audi RS2, Lotus Carlton and the 500E was the last on my list. After a test drive I was completely won over, it had a much better spread of power than all the others and yet still had an exciting powerband. It was not the fastest by any means as the Carlton was very noticeably quicker and the XJR was a fair match, if not as tuneful.

The biggest selling point for me was the fact that I could see me owning this car with 500,000km on it and still be happy to do a few thousand miles in europe at the drop of a hat.

It's a car to be used, the supply of parts by Merc is a big bonus and consumeables are very cheap, as an example the brakes for a Lotus Carlton are 7 times as expensive, which is one hell of a difference.

I'd like to think it wont lose any value and will creep up in say 10 years time, as it is a car I have no intention of selling though then it's not really an issue if it doesn't. Aslong as Merc keep the parts supply up then i'm a happy bunny.

As for low mileage 500Es, well, it's just a shame as there are far better cars to molly coddle, you only get value for money by spending the hours and doing the miles enjoying them IMO.

Dave!