Basket-case E500

[500E]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230339608134

Pretty much a shed. Rust, blowing exhaust and a misfire.

It's gone over £2k already - I guess there is still demand for these rare models.

Too tired for my liking and the mileage is through the roof! I doubt its been cared for either so who knows what else is wrong with it.

 

[500E]

On closer inspection its a 500E.

Older front end and orange indicators. The rear end has been changed for a facelift one with the smoked taillight - evidence of accident?

 

[d w124]

I think you are wrong!In my opinion these cars will never be a shed.All it needs is a care of an enthusiast.

 

[Will]

Well, tired or not - it's certainly cheap enough at £2k.

Could be a bit of a money pit though - misfire could be loom/ECUs or maybe even engine issues.

Might be several other problems. It's quite obvious that anyone bidding for this will/should know what they're facing.

Worth saving nonetheless

Will

 

[500E]

I think you are wrong!In my opinion these cars will never be a shed.All it needs is a care of an enthusiast.

It needs alot of care! Certainly alot more than its worth I think. Grey leather is not the most desirable either.

I remember a nice blue (!) 500E avaliable for £7995 in good condition.

I personally sold our mint 93 E500 with tasteful mods for £5800.

It had about 110k miles and it was black on black.

The misfire could possibly be the distributor cap and rotor arms - easily done at home.

I think it will reach £3-4k - cheap E500's are thin off the ground at the moment although being thristy on fuel and LHD they arn't the most desirable.

It's certainly a drivers car though, those that own these would settle for no other (C43/E55's avaliable at similar and sometimes less).

 

[Niks]

If only I had the money.... IF! lol

 

[arbs]

this maybe a can o' worms but why is the older 500E/E500 seen as a better car than the newer w210 etc? build/performance/ride/handling or what?

 

[Will]

Pretty much all of the above, plus in this case - collectability. They were partly built by Porsche, and they also offered superb performance for their time

Will

 

[arbs]

indeed, my first introduction too them was a buyers guide in an early copy of EVO magazine. hold them in the same regard as a lotus calton

 

[500E]

My first introduction was when my uncle purchased an early 91' model in 2003. After this we were hooked! My dad saw a californian registered one in 1996 on the M3 motorway and knew it was something special!

 

[Vlad]

2nd the opionion on the mis-fire could be a degrading wiring harness and blown coil pack/ECU.....when I purchased my E500 the last owner had just shelled out £3750 to replace wiring harness, coil packs and ECU's when the wiring harness shorted out.

You would need to see this car and get a good idea of whats causing the problem

ps; can't see any coolant in the expansion tank unless its clear water.

 

[500E]

Btw, L55 ACE has not been seen for a while, I think the guy down my road sold it a couple months ago!

 

[Vlad]

Wonder where she is now??

 

[buccal]

Seems criminal to let a 500 get into that state....

 

[Mudster]

I dunno, it's done 218,000 miles...that's a well used car.

What would be criminal is not using it and allowing it to slowly rot in a garden. An enthusiast will buy that and give it another lease of life.

 

[stats007]

2nd the opionion on the mis-fire could be a degrading wiring harness and blown coil pack/ECU.....when I purchased my E500 the last owner had just shelled out £3750 to replace wiring harness, coil packs and ECU's when the wiring harness shorted out.

Does a 1992 M119 in the W124 have coil packs? Didn't make it into the R129 until 1995.

 

[talbir]

Wow, that's cheap at the moment.....wouldn't cost an awful lot to get it back to very good order.

I think i could make that a 7 or 8 out of 10 car for less than 1k !

As a j reg car, it doesn't require cats, so exhaust should be a cheap fix. As for harnesses, ecus etc, one can source perfectly good items for the array of m119s sitting in scrapyards. Such easy engines to diagnose and fix as well.

I'd consider it if it was a different colour, but 199 is the least desirable colour in my preference chart. I like grey leather though.


talbir

 

[500E]

How much would this one be worth then if, say 7/10 condition?

£1k along with paintwork - I think thats wishful thinking since we don't know whats actually wrong with it.

Would there still be a market for it with cost + repairs + profit markup?

Thanks.

 

[d w124]

Same as Niks said:If i had the money that baby would be reborn

 

[talbir]

How much would this one be worth then if, say 7/10 condition?

£1k along with paintwork - I think thats wishful thinking since we don't know whats actually wrong with it.

Would there still be a market for it with cost + repairs + profit markup?

Thanks.

I don't think this is a profit opportunity, nothing really is in today's market. More of a bargain purchase for a 500e lover - i can turn this car into 7/10 for less than 1k, that's addressing all areas of issue. That's based on the fact i would do all the work and i have a very good odyshop contact.

Hard to say what any 500e is worth, but again, i don't think that is the point here....it's about ownership of one of MB's finest at a bargain price.


talbir