E500 S212 2011 100k for £11k

[MikeInWimbledon]

The intern's just put up this advert for this unwashed estate car

Will appeal to a V8-phile wanting a Familienwagen to occasionally take the van to Wilderness or Latitude, Amelie's box to dressage or the Caterham to a track day.

No reference to ownership or dealer history. MoT history looks "OK."

Used Mercedes-Benz E-Class 5.5 E500 V8 Avantgarde G-Tronic Euro 5 5dr for sale

 

[W1ghty]

Eeeek a towbar !

 

[ALFAitalia]

If there is any early petrol estate car to tow with its surely that one!

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

If there is any early petrol estate car to tow with its surely that one!

385bhp. I was reading an 1990 review of "luxury sedans" yesterday

The 1989 500SEL was 250bhp, while the 911 Turbo, Bentley Turbo and BMW 750iL were a humble 300bhp

Different times


From the Archive: 1990 Luxury Sedan Comparison Test

 

[E55BOF]

A few years back I'd have snapped that up; it's the one modern 'cooking' MB V8 I've never driven and still want to. Nice interior, only two owners, and the ad implies that it has FSH. I'd say it's reaonably priced to reflect the fact that it's a bit poverty spec, too. Too late now, though; I've moved on.

(Of course, the low price might also reflect that it's a bit of a dog mechanically, having done a lot of towing, but it looks OK).

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I’m not sure about the “towing” bit.

Regular towing points towards Volvos and diesels. From builder to caravanista, from horsebox to track car.

I’d suggest that it’s more likely the family car that does occasional lightweight stuff and for that a petrol 385bhp is more than capable.

 

[ALFAitalia]

I have a couple that tow a large caravan (biggest single axle we do, so 24ft 9 long, 8ft wide and about 1700 kg)....with no issues at all behind their E500.....not he would not even tell me the towing mpg...lol. Bearing in mind the E500 212 has the worst claimed mpg of the range and an even lower official mpg than the 212 E63 M157....I'm guessing it's a pretty scary figure.....

 

[Skd884]

 

[jash19]

Interesting finding this page.
I've just bought this as a daily to protect my GR Yaris from miles and general damage and other drivers.
It is FSH, and the towbar was only fitted Feb 23 so hopefully won't have been too much of an issue. It did need pads and discs all round which seller did along with service and new MOT, and had a bit of reverb at higher speeds which seems to have been resolved with a tracking check.
Fingers crossed it'll serve me well, half hour trip on the motorway at 75 it was pushing 27.6mpg, and then a bit more enthusiastic and town driving thereafter promptly pushed that average down to early 20s. Most of what I need it for is sitting on a motorway for work miles, and I get 25ppm which means a break even at 28mpg, but hey V8 right!

 

[Londonscottish]

Interesting finding this page.
I've just bought this as a daily to protect my GR Yaris from miles and general damage and other drivers.
It is FSH, and the towbar was only fitted Feb 23 so hopefully won't have been too much of an issue. It did need pads and discs all round which seller did along with service and new MOT, and had a bit of reverb at higher speeds which seems to have been resolved with a tracking check.
Fingers crossed it'll serve me well, half hour trip on the motorway at 75 it was pushing 27.6mpg, and then a bit more enthusiastic and town driving thereafter promptly pushed that average down to early 20s. Most of what I need it for is sitting on a motorway for work miles, and I get 25ppm which means a break even at 28mpg, but hey V8 right!

Nice combo - a GR and one of these. Keep us updated.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Interesting finding this page.
I've just bought this as a daily to protect my GR Yaris from miles and general damage and other drivers.
It is FSH, and the towbar was only fitted Feb 23 so hopefully won't have been too much of an issue. It did need pads and discs all round which seller did along with service and new MOT, and had a bit of reverb at higher speeds which seems to have been resolved with a tracking check.
Fingers crossed it'll serve me well, half hour trip on the motorway at 75 it was pushing 27.6mpg, and then a bit more enthusiastic and town driving thereafter promptly pushed that average down to early 20s. Most of what I need it for is sitting on a motorway for work miles, and I get 25ppm which means a break even at 28mpg, but hey V8 right!

Welcome ! Great car you’ve got there.

Ideal for that purpose and an interesting combo with the GR Yaris. A number of us here have this V8 as the motorway, family and long-haul, with a nimble Manuel for buzzing around. (Mine’s my 6th Mx5)

Those mpg numbers are on the button. I’ve had these V8’s for two decades now in various forms and they’re always in that range.

The good news: they’re amazingly reliable, much more so than their V8 and V6 BMW and VAG equivalents.

 

[jash19]

Welcome ! Great car you’ve got there.

Ideal for that purpose and an interesting combo with the GR Yaris. A number of us here have this V8 as the motorway, family and long-haul, with a nimble Manuel for buzzing around. (Mine’s my 6th Mx5)

Those mpg numbers are on the button. I’ve had these V8’s for two decades now in various forms and they’re always in that range.

The good news: they’re amazingly reliable, much more so than their V8 and V6 BMW and VAG equivalents.

I've always been a BMW guy from my e34 days onwards (as well as small Toyota's, looking at you mr2s in all guises), but reliable v8s bmw do not do of course, and no estates from lexus, but never fear I'm getting the gist of the Merc life and loving it so far.
Appreciate all the info too, confirms my thinking on usage, and long may my day job cover the bulk of the fuel drinking!

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Truth be known, I've had quite a few 3 litre petrol BMW estates and used to have run Mk1 MR2's before Mk2 Mx5's took over.
(I'd have a non-Bangle petrol BMW V8 SE even now if they could be trusted to get past 60k miles without blowing up. Which they can't.)
But let's just keep that between ourselves.
V8 petrol's the way to go, when it comes to the E Class. We don't do dirty diesel. And that airmatic ride quality is a joy.

 

[Londonscottish]

I've always been a BMW guy from my e34 days onwards (as well as small Toyota's, looking at you mr2s in all guises), but reliable v8s bmw do not do of course, and no estates from lexus, but never fear I'm getting the gist of the Merc life and loving it so far.
Appreciate all the info too, confirms my thinking on usage, and long may my day job cover the bulk of the fuel drinking!

As a big Alfa fan at the time, the 1st MR2 was a revelation - amazing steer.

I find the 5.5 in mine surprisingly good on a long UK motorway run. The last time I drove from London to Leeds I saw 29mpg door to door. It was over 30 when I left the M1 but the last few miles in town traffic chipped away at it.

Mechanically, I've only had three problems with my Merc V8s since 2010 - the rubber on the crankshaft pulley went on my 5.0, I had a slight oil leak on the front of the 5.5 and a had to stick a new starter motor on it.

Air suspension can cause issues but all I've had to do is an air compressor on the last one and a couple of rear air springs on this one.

 

[phobos]

385bhp. I was reading an 1990 review of "luxury sedans" yesterday

The 1989 500SEL was 250bhp, while the 911 Turbo, Bentley Turbo and BMW 750iL were a humble 300bhp

Different times


From the Archive: 1990 Luxury Sedan Comparison Test

View attachment 141832

that W126.... Pure class and elegance

 

[jash19]

As a big Alfa fan at the time, the 1st MR2 was a revelation - amazing steer.

I find the 5.5 in mine surprisingly good on a long UK motorway run. The last time I drove from London to Leeds I saw 29mpg door to door. It was over 30 when I left the M1 but the last few miles in town traffic chipped away at it.

Mechanically, I've only had three problems with my Merc V8s since 2010 - the rubber on the crankshaft pulley went on my 5.0, I had a slight oil leak on the front of the 5.5 and a had to stick a new starter motor on it.

Air suspension can cause issues but all I've had to do is an air compressor on the last one and a couple of rear air springs on this one.

I got 32 from Wellington to Shrewsbury yesterday before coming off the M54, but even with some extravagance thereafter still a respectable 30.2 at the end.

I shall find the time to go through the resources here and fill myself with the knowledge, the air suspension is particularly new to me, so appreciate the mentions on that

 

[Rich764089]

Are you talking about the M273? If so I'm astounded you can see close to 30mpg I've seen high 27s at very best even driving conservatively. It's possibly worse than my M157 with double the power. Admittedly S vs E class.

What speed were you cruising on the motorways?

 

[jash19]

Are you talking about the M273? If so I'm astounded you can see close to 30mpg I've seen high 27s at very best even driving conservatively. It's possibly worse than my M157 with double the power. Admittedly S vs E class.

What speed were you cruising on the motorways?

 

[jash19]

Above was in a layby after a couple of roundabouts pulled that 32 down.

70 with cruise on for majority

 

[Londonscottish]

Are you talking about the M273? If so I'm astounded you can see close to 30mpg I've seen high 27s at very best even driving conservatively. It's possibly worse than my M157 with double the power. Admittedly S vs E class.

What speed were you cruising on the motorways?

Yes, M273. Outside the ave speed cam areas i tend to stick below an indicated 90. With a few bursts now and again after an mlm has sat in front of me for a while.