If you wanted a Cabriolet

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You won't get another 100 bhp out of a n/a with just a remap.
Turbocharged or supercharged, yes.
I just like the car and I kid myself. Couldn't sacrifice my CLS55 to go down to 400bhp.
 
Looks fab but there are (a few) 4.7 twin turbo e500 cabriolets which command the same sort of money. These are 405 bhp but, maybe crucially, are easily mapped to 500+bhp.
This the later 5.5 na engine and whilst its nice enough you can't do much to it.
Personally I'd rather the 4.7
 
God that looks factory fresh
Same actual leather as in my lowly V6....

I have sworn off black cars though
That must taken hours of "detailing"
 
Well according to that other e500 thread it costs a arm, leg and kidney to get 500 bhp out of the NA !
 
Lovely car and if the Buyer was specifically looking for that model then it’s well worth a look.

However, it sounds like the owner is open to suggestions and their budget is up to £25k, So as lovely as this Merc is if it’s going to sit outside and not be a cosseted car, then it’ll soon revert to bring just a decent example. At which it’s value would drop to a more normal amount.

Nice headache to have though
 
ENGINE NOS CHECK
These cars are based on the W204 chassis so would be susceptible to the rear subframe suspension arms mount failure from internal rust [ doubt this applies here but worth a check?]
Low mileage cars like this often have immaculate tyres that are more than 5 years old -- another check.
These are not 3 failures of neglect but of age / mileage.

Its a lovely car BUT "all the money " for a 10 year old cabby yet to achieve classic status. Use it as a daily driver and keep it outside and it will shed value rapidly
 
Well, I've just spoken with my friend who was interested in it and he can't do anything about it till the middle of next week.

He did however asked me if I wouldn't mind going to have a look at it for him so, having spoken briefly with the vendor, I'll be popping down tomorrow. The owner did emphasise that if it's raining it won't be going anywhere which, looking at the current condition of it, was a given anyway and pretty much how I'd be with mine. A bit like dealing with @Rashman really :)

As for what it will be used for, as mentioned it will be kept outside as he has no garage now, though will only be used for occasional weekend trips. It's actually his kids who wanted a cabriolet, normally they're in Mum's RAV4 or the X5, now sadly stolen. My mate works away a lot and is always in his van, so the E Class will at least bring a bit of comfort to his life I suppose...

Oh, as for tuning or modifying it, this will not be happening. It's just going to be a family car for the odd weekend trips in the summer.
 
Car looks great. There won’t be many like that. My only query is whether your mate will enjoy the drive. If he’s had a few BMW’s he may be a little underwhelmed by the wafty nature of a big benz. I’ve a few mates who have switched from BMW’s to Mercedes and quickly gone back to BMW as they can’t get on with the Mercedes comparative lack of driver focus.

Has your mate actually driven one of these to know he likes them?

I’d be all over that E class like a rash but then I much prefer my Mercedes to my old BMW. Very different cars!
 
Looks can be deceptive, as can pictures in Auto-trader adverts I suppose.

It was a very nice car but further inspection revealed a lot of cosmetic stuff: lots of fine scratching/paint marring due to poor washing techniques, stone chips everywhere which had been filled in pretty poorly and 3 of the 4 wheels had kerb rash. Not too painful really but the paint would cost a lot to be brought back to life, the bonnet would realistically benefit from a respray as there was just too much damage to polish out with all the chips.

The tyres were all at least 7 years old, with the back ones getting a little bit low and the fronts seemingly to be a little small for the rim, so all would want replacing.

It's basically a very sound car but needs a bit of time and money spending to get it up to the standard I was expecting. As it's already up there price wise, I recommended that my mate gave it a miss.

Oh, and the bloody windscreen on the S Class cracked on the way home. :mad:
 
Bad news about your screen Dave. Autoglass home visit? I think not.
The vendor must have freaked as you picked over the car. Not many as pernickety as you.
All the best.
 
Well the car is still for sale......
 
Interesting take OP, I would've thought bonnet chips would be expected on a car this age, was it that bad?
 
I guess on a car that is very clean, stone chips or paint defects ruin the car. I had my bonnet, wings and bumper painted for this very reason, it made the car look pretty untidy even though the rest was pretty good. Having said that, I now want to get the other imperfections painted! lol
 
Interesting take OP, I would've thought bonnet chips would be expected on a car this age, was it that bad?

Not really bad as such, it was more the manner in which they'd been treated really though at least they had been treated which is obviously a good thing. Unfortunately, the treatment used made them stand out substantially more than if they'd been left. That, along with the damage on the rims and several other bits, did tend to spoil the overall appearance of the car which was supposed to be immaculate and priced accordingly. It was in good all round condition but wanted a fair bit doing to it to bring it up to a standard I'd be happy with, including c£1k on tyres alone.

I guess on a car that is very clean, stone chips or paint defects ruin the car. I had my bonnet, wings and bumper painted for this very reason, it made the car look pretty untidy even though the rest was pretty good. Having said that, I now want to get the other imperfections painted! lol

I do tend to be a little obsessive on appearance to be honest. My 190E, now sold regrettably, was pretty much perfect, especially considering it was a 30 year old car. The guy who I went looking at the E500 for is pretty much the same as me. I didn't even need to send him any pictures initially, he knows what I'm like. :)
 
Well the car is still for sale......

To be honest Abb, I don't think the guy really wants to sell it. ;)

He's a lovely man who really does look after it and I think he's just reluctantly going through the motions.
 
@daveenty definitely agree that if the asking price is for immaculate condition then the condition should match
 

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