Is a 500E Really a Collectible?

Any Mercedes built after say after 2000 is a money pit regardless of the quantity made. Porsche will never colaborate with Mercedes again to create a collectable car like the road weapon 500E.

 

I would call a 500E a used car bargain, not a collectible. It looks like an old Merc E-Class and is now outgunned by more recent AMG efforts.

And I agree with Mark, if you buy a post-2000 Merc be sure to get whatever warranty you can through the dealer. My experience has been that when electronic gizmos fail (and they do -- in my case the instrument cluster), fixing it involves swapping out a larger component in wallet-crushing fashion rather than repairing it.

I love several of the newer Mercs, but only to lease for the warranty period.

 

Dale,


I would check on the cost of mechanical upkeep. I believe, these are not inexpensive cars to maintain.

 

Buy the new car .

 

On the contrary; the parts with the exception of exterior sheet metal are all either 500SL very common engine components or 300E body and interior also common and available.

 

I wouldn't think twice - buy the 500E.

Agree with others in that I wouldn't buy any M post ~ 1998.

 

True. But from what I understand from my MB mechanic when I was considering these cars, the labor is higher due to tighter access in the engine bay, etc.

 

I think it is the modern day 6.3 and 6.9 and although mine is probably the top 1/5 of well conditioned, low mileage cars I've still lost money on the car if I sold it today. I bought mine used in 1997 I think for around $49k. Its one of those cars that the level of car you get is way more than what you pay, so I always saw it as a steal.

I'm not thinking it will be worth $50k-$70k in another ten years as a collectible, but you never know. There are always buyers for this car, and the low mileage ones are always sold at a premium. To me a 500E/E500 is like a Patek you pass onto your son. You're buying one of the few Mercedes legends for anywhere between $20k-$40k. Its a rather inexpensive way to own a legend and a car you very rarely see on the road anymore.

I have an old March 1994 issue of Automobile magazine which had an article on the 500E named "Notes from the logbook of the World's Best Car", a great article on the car if you can find it online. In it, the writer states, "when I'm at Sears Point or Laguna Seca with the 500E and I see people looking at it, I can see that they really love cars. Knowing about the 500E is a part of a deeper understanding of automobiles", I always thought that was a cool description of this car and very true.

 

By the way, here are the production numbers for the USA

1992 500E- 633 cars
1993 500E- 498 cars
1994 E500- 374 cars

 

Buy the car to enjoy it, not to speculate as to value. This thread saddens me.

 

The 500E is not "that" special. Sure, it's nice.....but not special or unique enough to be a real collectible with retained value.

A stock (and heavy) 500SL engine was stuffed into the E class body with the suspension tuned by Porsche.........big deal.

The C55 is a real AMG car thruout........try and fix either one today and you'll see that there is no difference in cost.......for $20K I am all over the C55 with a warranty..........

 

Well, you have to understand Dale. He is capable of enjoying it, and speculating as to value, and chewing bubble gum. All at the same time.

 

I assume the difficult parts to obtain, are the items that are unique to the 500E.

 

Passed by a 500e on the highway last week. It looks quite ordinary like just another MB. 20k seems like a lot.

 

I'd LOVE to have a low mileage 500E and especially the 1994 E500(better body styling). Just the fact that it was built by Porsche AND Mercedes is really cool. Its like the best of both worlds! The body styling is beautiful(IMO), not too aggressive but not too understated either.

Cool article:
http://www.europeancarweb.com/featuredcars/epcp_1002_1994_mercedes_benz_e500_limited/brembo_brakes.html

 

Spotted a burgundy 500E on Friday night in Omaha. GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Impeccable condition as well.

 

500E's have soul. I've driven two, and they are wonderful cars. The later AMG stuff just feels too heavy and electronically controlled.

 

I dont see how you can go wrong for $20k. Im not as down on the newer Benzes as some seem to be, but I have to admit that the 500E has a lot of character to it and an interesting history as well. Performance on that thing was so impressive that its still decent, and the cabin actually still looks good IMO.

 

My favourite M-B! Great timeless design. Oldschool MB interior. Bulletproof quality.

One of the best in the world w124-500 on sale now in BRABUS classics - http://www.brabus.com/cars4sale.php?id=12872&kategorie=3
6.5L 450hp, full rebuild = new car. As I know, 270k euro.

 

Bringing this back from the dead. Why? If you've been following the market on these it's been on a upswing the past year or two. Today I found out Canepa has one with 67k miles on it, former Red Skelton car and they're asking $135k. Now Bruce might be crazy asking that much, but this follows the trend of where these cars are heading. Finally getting the respect they deserve, the last of the true great Benzes.

https://canepa.com/photo-gallery/1993-mercedesbenz-500e6050/

 

I never understood all the hype this car got. If it had a manual I'd understand...

 

Well the manual M5 of this same era is more than holding it's value too, so they're both great cars. Granted I own E500 so I'm biased, but it's the over engineering that appeals to me and the W124 is it. The E500 had the biggest engine, had a special body, had Porsche involvement, was hand built in a small factory by the same guys who built the Porsche 959, so it has a great story which few cars have these days. If you ever saw that Fifth Gear episode where they try to destroy one of these and can't seem too says it all.