I'm seriously engaged in a search for one of these beasts, and hope some of the experts here can orient me in the correct direction. I have several questions.

First, is it just me, or was virtually every 500e / e500 painted Pearl Black (which really looks like a grey metallic color to me)? I've looked at four so far, and they are all this color. I don't mean to offend anyone, but it's a pretty dull color in my opinion. What other colors were available? I'm thinking a real "black" would be good, or perhaps silver. Are there any of these out there?

Second, all else being equal, I assume the conventional wisdom of buying the newest you can afford applies here too? I know the '92's had a tad more peak HP, but the '94's seem to have a cleaner appearing front end and overall appearance. What year to year model upgrades were made? Is there a website that already answers all of these types of questions?

And finally, when I do locate one and arrange for a pre-purchase inspection, what things in particular should I instruct the mechanic to concentrate on? What are the big ticket items that seem to predictably fail based on everyone's collective experience?

The 500E / E500 was only sold from '92-'94, and '94 is the only year with the updated grill / hood. The look of '92 and '93's can easily be upgraded with the installation of Euro 500E E-code head lights. There are threads all over this forum about these lights that will keep you reading well up into the night.

I agree that most I've seen are Pearl Black, which to me is not really black, but a charcoal gray metallic.

I've seen several cars that are silver, white, red, almandine red (my favorite color, very burgundy), smoke silver (light gold champagne type color).

From what I've read on the 500E's, the most popular seem to be the '92's and the '94's. The '92 gives you more horsepower and the closed deck block design which allows the cylinders to be bored out, and the '94's give the updated hood / grill.
However, it doesn't seem that buying newer really means anything with these cars. There are '94's that are trashed and '92's that are museum perfect. Fad and Placo1 know a lot about these cars. It might be interesting to read their posts on these cars...

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

9700rfv:

I just purchased my 92 500E about a month ago ... searched the U.S. for about 9 months. My criteria was that I wanted a 92 - closed deck block. This was important to me for future (way future) engine mods. I wasn't set on any particular color, though I did favor Silver (see Glen's E500 - very sweet) and Pearl Black. As you pointed out, Pearl Black cars where more common. I also wanted a black interior.

I bought my car 1400 miles from home, so I had to do a lot of research very quickly. I contacted my neighborhood MBZ dealer and did a VMI - Vehicle Master Inquiry via the VIN. This car's history was pretty detailed. In addition, the selling dealer provided a CarFax report. I contacted the Service Manager from the last MBZ dealer who worked on the car to get a more intimate story. These inquiries together told the story.

What Suginami stated is very true; you can find 92's in great condition, and 94's in poor condition. Do your homework and good luck!

Soon, you will experience the permanent grin!

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1992 500E (Daily Driver)
2004 Porsche RUF 955 Dakara 550

9700rfv,

Welcome to the forum!

Take a look at another thread started by I believe runningtoohot in the Hot Rods section that lists several problematic areas of the 500E. These will get you started.

The key to a good 500E is maintenance. These cars thrive on it and they need the lovin. If they were neglected it's a sure fire way of buying into a money pit.

Some things I would look for:
1. 100% original paint

2. Nearly new interior, no rips, tears or evident wear in the leather. No cracks apparent in the wood trim. Mine happens to have some wear on the leather portion of the steering wheel.

3. A proper maintenance history.....this is important! Ask the seller to see all the maintenance history on the car and get the VMI from the dealer....you'll need the sellers permission for that. Take this home and review and post anything questionable. If the maintenance looks thin then I'd be worried.

4. If a car has a huge maintenance or VMI record you may want to insure your not looking at a lemon. I looked at a 500E with 78K on the clock and it had 9 pages of just VMI, the car had soo many issues it made me nervous.

5. Have a carfax report done on the car. If you see a salvaged title or if the car has been auctioned off this is a red flag. Auctions in certains states can erase any existing history on the title including salvage or mileage changes so beware. I saw examples of both when I was looking btw.

6. Look at the car in person to confirm #1 and #2. If the seller is willing then pop the hood and pull the air cleaner off. No tools required and it's a quick way to check for any oil leaks as well as checking the dreaded wiring harness. I had mine at the Indy yesterday and mine was still perfect, thats shocking considering their history. A good harness will be pliable, if it's hard or cracking then it needs to be replaced ASAP. Also open the doors, hood, trunk and look under the front/rear bumpers for the matching serial numbers. If the car was hit or painted you won't find these.

7. Once you've done above then pay to have a good Indy or Dealership check the car out. I would stray away from the dealership that maintained the car originally because they may side with their customer (the seller). This happened to me once and I backed out.

Regarding the year built, I originally wanted a 93 or 94 because of the newer style armrest with phone. After looking for a couple months I realized that this feature didn't matter as much as finding a good example. The 94 definitely looks more current but the 92, 93 look a bit more masculine in my oppinnion. Good luck and keep us posted with what you find.

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Afshin

Current:
02 C32 AMG

Previous:
92 500E
84 190E 2.3 5 Spd

The cars could be found in 14 different MB colors. ...mostly black outnumbering the rest by a wide margin...or so it seems. Hemmings and the STAR mag has several years and colors at reasonable prices listed these past few months...

I don't think you'll have trouble finding a decent one...there's PLENTY of them on the market nowadays. All the info you need to know to look for is located in the archives here...so set aside a couple of hours and go crazy. Good choice on a real 'Best Buy'.

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Jim

1992 500E
2007 CLK63
2003 Audi RS6
2001 Audi allroad

Here's a good website with lots of info on the 500E/E500, the owner is a member here

http://www.homestead.com/need2speed/E500.html

You could always do what I did when I was going through the same thing....Paint the Sucker

Welcome

double post...OOooopsss

I have a low mileage 1993 Pearl Black for sale. Lots of info and pictures at 1993 Mercedes 500e

Barry Bentley