Thanks for the comments. While the logic as stated is obvious, sentiment would seem to rule this theoretical decision. The funny thing is that MB makes lots of limited production vehicles. And while the 500e is an obvious good performer it doesn’t stand out ahead of several other MB performers which are also limited production.

As for the desire for something unique, I can definitely understand that point as I had a unique vehicle for some time (my 928, which I owned for 12 years), and being both unique and an excellent performer were part of the appeal. However, in time the maintenance issues started to outweigh the desire for the particular car after it reached ~16 years and grew steadily worse until it was ~21 when I sold it in favor of the 400e. This is not to say that the cost was prohibitive, just that it was too damn inconvenient to have to maintain, and finding a “competent” Porsche mechanic was slightly more difficult than finding a “competent” insurance sales person. I would have to guess that the W124 500e hasn’t reached that point in the maintenance curve just yet. Plus fortunately, there are a lot of competent MB mechanics!

This being the case, the issue of keeping a W124 500E over a straight trade for a W211 E500 is still kind of evasive. Based on the comments above I’d have to guess it is akin to keeping and enjoying a pair of well warn old Converse sneakers over some new Nikes – meaning you end up with something structurally superior and functionally more long lived, but it looses on the sentiment appeal.

Let me ask the question differently: Would you be willing to have all of the rubbers in your 500E replaced? That includes everything rubber under the hood, the window liners, door seals, bushings, grommets, flex disks, light fixture gaskets and so on down to the tires, air bag(s) and hangers for the tail pipe? Guess a cost for this would be $25K range – done on your dime. Has anyone already done this?

Thanks again for the feedback!

__________________
...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"