In my quest for a ticket to join the elusive '92 500E club, I have tried and tested four of these saucy numbers. Each and every one has had cracks in the wood, whether the front around the shifter, or rear, between the seats. Hi-mileage or low, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. Is it a bad design?, or is it just poor maintenance. By the way what type of wood is it, zebrano, walnut or something else?

Thanks


------------------
David Hendy
'87 16V 100K miles

My guess would be bad maintenance. I purchased a 92 500E from Southern CA (65K miles) with no cracks in the wood, anywhere. Maybe the previous owners of the models you inspected left the cars in the sun for days on end, cooled them down with air conditioning, then left the car to bake in the sun again (repeat couple of hundred times). This can do a job on the wood. or maybe they had kids. :rolleyes:

------------------
john
'77 6.9
'87 2.3-16v
'92 500E

[This message has been edited by revbond (edited 01-25-2000).]

[This message has been edited by revbond (edited 01-25-2000).]

If you find a otherwise great condition car go for it. Replacement for the wood is available from many sources. I had to replace a piece of wood trim in my 98 E430 that cracked in two places. I beleive it cracked from very cold weather (Wash DC) and it gets way colder in your area.

------------------
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>1998 MERCEDES-BENZ E430
<LI>OBSIDIAN BLACK METALLIC/BLACK LEATHER
<LI>XENON H.I.D. LOW BEAMS
<LI>DEBADGED (E430 REAR)
<LI>AMG CHROMED TIP DUAL EXHAUST
<LI>CARLSSON 1/6 CHROME (PLUS 1) WHEELS
<LI>SLK "WREATH" WHEEL CENTER CAPS
<LI>ALPINE CHM-S611 CD CHANGER
</UL>

I'd agree that it's more often severe weather variations than maintenance that results in wood cracks. I have them on my low mileage 94 E500 as well and will just have to replace them. Luckily, it is not a huge cost (don't know the labour charges yet, though).

PS...the wood is burl walnut and, if you care to, the dealer will send a piece of your wood to the factory so they can match the color and grain as close as possible.

I'm lucky enough to have found a '92 with no cracks. However, if there were cracks I'd send the OE piece out for refinishing, since likely the cracks are only in the varnish anyway. There are at least a couple of companies that advertise in The Star; let me know if you need help tracking them down.

------------------
Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE