Curious .....if any low mileage 500e/e500 owners would do a straight trade their 500e/e500 a new W211 E500?

I wouldn't.

-fad

You pose a good question. Here's my long-winded answer.

It would definitely be nice to have a new Mercedes but once the car has aged I'm not sure I would be happy with it. It won't be exclusive, it blends in with all of the other 2003 Mercedes and it just doesn't have the musclecar look to it. Honestly you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the 03 E500 and the E320.

I like the idea that our cars are owned by car enthusiasts who understand why this car is special. I love the look of the W124, the lines look great and with small changes to wheels/lighting the car is updated for at least another 7 years.

Not to mention that our cars were custom built by Porsche with the reliability of a Mercedes who else can say that!

Personally I'm really surprised that the prices of the 500E aren't higher considering how hard it is to find a decent one.

So I guess my answer is I don't think I would trade mine in either. Except maybe to sell it and buy two 500E's!

__________________
Afshin

Current:
02 C32 AMG

Previous:
92 500E
84 190E 2.3 5 Spd

500E/E500!One of these days guys,
One Of These Days!!!!!

Well, the problem with your trade is that it is for a limited production "special" for a "run-of-the-mill" standard V-8 E-Class car.

Pose this question:

Would any E500 W124 owner trade for the new E55 476hp demon sedan? Limited production to Limited production. And I guarantee if that sedan is packing nearly 500 ponies, the running gear will be pretty spectacular. And I understand a couple a thou gets the limiter raised from 250 to 300 km/h!

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

John,

If it shows up at the party with 450+ HP, sign me up. I'll call Hartmut and see if he'll do a body kit...

I LOVE my 500E, but that is a LOT of power

__________________
"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

Why wouldn’t one trade a ~8-10 year old MB for a shiny new one that offers equal or better performance? Is this an obsessive nostalgia thing? Shoot, worst case you could sell the shiny new e500, buy another 500e and pocket the difference to use for on-going repairs. Otherwise you’d be "saddled" by a new car that offers a warranty, excellent and updated everything, and which would be all but maintenance free for at least the next 50K miles. Whoa Nelly! With all due respect to the W124 500 lovers, you’d have to be a few pages short of a novel to turn down such an opportunity! I’ve ridden in an W124 500E a couple of times and while nice, they aren’t *that* nice...

Of course, OTOH, I wouldn't trade my 400E for a new E430 ( )

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...Tracy

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

Tracy,

I'm pretty sure a number of the 500E owners here have the wherewithal to buy a new E500 or an E55. I myself considered the latest E55, but prefer my car...feels more visceral, more involved, maybe a bit more burly than the later car. Sure the new car had a number of options unavailable in a 500, but none I couldn't live without.

A big part of this is exclusivity, and exclusivity ONLY comes with low volume, limited-production vehicles. Conversely,the upcoming E500 will be built in quantities sufficient to satisfy demand (which should be considerable).

In point of fact, not once have I ever passed another 500E on the road, nor ever seen another in a parking lot. And I've never seen another Almandine Red one. I like that.

To each his own I guess, but the consistent demographic here among 500E/E500 owners reflects a desire to have a rare model with an interesting pedigree, maintenance costs be damned:p

__________________
"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

I think the real comparion here is between the 500e/e500 and the upcoming E55. I don't think that the E500 will be limited producition. I also think that the hp would be in the 300hp range. If I still had my 500e, I wouldn't trade it for the new E500, either. Now, the upcoming E55 (476 hp)... that's a different story entirely, as this car will be comparable to the 500E in exclusivity, production numbers, and relative pricing -- and will blow it away in performance.

If only it had a 6 speed manual.

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john
'87 2.3-16v
'92 500E

I may have to concur/sympathize with Tracy's 500e experience (as just being ok), if....one's experience is limited to 'ridden' in such a car

naturally, 'driving' a correct 500e offers a completely different motoring experience- -

indeed, its very likely that many 500e/e500 owners are not financially limited to the 500e/e500 vs. newer models; regardless of the the newer model MSRP's- I find myself not warmed by the materials used in the newer models...over close the hood of an SLK32?

fwiw- I spoke to a gentleman last Saturday that passed on he found a '94 E500 with like ~19k original miles for sale- - asking price: $60K

-fad

I think I would have to go with the new E500. Its a matter of economics. I would then sell it and buy a 6.0 liter 500E. The only thing my E500 lacks that I would like to change is to put in the 5 speed electronic tranny like in the S500. It is smooth as glass and the tiptronic is great! Other than that there is nothing the new cars offer that I need.

BTW, a few weeks ago I had a guy pull up next to me at a light in an E55 and we got to talking. He started the conversation by asking if I was willing to sell my E500. He was following me back and forth through traffic for a coupla miles and I knew he was coveting my car!

Randy
'94 E500
'00 S500

For a E500? NO. Now as Revbond said, a 03'E55 would be something altogether different.

My Wife says she wants to trade in the 500E for the new E55 next year, my reply? NOT

For one thing the 500E is mine, if anything we will have a 500E and a E55 in the garage by the end of next year. Who knows, by them maybe I will have the resources to create the Supercharged 6.0 liter 500E I have always dreamed of.

Damn speed (and torque) is addictive!

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"

E500 prices keep dropping. I traded my 94 E500 two years ago and don't regret it. I could replace the car today for $10,000 less. Face it, 1543 cars is too many to ensure exclusivity and resultant price support.BTW I just drove a new Jaguar SType R, with supercharged 4.2 motor. It outperforms my 94 E500 in acceleration and handles better. Plus it has a 6speed automatic. I am considering one.

Hi Allan-

Naturally prices of regularly used E500's are dropping- - happens to all vehicles.......however, in a differnt category all togehter- - I've observed asking prices of ultra low mileage '94 E500's on the rise (fyi- on autotrader.com)

I would tend to agree with your sentiments>>>if the E500 was merely viewed as a quick 'car'- - - however with valued background knowledge I tend to view it as offering an ownership experience greater than just its performance (ie +pedigree, +++build quality, +materials quality, +engineering, +styling, +aesthetics, etc.)

RE: 'current tech in vehicles/performance vs. old world coach building standards/tech/performance'
> if an individual wished for merely the attributes of a mass produced new vehicle platform & its associated performance ......its understandable that an W124 E500 offers additional attributes that may not be appreciated or valued

...clearly- we can (and many here actually do) own a number of vehicles to satisfy our ownership and motoring desires

-fad

LeBenz said it best. As good as the E500 was, it, like any car, shows signs of age as time passes. My car needed door guides on both front doors. The rubber oxidized everywhere. The car was out of warranty and was a risk to keep with only 39k miles. I advertised it in a major Tampa, FL. paper at a reasonable price and got two calls in two months. The dealer gave me $34.5k in real dollars. This is just another Mercedes in the minds of the buying public, save a limited number of "aficianados". These cars will never become rare collector cars. There were over 10,000 of them made world-wide. I have said before in this forum that the 4speed transmission never felt right. But I liked the car for six years and still admire them when I see one.