Like the title said, whats the genral price I should find in a 500E or E500? Any year, but 1992 is preffered. milage dont care about. If the numbers come up just right, then i'll be puttin up some want adds around.lol I have to own a early 90's 500E.


Whats the difference between the E500 and the 500E? Just like the 400E and the E420. 300E, E300? ect ect.


Thanks
Curtis

I don't believe there is much difference at all between the E500 and 500E. A gentlemen in our MBCA club has one for sale. It was the original Mercedes Show car, he's asking $30k.

__________________
Adam Lumsden
(83) 300D
Vice-President of the MBCA International Stars Section

...You mean apart from the fact that some of the 500Es (including the 1992 year iirc) were built in collaboration with Porsche?? (aka the "Velvet Hammer")
Those models are rare.

All 500E500's were built as a collaboration between Porsche and Mercedes.

The differences between 92-93 500E's and '94 E500's is the same as with other W124 chassis cars: The '94 cars are facelifted with the newer integrated grill and Euro style headlights.

'92 500E's also is the only year iirc with the older style armrest in that it is just a padded armrest. '93 and '94 cars have the armrest with the flip up storage compartment.

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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".

dang $30k? i could buy a 2003-2004 E500 for that price. like serously.

I have been watching 500's for quite a while now and have seen some for 10K and one the other day for 46K High miles don't matter ??? do you feel lucky ? Like anything else, you will get what you pay for. As for the 30K for the old 500E, or the new one,,, I'd take the old one any day,, assuming it is truly a well preserved and documented example.

__________________
95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

They cost $15k for a banger and $30k for a good one. A couple of points: (1) Don't buy one - you can't handle the expense. (2) A 2003-04 E500 will sink in value as you use it, the 500E will not. You don't really sound like you have any idea what the car is, and although I'm all for people educating themselves about new things (MBs in particular), it would be best if you learn much, much more prior to purchasing an old Mercedes.

__________________
- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

Buy a 400E unless you REALLY know what you are doing.

You can get a very nice 400E for $5K to $7K. Probably 80% of the performance for less than 35% of the cost. That is a good deal in anyone's book.

Can you swap the 500E fenders onto the 400E?

__________________
1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

Or the engine, for that matter. They're both M119s, aren'y they?

__________________
Brian Rogers
'96 E320 traded in at 292,000 miles
'09 C350

Paul,

Is this semantics (over calendar years or production model years) , or were there 500E's built that were not a Porsche collaboration?
Here are a couple of articles.
This author believes there were, and the second article hints without actually saying it.

Could we both be correct in that 92-94 were the Porsche years claimed in the articles, and they were the only years they were imported?

Anyway, for the original poster, here's some info FWIW.

http://www.epinions.com/auto-review-1DA0-F5B88FF-38322C9E-bd1

The Four Door Porsche
Nov 16 '99

Pros
Porsche engineering and assembly, Mercedes hardware and reliability

Cons
Limited production run makes them hard to find for sale


Full Review
A few Porsche enthusiasts will remember the four door prototype, called the Type 989, that Porsche began developing in the early 1990s based on a stretched 911 chassis with a rear mounted 8-cylinder engine and four doors. The project was eventually shelved, but the 989 hardware was reverted back to a two door configuration and evolved into the Type 996 or 1999 911 that we see today. The foor door Porsche spirit lives on, however, in the form of another Stuttgart car.

In 1990, Mercedes decided to develop a high performance version of their successful 300E model which debuted in 1986. Porsche was contracted to engineer the modifications necessary to transform an ordinary 300E into the very special 500E. However, the extensive modifications to the floor and external sheetmetal meant the 500E could not easily be built on the normal assembly line at the busy Mercedes Sindelfingen plant. So, Mercedes also called upon Porsche to perform the assembly of the 500E at Porsche's Rossle-Bau plant in Zuffenhausen. The contract called for 8 to 12 500Es per day, 2400 per year, built to the highest quality.

During the 1992-1994 production run, Porsche's Rossle-Bau facility was operated by Old World standards: cars were built on wheeled pallets and were moved by hand from station to station as they were assembled. Electric spot welding was also done mostly by hand. This process is a major reason why I would place a special value on the 500E, as no other modern-day Mercedes has received so much care in assembly and quality control.

Each 500E started life at the Rossle-Bau plant where the basic body shell was completed, including doors, trunk, and hood, and then transported on special trucks to the Mercedes Sindelfingen plant across town. There, the body was corrosion-proofed and painted, giving it the full measure of rust protection and allowing customers to choose from the entire palette of Mercedes colors. Then each 500E went back to the Porsche plant for more assembly. Engines, transmissions, and other major mechanicals were assembled by Mercedes and shipped to Porsche for installation. Then another trip across town, back to Mercedes, where each 500E received a final inspection before delivery or export. On average, it took 18 days to build each 500E, much of which was consumed by transportation time.

Porsche's modifications to the original 300E included splaying-out and reinforcing the frame rails, widening the driveshaft tunnel, modifying the front axle crossmember and other engine bay components to accept the 5-liter 322-hp V8 engine that was also specified for the 500SL at that time and weighed 70 lbs more than the 300E's inline-6 engine. The heavy duty battery was moved to the trunk to achieve an ideal 50:50 weight balance with two occupants and 175 lb of luggage aboard. 500SL-sourced wishbone suspension pieces and steering linkages were reinforced to accomodate the 500E's increased weight. The 500E stands nearly an inch lower than the 300E due to shorter and stiffer springs with plastic buffers and gas pressurized shock absorbers with internal damping springs. A hydraulic self-leveling suspension is standard equipment. 11.8-inch vented disc brakes in the front were sourced from the 300CE, and the 10.9-inch vented rear discs were the same as the 500SL. Wider wheels and tires resulted in a 1.5-inch wider track, and the wheel well fenders were flared out to better accomodate the extra width.

While the 500E's engine was the same M119 V8 used in the 500SL, the 500E was specified with Bosch LH Jetronic fuel injection (the 500SL used KE Jetronic) and a redesigned intake manifold with longer runners that resulted in an additional 22 lb-ft of torque, developing a maximum 354 lb-ft at 3900 rpm.

To handle the extra horsepower and torque, the 500E's 4-speed automatic transmission was sourced from the 500SL model, as well as its rear axle that used a 2.82:1 differential to fully exploit the V8's torque. ASR traction control was standard and no defeat switches were provided by the factory (aftermarket defeat switches are available, however). Like all other Mercedes transmissions at that time, the default starting gear was 2nd, presumably to ensure smooth acceleration. There were two ways to force a start in 1st gear: either floor the gas pedal, which resulted in a less-than-smooth kickdown, or by moving the gear selector down and over to B, then back to D (this tricked the gearbox into starting off in 1st, regardless of throttle position).

Factory performance figures were 0-to-60 mph in 5.6 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph. With the standard ASR, most real-world acceleration runs produced 6.0 to 6.2 second results. With ASR defeated via aftermarket equipment, sub-6 second times would be more reliably achieved. The 155 mph top speed was electronically limited, in accordance with the Audi/BMW/Mercedes agreement to avoid escalating top speed wars.

The 500E's competition was the BMW M5 and Audi S4 (not to be confused with the 2000 S4 which is a high performance version of the A4; the 1992 S4 was a high performance version of the then 100/200 model, now A6 model). The M5 was typically more desireable to track enthusiasts because of its standard manual transmission (no automatic was offered) and beefy inline-6 engine. The S4's standard Quattro four wheel drive appealed to all-season sport sedan owners. But the 500E was the king of the autobahn with its torquey V8 engine and tank-like build quality. The kind of driving fun you experience in the 500E is not the sort of tail-out tire-smoking session you could have with an M5, but rather an impressive display of smoothness and effortless power delivery and roadholding grip that can only fully be appreciated on the long, winding, high velocity roads of the Autobahn and Autostradas of Germany and Italy.

The 500E had few faults. The single windshield wiper arm, although engineered to clear most of the windshield with each stroke, cannot compensate for high speed duty. The climate control system was not very friendly to use, and not very accurate in keeping the cabin at a steady temperature. And, as already mentioned, the ASR was non defeatable (Mercedes has since offered ASR defeat switches in its high performance models beginning around 1995).

The 1992-1994 Mercedes 500E is truly special because of its unique involvement with Porsche, something no other Mercedes model can claim, past or present. That distinction alone makes the 500E desirable to both Mercedes enthusiasts and Porsche enthusiasts. And unlike the AMG Mercedes models of today, with their attention-getting 18-inch 5-spoke wheels and sculpted lower body panels, the 500E looks nearly identical to its plebian 300E sibling, truly defining the old adage "a wolf in sheep's clothing".



Recommended:
Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 79,200 MSRP (1992), $30,000 to $40,000 resale value (1999)
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1992-1994
Model and Options: 500E


Continued....

^^^^

http://www.windingroad.com/features-page/mercedes-benz-500e/

May 2006, Issue 9.0
The German sales brochure summed it up: Feuer und Seide. Translation: Fire and Silk.

Emotive stuff coming from the folks at Mercedes-Benz, but the 500E had power sufficient to make even Swabians swoon when it arrived in 1992. Emotive, perhaps, yet Teutonically precise, because the 500E embodied a heat and smoothness that had been missing from the Mercedes lineup since the passing of the 450SEL 6.9 in 1980. The 500E’s mission was clear: to send a message to BMW that only Mercedes could build a world-class, high-performance sedan.

The excellent W124 sedan (otherwise known as the 300E) served as the foundation for the response. Mercedes employed one of the oldest hot-rod tricks in the book by taking a mid-size car and shoehorning into it the biggest engine possible; in this case, the 322-horsepower, 5.0-liter V-8 from the 500SL convertible. The SL’s running gear also was utilized, with its four-piston-caliper, 11.8-inch vented front brakes and fourspeed automatic transmission. The track
was widened by 1.5 inches; the suspension, lowered by 0.9 inches, received minor tweaks for improved ride quality.

On the exterior, the purity of Bruno Sacco’s design (arguably one of his finest) was enhanced by gorgeously flared front and rear fenders to accommodate the larger wheels and 225/55ZR-16 tires. Aside from a revised front fascia and the badge on the trunk lid, these fenders are the biggest clues that this is more than a garden-variety E-class. Compared side-by-side, though, the 300E seems anemic and underfed, while the snubbed-down, rottweiler stance of the 500E demonstrates a purposefulness that is revealed out on the road—or, more correctly—the Autobahn.

Part of the car’s mystique is that production engineering, crash-testing, and structural improvements were all executed by the performance marque across town, Porsche. The body shell was assembled in Porsche’s Zuffenhausen facility, returned to Mercedes for painting, and then shipped back to Zuffenhausen for final assembly in the same factory area where Porsche built its legendary 959 supercar. Finished cars were delivered once more to Mercedes for final inspection; such logistics meant it took eighteen days to produce a car and limited daily output to an average of ten. Most likely, it added to the base price of almost $80,000, too.

Mercedes produced a total of 10,479 cars by the end of the 500E’s run. Only 1505, however, were sold in the United States: 633 in 1992, 498 in 1993, and 374 in 1994. The differences between them are small, but the type that devotees love to debate, like arguing which is the better album, Revolver or Sgt. Pepper’s. The 1992 version, with its closed-deck engine design, makes seven more horsepower than the 1993 and 1994 models, and only the ’92 and ’93 cars were assembled by Porsche. The ’94 versions (known as the E500 due to the change in Mercedes nomenclature that year) have a restyled front end that gives them an updated look, with more smoothly integrated headlights, hood, and grille.

Regardless of the year, the overarching appeal of the 500E is an understated appearance that betrays little of its performance capabilities—and performance is what set the automotive press collectively thumbing through the thesaurus when it came time to write reviews. Fourteen years later, a turn behind the wheel of this 1992 model reveals that enthusiasm is still well deserved.

The driver’s door opens and closes with a reassuringly solid kerchunk that calls to mind your choice of bank-vault clichés. The interior is completely in keeping with a Mercedes of the early Nineties vintage: simple orange-needled gauges with white graphics on a black dash, indecipherable climate controls, and a tasteful mix of leather and burled walnut. Compared with a modern luxury performance sedan, the 500E is monastic in its absence of creature comforts—nary a cup holder in sight. It is a performance sedan with a touch of luxury, rather than the other way around. A twist of the key in the dash-located ignition fires the DOHC 32-valve V-8 to life, and the car surges forward slightly, like a thoroughbred in its chute.

These initial interactions underscore how much cars have evolved since the 500E’s introduction. Despite being fourteen years old, driving one today comes
close to a vintage experience. The door is unlocked the old-fashioned way, with a key in the door, rather than with the push of a button. You use that same cut-from-metal key to start the car, rather than a microprocessor-embedded fob that communicates electronically with a computer. There is no throttle- or brake-by-wire, and the shifter is connected directly to the transmission, rather than to electronic intermediaries that actuate gear selection. Aside from antilock brakes and basic traction control, the 500E does not try to protect drivers from themselves; instead, it offers a sense of involvement and control that is lacking in most of today’s offerings.

While it may have the heart of a hot rod, the 500E drives much like a regular Mercedes, albeit a Mercedes that has been turned up to eleven. It is fully evolved, with a bit more of everything that makes a Benz a Benz: greater acceleration, better braking, crisper handling. The fact that it can be flogged around a road course on track days is simply a testament to its pedigree, but not its primary mission; just because you can light a cigarette with a flamethrower doesn’t mean that’s how it was intended to be used. No, the 500E is at its best when wafting along at 100 mph, carrying its driver, three passengers, and their luggage to some fabulously luxurious destination that normal people don’t even know exists.

Under more prosaic driving conditions, the 500E moves with a deliberateness that lends a degree of gravitas. There is none of the high-strung, over-caffeinated edginess of its super-tuned peers of the day; this car is entirely comfortable with its sedan-ness. Its recirculating-ball steering lacks a chef’s knife sharpness for carving up corners, but is perfect for top-speed runs where a little latitude in such endeavors is appreciated. The transmission’s second-gear start (intended as a fuel-saving and transmissionsparing device) adds to the unhurried feeling, but can be overridden by manually shifting into the lower gear and then back into Drive.

Thus unrestrained, the 500E accelerates with alacrity, the transmission snapping off shifts at the 6000-rpm redline. Magazines of the era recorded a 0-to-60-mph time of 5.5 seconds, 0 to 100 mph in 13.8 seconds, and the quarter-mile in 14.1 seconds at 101 mph; top speed was electronically limited to 155 mph. The real fun happens from 50 to 70 mph (gone in 3.5 seconds), when the transmission kicks down with Doberman-like obedience and sends the revs straight into the sweet spot of the torque band. The car is so poised, so balanced, that it never feels fast—until you glance at the speedometer and discover that you are exceeding the speed limit by double digits.

Quoting performance numbers to describe the 500E, though, is like citing Grace Kelly’s measurements to describe her beauty. Trying to distill its essence into mere numbers misses the point. It’s not about the data, it’s about the total package, one that balances all aspects of performance for a complete driving experience. It is one of the last great Benzes, conceived when a Mercedes was built to meet a standard, not a profit margin. The 500E embodies an era and an ethic now passed, a reminder of what the threepointed star once represented.

Cool article Jim!

__________________
Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

Hey so wouljd 500 fenders fit on my 94 E420?

I have a 1994 E-420, for $2k perfect condition, but had 150k miles. He didnt kno what he was selling, so I took it for the 2 grand.lol