The Mercedes-Benz W124 500E/E500 is one of those cars that we hadn’t quite seen from Mercedes-Benz and probably won’t see ever again. A product of cooperation between Porsche and Mercedes-Benz before AMG was absorbed as an in-house tuning arm, this sedan packed a powerful V8, suspension enhancements and subtle styling tweaks to be one of the most potent four-doors of its day. Now that AMG is responsible for all go fast Mercedes-Benzes, I look back on this outlier, what some consider the first true four-door Porsche. This final year E500 for sale in Atlanta is one of only seven 1994 E500s painted in Polar White. Given this is such a popular hue these days, this one is bound to catch some attention, as pedestrian as it might seem on the surface.
Click for details:Â 1994 Mercedes-Benz E500 on eBay
Year: 1994
Model:Â E500
Engine:Â 5.0 liter V8
Transmission: 4-speed automatic
Mileage:Â 48,500 mi
Price: $38,500 Buy It Now
Mercedes-Benz W124.036 E500
48,500 Miles
DB149 Polar White over GreyI am not going to bore you with the history of the Mercedes/Porsche super sedan. If you are looking at this auction, you probably already know this chassis.
These cars are known for their incredible build quality from the 18-days it took the Porsche technicians to build these cars at the Porsche 959 super-car assembly plant in Zuffenhausen. Of the 10,479 total worldwide 500E/E500’s built, 15 were DB149 Polar White. Of the 1,505 imported to the US, only 7 were Polar White. In 1994, Mercedes shipped only 374 cars to the US market. Rare car and rare color combination.
The car is in excellent overall condition. It spent its first 20 years in Arizona with 2 owners. The 2nd owner was an ex-PGA pro who played in 27 Major championships (US Open/Masters/PGA Championship). I have owned the car 1 year in Georgia. Note that the car history shows Oregon registration – the 2nd owner had a summer house in Oregon (where all of his vehicles were registered) but the car never left Arizona and never left the garage! Always maintained at the Scottsdale dealer. I do have the limited VMI from Mercedes that shows limited service records – the biggest was a replacement of the water pump.
Since I have owned the car, here is what was done mechanically/maintenance:
Upper wiring harness
Lower wiring harness
Rebuilt ETA wiring
Correct “high sheen” EVO II 8.25 x 17 wheels (rare and the perfect wheels for this car)
Correct and no-longer-available W124 lug bolts – I polished the end caps
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires
MB rotors – all 4 corners
Akebono Euro ceramic pads – all 4 corners
Rebuilt the original antenna
Replaced the stock stereo head-unit (will go with the car) with a Becker 4602 Mercedes head unit (rare head unit purchased directly from Becker North America)
3.5mm stereo jack installed with Becker 4602 for iPod/MP3 connectivity
Fluids – brake fluid, Brad Penn 20w-50 oil x2
Lamin-x headlight and foglight clear protective film
Windshield washer bottle, grommets and pumps
Replaced the front license plate frame/adapter with the “blank” piece painted Polar White – original plate bracket goes with the car
Swapped the late E500 LH module with a correct early WOT LH module (7HP gain to 322HP). Original LH module goes with the carI have sourced/purchased many parts for this E500 that will be available for sale:
Correct E500 headlights
2nd set of Lamin-X
Motor mounts, bolts
Tranny mount
Outside mirror boots
Set of metal oiler tubes and o-rings
Valve cover gaskets
MB spark plugs
Extra oil filter
2nd set of NLA lug bolts
Other partsAbove parts are about $1,500 in cost
Car runs and drives as you would expect a W124.036 with 48k miles. Paint is in excellent condition. Zero door dings or dents. Zero rust (of course). Typical stone chips on front bumper cover and a couple on the hood. Interior is excellent. Wood has zero cracks and shows full luster. Everything works, including the rear sun-shade. New style floor mats. Carpets excellent. Headliner is original with zero sagging. Very slight driver seat bolster wear. Windows are tinted with high quality tint. Trunk has had a protective pad to protect the trunk carpets. Original spare, jack and tools. I do drive the car – it has 48,3xx miles on it now, so expect that to increase over the auction duration. Note that a couple of the pics show the original head unit (just installed the Becker 4602 in December).
Emissions testing in 2015:
2,500 RPM tests:
HC ppm 1 (220 allowed)
CO % 0 (1.20 allowed)
CO + CO2 % 15.0 (min 6.0)You are welcome and encouraged to have the car inspected (your cost). I can be reached at ramblinwreck1983 (at) gmail (dot) com to discuss the car. Deposit of $1,000 at auction end, balance in cash or verified bank funds or wire. I have the Georgia title (clear) in hand.
*****NO RESERVE (car only – parts are extra)******
What makes this car is the Evo II wheels. The lend a much more aggressive look than the standard 16″ eight hole alloys that Mercedes equipped these cars with. Back in June, we saw a Black Pearl 1994 E500 with 142k miles sell for $23,600. Considering the rare color on this one and the lower mileage, the asking price isn’t too off the mark, as very good examples of these late model super sedans have been ranging in the mid to high $30,000 range, if not passing the $40,000 mark. In my opinion, it’s a lot of car for the money. Sure, it might not have the latest gadgets and some modern day mid-sized luxury cars verge on matching its power, but for those who appreciate the engineering and durability of Mercedes past with lots of power but sans the outlandish nature of some recent styling trends, there are few better options than this one.
-Paul
I like these a lot, but that is all the money in the world. You could buy an E60 M5 with similar mileage for that price.
IMHO this the worst and most boring color combo available on a Mercedes. The wheels don’t look right on a W124 either and the price is way too high.
Late 500e cars were not assembled at the Porsche factory anymore, this one was built completely at Mercedes Benz.
Audi fan,
Get your facts straight before posting random theories. All w124 500e/e500 were assembled at Porsche, even the “facelifted” cars of 94 and even the very rare 95’s. The wheels suit the car well, they were factory equipped on all ‘Limited’ trim 500e/e500’s. Over all this car is In Great condition, has low mileage, and is all period correct… this car will sell for good money. GLWS seller.
The price is reasonable. As mentioned previously, my 30k mile ’93 500E was appraised by the insurance company at $48,000.
I never knew this model was in the Porsche Museum. Neither did I know Porsche had a model type assigned (2758) to the 500E/E500 cars. I thought they only did that for Porsche models and race cars. That just shows the tighter Porsche/MB history that goes with these cars and whey they will perform well by holding their value.
You might want to do a little more reading, if you don’t have the right books about the W 124s, use the internet. The MOPF (facelifted) 1994 and 1995 cars were COMPLETELY assembled at the Mercedes factory.
That should get YOUR facts straight.
audifan – your theory has been extensively discussed and thoroughly dismissed on the 500eboard. try getting beyond your urban legend/internet myths and get your facts straight. Oh, and my ’94 E500 has Porsche stickers/labels under the trunk carpeting…why would that be?
Glasgo_Chris and E500E are correct. The information floating around the interwebs, including MANY articles from supposedly reputable sources, about late production 124.036 ‘facelifted’ E500 models not being built at the Porsche factory is completely wrong. And it has been proven wrong, repeatedly. Yet this misinformation still comes up. All of the E500E’s, all years, were built at both MB and Porsche from beginning of production to end of production. There are even photos of the facelift E500 cars in the Porsche factory being assembled. And as mentioned before, the wheels on the white E500 are both period correct and were factory fitment on the E500 Limited (not offered in USA).
Comparing this to a modern day M5 misses the mark utterly.
I’ve seen this car go from Garage Queen to utter perfection first hand. IMHO you are looking at one of the cleanest, in proper order 036’s in the US. Couple together with a rare and quite striking colour combo you have a Win from top to bottom. Pictures really do Not do it justice.
I think the seller is Nuts for letting the car go, if I had room it would be parked in my garage already.
jono
Anyone who understands the reasons for Mercedes employing Porsche to produce these cars would not believe the myth that the last year’s models were produced in house. Mercedes simply did not have the capacity on their production lines to do the unique enhancements that these cars required.
I can see why you’d say a comparison to a modern M5 is a bit off. What I meant was, if I was in the market for an uber sedan to drive on a regular basis, maybe even to use as a daily driver even, I’d go with something faster and more modern. I guess this isn’t aimed at someone like me. It’s aimed at someone who wants to plonk down $40k in cash for a 20 year old Benz (since no one is financing a car like this) that will sit in the garage looking nice but hardly being driven. I’m not sure there’s much of a market for these at that price. We’ll see.
Craig, there is indeed a market for these cars at this price range, but you are correct that it’s a relatively small market, with a unique buyer. And you clearly do not fit the demographic… shoot, you could get two AMG E63’s for the price of this car. Newer, faster, modern, yet some people are still looking for the rarity, collectability, or other attributes of the E500E.
On a side note, only 51 E500E’s (of ~10,500 total worldwide) were built in white, and only 20 of those were imported to USA. Narrowing it down, only 15 worldwide were Polar White, and only 7 of were imported to USA in Polar White. Factoring in the interior color, this particular car for sale is one of 3 imported to USA in Polar White with Gray interior.
Although I dont drive my 30k mile 500E much, I do get a couple of offers a year when I do drive it.
Best offer so far was $50k cash. Maybe Miami is a good market for these…..
I have been connected all my life with Mercedes Benz: The factory is only 50 kms from my hometown, I worked there a couple of times during my college vacations on the 123 assembly line, I owned many MBZs and still own a few and I collect MBZ toys, memorabilia, brochures and books.
One of these books, Mercedes Benz W124 Eine Klasse fuer sich, is written by a very well known MBZ specialist, Heribert Hofner. He mentions on page 174 in the 5th paragraph that
E 500s after the MOPF (facelift) are again completely assembled in Sindelfingen.
I definitely count him as a credible source and have not found concrete proof yet that this statement is not true.
I also read the same statement on various internet sites which IMHO don’t have the same weight as Mr. Hofner’s opinion.
Maybe somebody has a Porsche or Mercedes publication clearly proofing otherwise.
Beutifull car, regardless of if it was assembled by mercedes or porsche. Would one of these go for more money if it was confirmed that porsche helped assemble it rather then being fully assembled by mercedes?
Well, besides all the other evidence, the E500 in the Porsche Museum has a placard which states “Series production together with the assembly of the body shell and final assembly also took place at Porsche’s Zuffenhausen plant from 1990 to 1995.” Photos in post #5 at thread linked below.
Also make sure to read post #25, where the Porsche corporate executive, who headed up the entire 500E/E500 project confirmed ALL years of E500E were built at Porsche. Herr Bischoff’s connection to the project was direct, Herr Hofner is just the author of a book… did he work at Mercedes or Porsche at all, let alone work directly with E500E production?
http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3332
Crickets ……
Did the car come from the factory with the lower side cladding painted body color?
Only on white cars or on all post 94′ cars?
Only certain years / colors have the lower side cladding (and bumpers) painted body color. I believe all Polar White (and Arctic White) 500E/E500 had matching lower cladding. Note that 92-93 will have a black impact strip on the bumper while 94 will have the impact strip painted the same color as the bumper.
A couple other colors were also monochrome, such as Signal Red, and Sapphire Black. However the vast majority have a contrasting color for the lower cladding & bumpers.