SOLD: 1994 E500, Pearl Black/Grey, 155kmi, $21k (Santa Barbara, CA)

[Atmos37]

ADMIN EDIT 1: Price reduced from $30k to $27k Feb-2017. See post 12 below.

ADMIN EDIT 2: Price reduced from $27k to $25k Feb-2017. See post 13 below.

ADMIN EDIT 3: Price increased from $25k to $28k Jun-2017. See post 15 below.

ADMIN EDIT 4: Price decreased from $28k to $21k Dec-2017. See posts 26-29 below.


• VIN: WDBEA36E9RC101121
• 3rd owner, purchased in 2002, daily ride until 2009,
now my regular Sunday drive to local car show.
• Mx records from local independent shop:
- Rebuilt transmission at 100kmi
- A/C compressor at 153kmi
• Front seat left bolster has surface wear. Sheepskins on front seats since 2008.
• Re-painted left front & rear fenders, hood and trunk lid
(windshield, left headlight & hood after a 'rock shower' from oncoming truck in 2007. Trunk & rear fender were separate 'shopping cart' hits).
• 2nd owner installed Alpine NVA-N751AS Stereo/CD/Nav System.

[gsxr]

Welcome to the forum - and GLWS!

[Jlaa]

In the first picture --- is that a 300SL Gullwing you are parked next to (reflections in the paint?) Gaaaaahhhhh.... and welcome!

aaa.jpg

[gsxr]

In the first picture --- is that a 300SL Gullwing you are parked next to (reflections in the paint?)

Whoa. You officially get the Eagle Eye award!

[Atmos37]

The silver one is a 'regular' at: http://www.sbcarscoffee.com

[EHJ710]

Any chance that car was Jerry Rubinstein's car when new in 1994? I worked with him briefly in 1994 and at the time he had a yellow/BRG Lotus Espirit Turbo, sold the car for a brand new E500, exact same color combo.

[EHJ710]

Sorry, no edit function. Relating to the above post, Jerry Rubinstein lived in the hills of Montecito, CA, neighbor to Santa Barbara, and was a record and music industry executive.

[Atmos37]

Don't know who was first, second owner was Douglas Adams (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hi..._to_the_Galaxy). He passed away in 2001. I bought it as it was being prepared for sale after bring released by the probate court. A friend bought a similar E500 from a seller in Montecito with 29kmi in 2007, kept it for six months then sold it to a German buyer?

[modykaran]

• VIN: WDBEA36E9RC101121
• 3rd owner, purchased in 2002, daily ride until 2009,
now my regular Sunday drive to local car show.
• Mx records from local independent shop:
- Rebuilt transmission at 100kmi
- A/C compressor at 153kmi
• Front seat left bolster has surface wear. Sheepskins on front seats since 2008.
• Re-painted left front & rear fenders, hood and trunk lid
(windshield, left headlight & hood after a 'rock shower' from oncoming truck in 2007. Trunk & rear fender were separate 'shopping cart' hits).
• 2nd owner installed Alpine NVA-N751AS Stereo/CD/Nav System.

Is it still available for sale? Are there any issues? How does the electrical look? Any paperwork? Asking price?

Karan Mody

[ZombieBranz]

Is it still available for sale? Are there any issues? How does the electrical look? Any paperwork? Asking price?

Karan Mody

try sending him a PM. I did and he said it was but he responded after I had already purchased my 500E but I think there is a good chance it is available. Good looking car.

[Atmos37]

It is still for sale - send me a private message with your contact# and I'll give you a call.

[Atmos37]

Price drop . . . moving locally & losing a garage space

FS: 1994 E500, Pearl Black/Grey, 154kmi, $30K (Santa Barbara, CA)

• VIN: WDBEA36E9RC101121
• 3rd owner, purchased in 2002, daily ride until 2009,
now my regular Sunday drive to local car show.
• Mx records from local independent shop:
- Rebuilt transmission at 100kmi
- A/C compressor at 153kmi
• Front seat left bolster has surface wear. Sheepskins on front seats since 2008.
• Re-painted left front & rear fenders, hood and trunk lid
(windshield, left headlight & hood after a 'rock shower' from oncoming truck in 2007. Trunk & rear fender were separate 'shopping cart' hits).
• 2nd owner installed Alpine NVA-N751AS Stereo/CD/Nav System.

[Atmos37]

Price drop to S25K. . . losing my garage space. Needs and deserves a caring owner!!!

[Atmos37]

Took off the sheepskins and driver's right bolster is in better shape than expected!!

[Atmos37]

Back in my garage! Price increase per Hagerty 'Good Condition' to $27,900 . . .

[Atmos37]

Hagerty Valuation: https://www.hagerty.com/apps/valuati...edes~Benz-500E

[gerryvz]

A guide like Hagerty is nice as a very general price guide, but I would NEVER price my car directly in accordance with it.

Potential buyers, especially here, are going to care much more about the following items when considering what they would be willing to pay for your car:

1. Mileage
2. Cosmetic condition -- exterior and interior
3. Documentation and paperwork -- does the car have all (or at least recent) maintenance paperwork?
4. Current state of maintenance -- is it up to date?
5. Current state of maintenance -- how much deferred maintenance does the car have? (a car of your's mileage will be nearing $10,000 of deferred maintenance)
6. Area(s) the car has lived - West Coast and Southern US cars always preferred to minimize rust on underside and body panels

Take a look at what other cars are going for on the forum, and it should be a good balancer. I am not seeing these types of cars go for that amount of money, at this point in time.

If you want your $30K for the car, I HIGHLY recommend taking at least 25-50 very detailed photos of all aspects of the car, including underneath (car on a lift), inside the engine compartment, and so forth. These cars are very easy to make look good cosmetically, but there are plenty of mechanical things that can crop up that knowledgeable buyers will look to make sure have been done (upper & lower wiring harnesses & ETA being changed; motor mounts being changed every 75-80K miles, for starters; A/C evaporator and ACC vacuum pods being others; the list goes on.....).

Just my two cents.

[Atmos37]

No "deferred' maintenance:

E500 MX 1.JPG E500 MX 2.JPG

[Atmos37]

More images . . .

[gerryvz]

You are obviously not familiar with the rule that applies to all E500E's, excepting those that just went through a rotisserie restoration:

ALL E500Es have $5K+ of deferred maintenance.

All E500Es under the $15-20K mark have more like $10K of deferred maintenance.

It's a fact borne of watching these cars and their market for more than 15 years. Sorry.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[036]

Drop, increase..... decide yourself

[Atmos37]

Installing a new headliner next week . . .

[gsxr]

Listing with more photos:

https://www.charlescrail.com/vehicle...edes-benz-e500

1994 MERCEDES-BENZ E500

The car on offer, VIN: WDBEA36E9RC101121, was sold new in California and has had only three caring owners. The last owner purchased it in 2002 and used it as a daily driver until 2009. Since then it was used as a Sunday driver and taken to local car shows.

Some major work completed with records since 2002:
• Mx records from local independent shop:
- Rebuilt transmission at 100k miles
- A/C compressor at 153k miles
• Sheepskins on front seats since 2008 to prevent surface wear.
• Re-painted left front & rear fenders, hood and trunk lid
(windshield, left headlight & hood after a 'rock shower' from oncoming truck in 2007. Trunk & rear fender were separate 'shopping cart' hits).
• 2nd owner installed Alpine NVA-N751AS Stereo/CD/Nav System.

Other extensive maintenance records are on file.

Asking $29,995.

Charles S. Crail Automobiles
Classic and Sports Cars
Santa Barbara, CA 93108
By Appointment Only

(Phone) 805.568.1934 -
(Fax) 805.568.1533

Charles Crail - charlescrail@mac.com
Edla Enberg - eenberg@msn.com

[gerryvz]

The fact that this car has gone 10+ months unsold (in a market with a lot of buyers who are willing to jump on the “right” car) says that this seller is asking too much for the car. I think $25K is going t be the very very very top paid dollar for this one. $22-23K is more like the ticket.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Atmos37]

On eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-Merced...s/192348576990

[ace10]

Zero bids on the previous eBay auction.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-Merced...p2047675.l2557

Relisted with No Reserve. Minimum Bid is $20,995

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-Merced...742601?vxp=mtr

That's potentially a 30% haircut off the (new and improved ) dealer Ask from a month ago.

[ace10]

No takers at $20,995

Relisted with same auction terms.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-Merced...766235?vxp=mtr

[Atmos37]

Sold to a local buyer!!!

[Bogeyman]

Apparently back on Ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/192394750985 <-- Auction ends Dec-18, 2017. $21k opening bid, no reserve.

[Atmos37]

"Local buyer" Mike Reyes, after a lot of 'promises' never came through. Consigned to https://www.goodmanreed.com/inventor...des-benz-e500/

[gsxr]

https://www.goodmanreed.com/inventor...des-benz-e500/

1994 MERCEDES-BENZ E500 - $23,500.00

Exceptionally clean, meticulously maintained example of the vaunted W124 E500, finished in desirable Pearl Black Metallic over Grey Leather. Conceived in close collaboration with and hand-built by Porsche, the 500E/E500 was the most advanced sedan in the world, the predecessor to all modern Mercedes AMG models. More information and photographs coming soon!

BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
Goodman Reed Motorcars
Santa Barbara, California

Phone: 805-202-4557
Email: info@goodmanreed.com
www.goodmanreed.com

[schan301]

Called whole day today, no one answer the phone or email...

[JwashE]

Now listed on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/222778799592 <-- Reserve auction ended Jan-11, 2018. High bid of $20,865.00. Reserve not met.

[kristiantower]

I was interested in the car, but due to the Thomas fire we were evacuated for close to 2 weeks and we decided to go on vacation for Christmas and New Years. I wanted to have my mechanic do a once over but he was not around either. As per the car it is a nice car and the owner is very nice and seemed like he really liked the car. The timing just did not work out. My hesitations of the car were that it has been for sale for over a year and marketed on eBay and cars & coffee in the area and on this forum with a lot of so called experts and no one pulled the trigger.

Condition: Wheels are badly refinished , it looks like a mobile shop did them. They were not done by Wheels America for sure. The paint was a little thick in spots (fish eyes etc. no Mb orange peel) Hood fenders , deck lid. etc. The lower cladding is not the correct finish either. For something that is very easy to do, some shops paint them to matte and others to shiny and when they are done at different times it does not look right. The only shop in LA that does it right all the time is Beverly Coach Craft on Sawtelle. The steering seemed loose. It had a lot of play. I had a 2015 s550 , now I have a 2018 s560 so I guess Im used to modern cars. I also have a 95 e320 cab , and the steering does not feel as loose , but it only has 38kmi on it and this had 155kmi, so maybe that has something to do with it.

The interior is in nice shape. the stereo seems odd and does not fit the car. The air-box was not correct and there was a Porsche emblem in the engine compartment covering up prior rodent damage. Overall it is a very nice driver, I would still consider it, but since it is with a broker now his profit would make it too expensive with the things I would have to do to it. ($23,500 plus new correct wheels $1,000. painting lower cladding $1,500. Stereo $300. Airbox cover. $350 At $27k I think I would buy a 040 car. or a Silver car. The pearl black is just not my favorite.

[8899]

The steering seemed loose. It had a lot of play.......................I also have a 95 e320 cab, and the steering does not feel as loose , but it only has 38kmi on it and this had 155kmi, so maybe that has something to do with it.

I would still consider it, but since it is with a broker now his profit would make it too expensive with the things I would have to do to it. ($23,500 plus new correct wheels $1,000. painting lower cladding $1,500. Stereo $300.Airbox cover. $350 At $27k I think I would buy a 040 car. or a Silver car. The pearl black is just not my favorite.

I doubt the difference in mileage has much to do with the loose steering. More likely a problem with the tandem pump or even more likely the steering box.

I agree with your rationale for not pursuing it. Thank you for the thoughtful input.

[Melville]

Could the loose steering be from something as simple and easy to fix as a bad steering damper?

[gsxr]

I was interested in the car ... Overall it is a very nice driver, I would still consider it, but since it is with a broker now his profit would make it too expensive with the things I would have to do to it. ($23,500 plus new correct wheels $1,000. painting lower cladding $1,500. Stereo $300. Airbox cover. $350

Loose steering is MOST likely to be a worn item in the steering linkage: tie rod end, drag link, or idler arm bushings; least likely is the steering box. Any of the above steering items are easy fixes that should be well under $1k total including labor and dealer alignment. Most of the other items mentioned (wheels, paint, non-stock stereo & airbox) are fairly typical of most cars in the ±$20k ballpark. The only item which might be of minor concern is whatever is hiding behind the Porsche badge on the driver side near the EZL, but if there's no other damage, it's not a dealbreaker by any means.

It sounds like you are looking for an all-stock, all-correct car which is going to push you towards the $30k range in the current market, unless you stumble across a killer deal. IMO, this particular car remained unsold for a long time due to the high asking price ($25-$30K) for almost a year. Had it originally been listed in the low $20's, I think it may have sold long ago.

At $27k I think I would buy a 040 car. or a Silver car. The pearl black is just not my favorite.

Paint colors will drastically narrow your search, as over half the cars imported to USA (53%) were Pearl Black. Brilliant Silver will be the next easiest to locate (16%) followed by Smoke Silver (12%). 040 Black is actually the fifth most common color at 4.1%, behind Spruce Green at 4.3%. Everything else is under 1.5%. If you are picky about interior color, it will be even harder. Full details on the quantity of each color combo imported to USA are in the Wiki here.

[Kip]

ebay auction ended 1/11/18 @ 3:30PM PST. 50 bids. High bid of $20,865.00. Reserve not met.

[nocfn]

DID this survive the mud?

[Atmos37]

DID this survive the mud?

YES - in a part of town clear of the slide

[Atmos37]

Finally sold . . .

[nocfn]

Finally sold . . .

Congrats on the sale. Do we know the buyer?

[Atmos37]

Private party in Seattle area-don't know if he's a board member?

[Atmos37]

Sold by: https://www.goodmanreed.com

[Storybook]

Hi All...I am the new owner of 1121. She was bought to share daily driving chores with a 17' Raptor. I had a smoke silver example when they first came out way back when. Love the collaboration with Porsche. I figured I paid a fair price for her and will get all that needs to be sorted out...sorted when she finally makes it home and my mechanic can get a good look at her.

My wife rolled her eyes when I told her I was going to get all the cool cars I use to have in my younger years back. She knows I like the "new" stuff...but to be honest all the "new" stuff is getting a bit boring. Lifes just too short to drive boring cars!

Some past cars I had and are coming or on the horizon....97' D90 ST, 96' 993 TT, 95' 355 (MT)!

[Jlaa]

Congratulations, and welcome to the best corner of the interwebz!

[gsxr]

Hi All...I am the new owner of 1121. She was bought to share daily driving chores with a 17' Raptor. I had a smoke silver example when they first came out way back when. Love the collaboration with Porsche. I figured I paid a fair price for her and will get all that needs to be sorted out...sorted when she finally makes it home and my mechanic can get a good look at her.

My wife rolled her eyes when I told her I was going to get all the cool cars I use to have in my younger years back. She knows I like the "new" stuff...but to be honest all the "new" stuff is getting a bit boring. Lifes just too short to drive boring cars!

Congratulations on the new ride! Welcome the forum, pretty much anything and everything you need to know is here. Just search for old threads... and don't forget to post a new OWNER thread when you have time.

[Storybook]

Congratulations on the new ride! Welcome the forum, pretty much anything and everything you need to know is here. Just search for old threads... and don't forget to post a new OWNER thread when you have time.

Thank you...will do.

[sheward]

Congratulations and welcome! To quote Steve McQueen, a fellow car enthusiast, from one of his lesser known movies; "new things are just no good". Not entirely true but usually applicable. Please share your ongoing thoughts and questions.

drew

[Ntrepid]

Welcome to the club! Only dumb questions are those which are not asked. Lots of well informed owners who love to help their peers.


Robert

[nocfn]

Welcome and remember we like pictures and as they say here often, without them it didnt happen! Enjoy round two!

[Storybook]

Thanks fellas for the welcome. Will offer up what I can and ask many stupid questions.

Shes patiently waiting in SB until 101 gets cleared...hopefully late next week.

Heres one of her stable mates she'll be meeting

[Ntrepid]

Awesome. Chris Harris loves that Ferrari station wagon.


Robert

[Maui]

Thanks fellas for the welcome. Will offer up what I can and ask many stupid questions.

Shes patiently waiting in SB until 101 gets cleared...hopefully late next week.

Heres one of her stable mates she'll be meeting

If you sell that one you should have just about enough left to sort out the E500.

[gsxr]

Heres one of her stable mates she'll be meeting

Oh great. I just drooled all over my keyboard, and have a mess to clean up...

[Storybook]

If you sell that one you should have just about enough left to sort out the E500.

After finding and reading this thread I think I'm going to have to sell this one instead!.

[Jlaa]

After finding and reading this thread I think I'm going to have to sell this one instead!.

I can tell this is a nice car you have there. It doesn't have hideously expensive and UV-degradeable rubber boots were the side mirror meets the body.

[TerryA]

After finding and reading this thread I think I'm going to have to sell this one instead!.

After seeing what you already have I think you should change your handle to “Checkbook”!!

Welcome to our world aka the “500Eboard”. Thanks for slumming down here with us.
The closest I’ve come to a Ferrari is at car shows and on my trip to Italy in 2013.
Maranello and the Ferrari Museum got crossed off of my “Bucket List”. Still on the list would to actually sit in one and maybe even drive it!!

Now, back to reality. I think you will really come to appreciate the E500E build quality and our community. We have whatever you need in assistance to make your new ride “First Cabin” again.

Hopefully you will keep us up to date with new info, pics and a story once in a while.

Anyway, Enjoy your new ride.

Take Care

[Maui]

After finding and reading this thread I think I'm going to have to sell this one instead!.

I presume you have been to the Concorso Italiano in Monterey? A jaw dropping event with Italiano muscle as far as the eye can see. I am hoping to make to the show again this year.

[Storybook]

Will update the board when she arrives home safe. Unfortunately probalby won't be for another week or two due to the 101 slide.