Faults:

Nothing so far.

Drivers seat beginning to wear at door side, where my shoulder rubs over it getting in.

Not a lot of wear on the leather after 196k!

Think I might need new shocks shortly.

General Comments:

I have a black version of the ce24v and it is still a head-turner when it's clean and waxed.

For a big old bus of a car it moves like the proverbial off a shovel when you plant it.

You have to be careful that you're not having too much fun that you're well over the speed limit!

Faults:

Engine mounts replaced - only £100.

Aircon Fan - £150.

Bonnet catch broke.

Aircon sensor.

Rust in rear wheel arches (Dirt is trapped in lip)

General Comments:

A fantastic car.

I got 30mpg on the motorway and about 27mpg on A-roads.

It really only needed routine maintainance and a few minor repairs.

Regret parting with it for a 1998 E240.

Faults:

No problems.

General Comments:

This is the BEST & ULTIMATE Mercedes-Benz you could ever own. It's PORSCHE built and designed by Mercedes. The torque and power are amazing for the year and size of the vehicle, and I had a real pleasure owning this for nearly 2 years.

I previously owned an W124 E280, and the 500 is a real different machine. 0-60 in about 5.9 seconds.

See my full review on http://www.e500.org

Faults:

Fuel pump replaced at 217.500 km (190€)

Fuel tank leak at cca. 230.000 km - replaced with a "new" one from a wreck (120€)

Replaced two steering joints (235.000 km - 90€)

General Comments:

The engine (110kW @ 5500/min, 210Nm @ 4000/min) is still powerful enough. Together with a very smooth automatic transmission is a wonderful combination (except for, in some circumstances, a noticeable "power gap" between 2nd and 3rd gear). Fuel consumption is sustainable - averaging at 9-9,5 l/100km, dropping to 7-8 l/100km on highways at moderate speed. The reliability is very good, although not excellent. Things do wear out, that's an undeniable fact. If I look back at service records, I can see mostly things that are on the "black-list" for the w124 (wiring harness, fuel pump, kick-down switch, etc...). The price of spare parts can be very high or ridiculously low - it depends on the part itself. In alternative, you can get plenty of cheap spare parts from wreck-yards.

The riding comfort and general driving feel is, in my opinion, better than in most of much younger cars. Air conditioning is perfect. Two are the things that I personally dislike. First, my car is not equipped with rear headrests (considering an upgrade - it should not be very complicated). The second thing is the driver's side rear window, way too small to be really safe.

Now approaching 300.000km (cca. 245.000km on the clock + additional 50.000km estimated on original papers and documentation - as it is a common practice to turn back mileage on used cars by local dealers) and still going strong.

Faults:

Seats started to wear, leather is cracking on driver's site.

Electric Hirschmann antenna replaced 2x because it got stuck.

Windscreen wiper not very effective at high 200 km/h speeds.

General Comments:

This is THE ultimate Mercedes Benz you can buy. The 500E was developed in conjuction with Porsche back in 1991. It has only been built for 4 years, with the top line E 500 Limited at the end of 1994. These cars costed about 110000 euros when they were new. About 50000 euro more than an 400E W124.

I used to own a Mercedes R129 SL from 1989, but it had a lot on the odometer, so I traded it for this car. It has the same engine as my SL, although the fuel management system is different. The gearbox also comes from the SL.

The outside looks very plain. It has wide fenders, headlight washers, a sunroof, 16 inch alloy 8 hole Mercedes wheels and metallic paint. So it looks a like a normal Munich cab.

But on the inside it is luxury al the way. Power seats with memory, leather Recaro sport seats front and rear. Wood trim and boxes, armrest. Automatic Climate Control, Becker Mexico CD etc etc.

I bought this car in Germany in late 2002, because they are cheaper there, in Holland a 500E in good condition is impossible to find.

Driving a 500E is like nothing else, when pushing the throttle you won't get away, you will only have smoke and heavy vibrations throughout the car, so much torque does this car have. 90% of the torque is already below 1500 RPM, so that is a lot for a non-diesel.

At the motorway and Autobahns, this car is the absolute master. You can easily cruise 200 in utmost comfort. Soon after that you hit the limiter at 250, but I never drive that fast.

It uses a lot of premium unleaded, don't expect this 5.0 V8 to be economical. Service is also very expensive, as parts are very scarce.

Insurance is very very very expensive for such a car.

Still I really love this car, it looks very old and sedate, but only the true specialist will recognise an 500E.

I drove a E55 A M G w210 series, but those look to camp and you can really see that those cars can and go very fast, the 500E has the classic Mercedes look with Porsche adjustments.