W124 Hammer: 1993 Mercedes-Benz 500E

The W124 was arguably last well built and reliable sedan to come from the mad scientists in Stuttgart with classy styling, interiors built to last, and simplicity in function that in future generations was replaced by a dizzying array of electronic gizmos that constantly fail.  The basic W124 was a good fam/lux sedan, but the 500E version turned up the volume with a 5.0 liter DOHC M119 V8 putting out 325 horsepower into a 4 speed automatic transmission.  The chassis tuning and suspension setup was done by Porsche so the car has a sporty feel to it and drives more like a sports car than luxury sedan.  Find this 1993 Mercedes-Benz 500E offered for $17,500 in Sacramento, CA via craigslist.

DT 5.0 Best Mercedes 500 Series Mercedes

The Mercedes 500 series has been around in some sort of way since the 1970's.  These were premium cars with big boy V8 engines.  Today's piece covers car from as old as 1991 to as new as 2003 in the E, SL, CL, and SEC class of cars.  Generally speaking, these Benzes suffer from pretty severe and quick depreciation when a newer model with more power and power gizmos replaces it (with a few exceptions).  This post is part of DT's 5th Birthday Celebration.

AMG Power- 1995 Mercedes E320 wagon

When presented the choice of repairing a failed head gasket on the stock 3.2 engine or swapping in a C36 AMG engine, I chose the later.  Neo in the Matrix chose the red pill and we have been down similar rabbit holes ever since. The 2.8, 3.2, and 3.6 Mercedes M104 straight six engines all have the same exterior dimensions so it was a straight bolt in swap.  The 3.6 engine is good for approximately sixty horsepower more than the stock 3.2.  For 1995, a small number of factory E36 cars were sold in the United Kingdom.  Find my 1995 Mercedes E320 wagon for sale here on eBay in Norwalk, CT for $10,000.

Zuffenhausen Assembled:1992 Mercedes-Benz 500E W124

The W124 E-class was the Mercedes-Benz answer to BMW's 5-series, but with the success of the E28 M5 and the upcoming E34 M5, the guys at Mercedes-Benz knew they had to respond with something fast.  So, they did what any logical German would do and turned to Porsche and pleaded for help.  The result was a Mercedes-Benz and Porsche collaboration called the 500E that combined the rock solid W124 chassis with a Porsche tuned engine and suspension.  Find this 1992 Mercedes-Benz 500E W124 offered for $16,500 in Holland, PA via craigslist.  Tip from FuelTruck.

Hammer Time: 1993 Mercedes-Benz 500E W124

In 1990 Stanley Kirk Burrell (also known as M.C. Hammer) released his Album Please hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em which featured his signature song U Can't Touch This.  Coincidentally this was the same year that Mercedes-Benz released their untouchable Hammer into the world, in the form of the 1991 through 1994 model year 500E.  Find this 1993 Mercedes-Benz 500E W124 here on eBay bidding for $12,100 reserve-not-met located in Scottsdale, AZ with 1 day to go.

Wolf im Schafspelz: 1992 Mercedes-Benz 500E W124

The W124 generation Mercedes-Benz 500E is one of those wolf in sheep's clothing sleepers that will only be recognized by the sharpest of Border Collies.  It seems, at least in SoCal, that the predominate drivers of the W124 for the past few years have been middle aged women, and while I hate to use the term "secretaries car," it is essentially what they've become.  And that is fine, because at least those drivers take good care of them with frequent maintenance, and love them in a strange way through the rose tinted glasses of age.  It's all fine and dandy for a basic inline-6 powered 300E, but where does that leave the fire breathing 500E?  Find this 1992 Mercedes-Benz 500E offered for $13,994 here on Autotrader, located at a dealer in Auburn, MA.  Tip from Brian P.

15k: 1992 Mercedes-Benz 500E W124 "The Hammer"

The name Hammer had two popular connotations in 1990, one was a young rap artist with baggy pants and the other a young luxury sedan with fender flares.  Each hammer was successful in the their prime- MC Hammer putting out the hit single "You Can't Touch This" and the AMG Hammer putting out over 300 horsepower and obliterating the competition from Bavaria (Munich or Ingolstadt).  But given the choice of which Hammer we'd live with each day...we'd pick this 1992 Mercedes-Benz 500E located in Williamsburg, VA and currently bidding on ebay for $6,100 reserve-not-met with 5 days to go.