I want to buy a new E500 or the CLK500. I need some help in deciding. What do you think about the E500 and the CLK500?

I need your suggestions. Thanks.

 

I would never buy a CLK because it is unit-body construction. I prefer the body-on-frame E. From an aesthetic point of view, I also prefer the lines of the E (from W124 to W210 to W211 now) to those of the CLK. But that's just my opinion.

 

The E500 is going to be an amazing machine. The panorama roof is a stealer for me. But if you dont have a four door requirement, the new CLK looks awesome as well. Same engine, just two or four doors. Both Navs will be DVD based as will all future MBs that offer COMAND. You have a family? If yes then get the E... if not then its just a personal pref thing. I like the E... Im a big fan of four doors even when I was not married.

 

To me and to a lot of other people, there is no choice. Either the 500e or e500 will suffice. Nothing else will do. For many reasons and 4 doors aren't even a factor for many of us. First, exclusivity. The 500e/e500 were very, very hard to get when new. The reason being the owners of the dealerships would keep them for themselves. I remember once going to Brumos and the first two went to Hurley Haywood and Bob Snodgrass, the owners. Also, not just Hurley, but a lot of other professional race car drivers had them. Emerson Fittipaldi, Bobby Rahal, etc... Second, don't forget that this was an $90K list price car when new in early 90's dollars. Pretty special since not many went for that low. Their owners aren't in a hurry to sell them since they are still waiting for a better looking Benz to come out to make it worth replacing. Then you have to look how the 500e/e500 was built. The cars had their chassis done at Mercedes, then sent to Porsche were they were sectioned and widened, flared, strenghthened then had some mechanicals put on then sent back accross town to Mercedes were some more stuff was put on, then back to Porsche etc... A lot of time was spent on them. Unknown to a lot of people, they were widened. We found that out the other day by comparing widths of hoods and trunklids between a standard 124 and my friend's 500e. The measurements were different enough where you could not use regular 124 hoods and trunklids on a 500e/e500. Basically the entire car, regardless of flares was wider. That is why the rear seats have those little storage compartments between the seats and door-sills. Also, as far as the work done by Porsche, that work was done on the old 959 plant. There is no assembly line there and no robots. All done on dollys and by hand, which probably gives the 500e/e500 excellent build quality superior to a regular 124. No they are not body on frame as mentioned by another poster. They are also unibody as Mercedes cars have been unibody for a very long time with maybe the exception of the G class offroad vehicles. When you compare all this to an e55 or clk 500, they seem much more mundane and assembly line, which they are. Another issue is the fact that you won't see one every day being driven by a "don't know much about cars or automotive history, but I thought it looked good" poser types. Where I live, every other Joe has either an e55 or clk 500. 500e/e500s were rare then and are still rare. Even in the early 90's, not many people knew about them. Since Mercedes wasn't pushing them too hard, only the enthusiasts wanted them. Not the posers. Also, in my opinion, the 500e/e500 will always be a better looking car. 500e/e500 for me, thank you. I'm too picky for anything else. But I would not mind an old 6.3 liter 600 swb or pullman.

 

BenzE,

All Mercdes-Benz cars are unibody construction, have been for decades. The only exception is the ML and Gwagon, which are body on frame.

E vs. CLK: I agree that he big deciding factor is; do you want/need a coupe or a sedan.

Keil,
Brandywine motor cars

 

New E.. :drool:
Nuff Said.

 

My vote goes to 500e/E500.

Good luck.

 

man e class is for old people r u old??????????????


if not get the clk belive me that car is hottttttt

i though i read they gonna be dvd equiped? isnt that illegal in US? i have after market pioneer dvd player in my car and got a ticket already

for e lovers they nice yet they mass production therefore its cheaper to get e class

 

Hi
Up 2 u
But
Are u married or single
Cause CLK is not so good 4 family purpose
So make ur choice
regards

 

Huh? The E-Class is a unibody just like every other Benz passenger car. Body on frame is for trucks and SUVs and the previous generation M-Class.

M

 

E is for old people? i dont agree.

personally, i thing i would go for the CLK500 just because there are more tunning options, and i would love to make it look like the DTM

Mark

 

great post, but he's talking about a new E500, not the w124.

 

OK, so W209 CLK500 .vs. W211 E500

For E500:

The interior of the W211 E500 is so much nicer than the W209 CLK500
Looks a little less 'sweet and cute' compared to the CLK500 (just my opinion, no offence to clk500 owners)
Panorama Roof (HOT HOT HOT)

For CLK500:

It's a coupe, no matter what, it is a 2-door and you'll look more dynamic a person driving one (in my opinion)
Lack of B-Pillar, looks great when all windows are lowered
Facelifted clk's interior is pretty nice

For me... E500

 

heh, guys after i voted i realized that the first post was from 02. hes probably not debating on which car to get anymore.

i jsut looked at his prof, looks like he went for the e500

 

Well to me the 2003-on e500 is like driving cars that look like generic hondas or acuras. Mercedes really f'd that up when they resurected it...looks exactly the same as the 320/350 on the outside and detuned from the w124 version...blah.

I say clk