Having picked up a higher mileage (170k+) 2003 E500 with the M113 as a spare / 3rd vehicle, I want to figure out if I'm crazy for thinking of putting some time and money into it. Granted we're not talking extravagant amounts as I will hopefully be doing most work as a DIY so just buying parts, but you never know what can pop up.

I'm planning on maintenance items like motor mounts, spark plugs and wires, resealing valve covers, fluids (transmission, antifreeze), weatherstripping, power steering reservoir and flush, maybe brake flush, etc. Nothing is broken at the moment but there's always Airmatic (my fronts are older, but rears and compressor are relatively new) and the extended SBC warranty expiring in 2-3 years hanging over my head as well. I also have a minor rear main seal leak which I understand can be common on these at higher mileage so I'm obviously hoping that doesn't get worse any time soon and require attention (because I'm not DIYing a rear main seal). In my case this Benz is a 3rd / spare vehicle so it can be down in the garage for projects as needed, or just sold off. It sure rides nice as is (even considering that the mounts are worn), and is in clean condition inside and out, was maintained pretty well by the PO with original parts.

Anyways kind of a weird thread that I'm sure is different for everyone based on individual circumstances. What's everyone else's expectations and short term and long term plan in 2025 for these vehicles?

 

That bad, huh?

 

You plan to go through the whole car, except for the rms.

What did you pay for this car?

 

No, I'm planning on what I specified, which is a number of maintenance items that would eventually need to be done on almost any car this age. Otherwise, the car is clean and everything works. There's nothing broken to fix. The RMS would be foolish to address at this point, not even a mechanic would take the money - there's no oil dripping on the floor, nor needing to add oil between changes, just an oily looking under carriage shield.

 

Go fourth and conquer! Let us know the outcome
GL
R,
2Merks

 

These (and most) cars live and die by scheduled maintenance. Get a car with good service/parts documentation, the more the merrier.

If the car passes a good, pre-purchase inspection and has extensive, solid service documentation, life (and wallet) will be profoundlly happier.

If the car has sparce documentation, pass on it.

 

The car is super clean, well taken care of. Have stacks and stacks of records from the dealer while under warranty and the same mercedes certified indy after that. Was just inspected by the indy. Besides the minor leak at the RMS (which they don't recommend doing anything to at this point), there are no worrysome issues. Only recommended maintenance items.

But we are still talking a 20 year old Mercedes with 170k. Hence my question is it crazy to DIY a round of maintenance items as mentioned in the OP to keep this puppy going for hopefully years to come? Or are these vehicles at the point where you leave it alone and just ride it as-is till something big breaks, then move on?

On a Toyota I wouldn't need to ask this question. But I'm a little new to this specific game - this is my first used old Mercedes.

 

This is an E 500 sedan. Unless it is some rare spec/edition in absolutely flawless condition, I wouldn't throw any more money at it other than the basic, necessary maintenance to keep it running as a safe driver. You did well to find an example that had been maintained properly (so many of the survivors have been driven into the ground with poor maintenance and owners that simply gave up keeping them sorted...), and that's the bare minimum requirement for even considering purchasing one of these, IMHO. Ordinary-spec'd E 500 sedans don't hold any value, nor are they really considered to be even borderline enthusiast cars. I'm squarely in the "just ride it as-is till something big breaks" camp, when it comes to these...

On the other hand, the wagons (according to the Mercedes-Benz Corporate Archive, a total of 4,523 wagons were built from the production start-up pre-production series in 12/2002 until end of production in 5/2006, and I've seen estimates that between 1,000 to 1,300 units were shipped to the U.S., which is subject to verification), depending on condition and spec, are a bit better in that regard, and somewhat lower-mileage, nice examples (and not even rare editions...) have been selling for stupid money in recent years on enthusiast auctions like BaT (I can't believe how many people are willing to shell-out amounts in the mid-20,000 to low-30,000 U.S. dollar range for these E 500 wagons...), Mecum (an '04 I wanted went for 23,000 U.S. dollars last year...and it had nearly 70,000 miles on the odometer and required rebuilding its suspension...), and other classic car auctions that I have tracked. Heck, after my accident in August of 2022 in which my late dad's old, trusty and rusty '03 C240 4MATIC wagon (he bought it new from the local dealership, and it was his and my mom's ultra-reliable daily driver) with nearly 210,000 miles was totaled in a head-on collision with an elderly driver who had a heart attack while entering the highway, the insurance company cut my mom a check for over 9,000 U.S. dollars for it...

 

Thanks, I don't think it's rare, but it is a 9.75/10 inside and out. Garaged, paint is pristine, real leather, brand new OEM bi-xenon assemblies installed last year, plenty of mechanical work done in the past 3 years specifically.

Anyways, I'm not too concerned with the vehicle having or holding value or being desired by an enthusiast. There wasn't much value to it when I bought it, so really there's not much value to hold onto. Worst case I sell it and I'm out a couple thousand bucks. I'll survive.

I bought it as a spare beater to keep some local miles off my large SUV and want to know if DIYing some basic maintenance for the cost of parts (plugs, resealing leaky valve covers, maybe mounts, some fluids, etc) worth it? Can these last 200k+ miles? Or should I not even bother with these basic maintenance tasks and just YOLO it as is.

 

Had you asked me a decade ago when the car was only 11-12 years old, I would have said: "With 170,000 miles, that one is hardly even broken in yet!" The problem now is going to become age, as this car is now around 22 years old. While the M112/M113 engines are extremely reliable, the engine's various seals and gaskets (and I'm not just talking about the main crankshaft seals, valve cover gaskets, and PCV breather cover sealant), and breather hoses, begin to fail with age. In the AMG variants (the supercharged ones, in particular), various internal plastic and synthetic components (e.g., seals, oil pump pickup tube O-ring and check valve, etc.) will start to cook sooner, but this can also occur with the other M112/M113 engines at some point too... The earlier years of those engines from the late 1990s to the beginning of the 2000s are already experiencing these problems. These failures can be catastrophic under certain circumstances, and to refresh all of those seals is a rather big job (labor-wise, it's expensive/time-consuming, but it's not bad in terms of parts). Just bear this in mind... If all you want to do is DIY the basic items for the price of parts/supplies (i.e., "plugs, resealing leaky valve covers, maybe mounts, some fluids, etc."), I think that's probably going to be fine. Between the forums and other online resources like Kent Bergsma/MercedesSource and the "L35 in Colorado" channel on YouTube, you should be able to get an idea of what's involved.

 

Good info. Crazy that the wagons go for much more money when they have the same powertrain and will run into these same issues.

 

I also wonder if the vehicles seeing these types of failures have a history of sitting for extended periods of time and that may increase the likelihood of these internal engine seals failing (drying out). With an older vehicle I actually think higher mileage can be better than lower mileage.

 

No the m113 and 112 are very prone to every seal inside the engine failing. Valve stem seals, front and rear main, oil pump oring, and the timing cover coolant orings fail as well, not from sitting, there is nothing as expensive as a cheap Mercedes. “Maintenance” for a Mercedes is repair for a Toyota. Drive it and fix what needs to be repaired,

 

Well, that's the market for ya... It's why I only recommend buying the V8 wagons/S211 vehicles under most circumstances (and subject to my standard advice and checklists for these cars as a major qualification, of course). The same goes for the AMGs: Only get an E55 wagon...or an E63 wagon that has had all of the proper, expensive engine work done to ensure longevity/failure proofing. There's really no way for most people (unless you don't care about how much money/time is involved) to justify the expense and time required to keep these vehicles in proper running order when they reach a certain mileage and/or age (the big factor now...), in light of how much they are worth...