The O.C. Got a New Weekend Toy...

[The O.C.]

Here's my new toy! You guys know this car.......1994 Mercedes-Benz E320 Cabriolet.....

Here's some facts:

1) Three model years ('93, '94, '95)

2) Total production was about 2,200 between all three years

3) Hand-built

4) NOT a "convertible version" of the E320 coupe

5) Uprated 3.0L Inline-6 with about 217hp (versus 177hp in the sedans)

6) Base MSRP (in '94) was about $77,000.....most went for around $80,000 with options

I came across this car and it was an absolute STEAL. One of my best friends, who is a dealer/wholesaler, helped me find it. It's got 93,000 miles on it (not that you'd EVER know it) and the interior looks so much like new it's kinda scary. No paintwork on the body, and EVERY service record FROM M-Benz Beverly Hills. One-owner car too.

This car drives like what I remember a TRUE Mercedes-Benz to drive like.....that kindof wafty, slightly floaty feel as you do down the road but with an amazing lack of body roll in the corners and a granite-like feel to the chassis and suspension. The 3.0L inline-6 sounds just like a BMW and is quite torquey. Plus, it has those "spongy/springy" bucket seats that the old Benzs had. Finally? NO CUPHOLDERS (at all......)

Let me know what you think!

(Paint is not bad on trunklid....it was dew from the morning dampness)

Edited March 7, 2007 by The O.C.

[Northstar]

Very cool! Do you have some more pics?

[ocnblu]

Ohhhh, it's cute!

[FAPTurbo]

Way Cool.

[The O.C.]

Very cool! Do you have some more pics?

Check again.....added about five more....

Cheers

[AAS]

Nice... I'll have to keep an eye out when I'm driving up the 5!

[z28luvr01]

I'll bet the Vette and the CTS are conspiring against it.

Nice ride. Older Benzes like this one just ooze class and formal style in a way that their successors can only dream about.

[ocnblu]

Agreed, everything felt heavy and permanent in a Benz in those days... a very sweet purchase.

[Camino LS6]

Congrats on the new toy.

[Robert Hall]

Sweet..I like those cars a lot...when I'm in AZ I always enjoy driving my sister's red '91 300CE (120k miles, excellent condition) and her '85 500SEL (170k miles, excellent condition). That was back when MB still over engineered everything..very solid, reliable cars.

[ocnblu]

The state of Mercedes-Benz today could be viewed as one of the saddest downfalls in autodom. There are still bright spots. But they've lost some of their vault-like Teutonic image.

[daves87rs]

Very sweet!

[bobo]

Nice. The W124 may have been the best Benz ever. Benz is now just a shadow of its former self in this post-Lexus era.

[Intrepidation]

That's pretty nice!

[turbo200]

wow that's beautiful, black on black too, very manly

[Flybrian]

Waits pensively for Ocn to say, "Take some pics with your top off!"

[Satty]

I'm jealous, muy nice.

[ocnblu]

Well, Mr. Fly, sometimes it's just as nice admiring the strong understructure beneath the surface fabric. :AH-HA_wink: Edited March 7, 2007 by ocnblu

[!!!TED!!!]

Good vintage. A true Mercedes! Looks to be in impecable shape too. Congrats!

[Paolino]

Looks wonderful O.C.! Best of Luck! Now you've got two cars you need to give me a ride in! :AH-HA_wink:

[Cory Wolfe]

Very cool. Nice car.

[The O.C.]

Hey all.....thanks for the comments. I agree with everyone......this was when a Mercedes was a Mercedes. That's why I jumped on it. In fact, the thing I like about this car is that it ISN'T trying to be a "BMW."

The CTS likes her.....she helps keep the miles off of the Caddy lease cause some weeks, I just drive the Mercedes. The two cars are actually a nice complement.....CTS, sporty, 6-speed manual, more of a sport sedan......Mercedes, auto, cruiser, more a German luxury car.

The car IS in such great condition....it looks almost new inside and out. There's even a very minimal amount of stone chips on the front. In fact, dare I say this.....it's tighter and more solid at 93K miles than the '06 Corvette Convertible. And this car has absolutely no squeaks, creaks, or rattles. If you don't believe me, ask OCCarNut....as he's already ridden in the Benz a few times.

All I can say is you guys that have never had the chance to ride in or drive an "old" Mercedes Benz really need to sometime to see what "engineering" is all about. They truly are hard-to-believe cars from that standpoint. The newer ones....I could care less about.

(Finally, I should clarify....I didn't post this because I was in mourning.....but I had to sell the 'Vette. My ex-other-half that I own the house with was out of work for quite awhile and I needed the money from the Vette. But....I know I can always get another one somewhere down the road. Maybe a new Vette when the CTS lease is up....)

I just need to do a few things.....the A/C needs charged, and I need a couple of new speakers for the stereo. Incidentally, the entire car is original, which I like...including the standard factory stereo.....

Finally, some neat things for a '94 car.....it has those motorized seatbelt presenters that move forward with the seatbelt when you sit down.....the top powers back and retracts under the decklid like most current convertibles do.....it has those pop-up "roll bars" behind the rear seats (I think this may have been the first car to have these.) Auto down windows.....power telescope wheel (but no tilt incidentally).....articulating single wiper (very cool)......and finally, one of the neatest kinds of coolness....the GRILLE goes up with the hood!!!!!!!! (Very "Mercedes Benz")

Sorry for rambling.....but I'm excited to have something different/kinda unique in the driveway to kindof take away the depression from selling the 'Vette.....

Cheers

[Flybrian]

A gentleman who owned a Piper Cheyenne II turboprop from my airport days have a 1970-something fullsize Diesel Benz. To look at, what a pile - rubber molding everywhere, huge ugly bumpers, horrid rotted eggshell paint scheme, and that bad Diesel smell. It was slow and pokey, but it had 320,000 miles on most of the original equipment. It also ran surprisingly smooth, both in engine noise and ride quality. But most importantly - it had character. The Mercedes of today does not. They're dime-a-dozen and unashamedly so.

I'd love to have a brand-new S500 to impress my friends for a week. But I'd rather have a real Mercedes from the era before 1995.

[Z-06]

A gentleman who owned a Piper Cheyenne II turboprop from my airport days have a 1970-something fullsize Diesel Benz. To look at, what a pile - rubber molding everywhere, huge ugly bumpers, horrid rotted eggshell paint scheme, and that bad Diesel smell. It was slow and pokey, but it had 320,000 miles on most of the original equipment. It also ran surprisingly smooth, both in engine noise and ride quality. But most importantly - it had character. The Mercedes of today does not. They're dime-a-dozen and unashamedly so.

I'd love to have a brand-new S500 to impress my friends for a week. But I'd rather have a real Mercedes from the era before 1995.

Absolutely.

It gives the feeling of I have arrived. Look at me with RESPECT.

Edited March 7, 2007 by smallchevy

[trinacriabob]

"Ser gut."

If you're happy, I'm happy....and since you evidently have the disposable income. My toy car, once I purchase a new car, will be a pristine 98 or 99 Intrigue.

I'm hopeless...hopelessly GM, that is.

Congrats, O.C.

[The O.C.]

"Ser gut."

If you're happy, I'm happy....and since you evidently have the disposable income. My toy car, once I purchase a new car, will be a pristine 98 or 99 Intrigue.

I'm hopeless...hopelessly GM, that is.

Congrats, O.C.

Oh.....some of that "income" came from selling the Vette......and I didn't pay ANYWHERE near $80K for the Benz....LOL

[pow]

Very nice. How is the X5 doing?

[Oracle of Delphi]

Congratulazioni!

[The O.C.]

Very nice. How is the X5 doing?

Good.....except for getting slammed into a guardrail last night

<ugh>

It wasn't his fault.....he was on a circular two-lane onramp and this chick in a New Beetle was going too fast, lost control, and understeered into his lane right into him. In order to avoid her, the only place he could go was into the guardrail to his left.

Ahhhh the benefits of insurance. All will be fixed......

Still love that truck though (X5).......always love it when I get the chance to get behind the wheel. (the new one is nice, too....)