At $55,000, Would You Long For This 2000 Mercedes E 320 Limousine?
With a claimed 330 horsepower from its supercharged mill, this Benz limo is business up front and a party in the back.
The seller of today's Nice Price or No Dice Mercedes limo claims it to be the handiwork of acclaimed German coachbuilder, Binz. Let's see if that makes this stretched E 320 worth stretching the bank account.
I thought we could be friends. Based on your utter debasement in the comments and vote on last Friday's 1997 Honda Accord wagon "Donutmobile" — and hence the whole concept of donut delight — that thought seems to be tenuous at best.
Look, I get that maybe not everyone is keen on the idea of crouching uncomfortably in the back of an old Honda wagon, selling warmed-over sugary snacks to wheezy sufferers of incipient diabetic nephropathy. Even fewer it would seem are interested in paying $6,000 for that seemingly thankless opportunity. That resulted in a massive 82 percent No Dice loss. Okay, I'm over it. Honestly, I could never stay mad at any of you.
Speaking of any of you, how many of you have ever ridden in a stretched limo? Show of hands. Wow, that's a lot. I myself have never been in one outside of clambering around in a few at various cars shows. The 2000 Mercedes-Benz E 320 limo we're looking at today, however, makes me kind of want to get all dudded up and hire one of those guys hanging out in front of Home Depot to drive me around for a few hours. I think that would be enough to satisfy my interest and likely by then all the Champagne would be gone so I'd need to be taken home for a pee and a nap.
This two-owner limo is, in fact, quite unique. The seller says it was built by Binz GmbH, the German coachbuilder that was founded in 1936 and that is still doing business today. According to the ad, the original cost of the Binz work exceeded $180,000. Apparently, that wasn't enough since, on top of that, the first owner added another $57,000 in upgrades.
The car has a mere 22,000 miles on the odo and is said to have never been enlisted into commercial service, serving its two owners as private transport its entire life. Power comes from a 3.2 liter M112 V6 engine, that, with its Kleemann supercharger, is said to give the car a healthy 330 horsepower. As you might expect, that engine is backed up by an automatic gearbox and — most obviously — a really long driveshaft.
None of that is what really makes this Mercedes unique, however. It's the doors that do. You see, there are apparently eight of them. Go back and look at that side shot again. You'll see two door handles on the flank, one for the front door and one for the back door, just like in any car. What's not immediately obvious is that the panel ahead of each rear door also opens. That allows access to the mid-section jump seats negating the need to do the squat-walk getting in or out. Further, there are two "secret doors" ahead of those, although those are more service flaps providing access to the glass divider mechanism.
With so few miles and a two-owner history that seems to have seen a lot of love (hence the copious documentation), it's not surprising that the car presents in such nice shape. The bodywork looks excellent, and while the dachshund-ing of the car may not lend the most pleasing of proportions, it certainly looks well constructed and a heck of a lot more regal than any old Town Car. Nothing against old Town Cars, mind you, this is just a bucket-load more fashionable and chic.
The ad claims the interior presents "as new" and the pictures bear that out. The rear of the car has five seats and a conference table with a mini-fridge for celebratory adventures, and window shades all around for when things get private. There's leather upholstery and what looks to be an Alcantara headliner which is a nice change from the strip club aesthetic American limos all seem to exhibit.
The title is clean and, it should be noted, this isn't this Limo's first rodeo. A quick VIN search shows it was offered for sale at least one time previously, back in 2018. Then it was offered for $78,000 and boy-oh-boy did the engine bay need detailing. That now looks a lot cleaner in the present ad's photos. Even better, the price is now $55,000, which if you didn't sleep through math, you will know is less than $78K.
Okay, I totally get that this is not a car for everybody, even if it could fit quite a few of us inside. That being said, we still have to consider that it's a car for somebody. So far it's already had two such somebodies who have liked it enough to call it theirs.
We also need to ruminate and then vote on that $55,000 asking. Does that seem like a fair deal for what seems to be a well-crafted and cared-for limo? Or, is that number just as crazy as the number of doors?
You decide!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to James Komf for the hookup!
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