The sub £1k Merc S500
Discussion
Oh my, hat doffed to you in honour sir.
You are instantly promoted to Bargeetsa, reading this thread is akin to watching one of those tear jerker programmes where someone gives a three legged abused mongrel a new home and it puts on three stone, instantly turning into an awesome guard dog whilst still being cute and cuddly at the same time.
Thank you for breathing life back into this beauty.
Going to saunter off to the classified to peruse what the loose change in my pocket might get me.
This is the stuff of urban legends.
You are instantly promoted to Bargeetsa, reading this thread is akin to watching one of those tear jerker programmes where someone gives a three legged abused mongrel a new home and it puts on three stone, instantly turning into an awesome guard dog whilst still being cute and cuddly at the same time.
Thank you for breathing life back into this beauty.
Going to saunter off to the classified to peruse what the loose change in my pocket might get me.
This is the stuff of urban legends.
T5XARV said:
Wow what a car ! Its comforting to see you taking care of the bits and bobs around the car rather than hammering as others might as it 'was just a cheap car'.
Its exactly what I'm looking for so, in a few months when you need to move it to a new loving home, drop me a line and I'll happily give you £1000.
I'm starting a little enterprise I've been planning for a while now. Low cost Chauffeuring (thats not the name of the company BTW lol).
Using BMW 740iL, Mercedes E and S Class, Jaguar/Daimler and perhaps a 1970 Rover P5B in the mix too.
The cars will be older than usual but very well maintained and in beautiful order throughout.
I've tested the market locally and the feedback has been that the age of car is no real priority at all, but that the appearance and friendliness of the driver and cleanliness and comfort of the cars are a must.
Relatively low outlay and a thoroughly enjoyable hobby business.
So please think of me when you are ready to sell.
I actually have an interest in a chauffeur/wedding hire company that runs jag xj8's so if you need any advice feel free to send me a PMIts exactly what I'm looking for so, in a few months when you need to move it to a new loving home, drop me a line and I'll happily give you £1000.
I'm starting a little enterprise I've been planning for a while now. Low cost Chauffeuring (thats not the name of the company BTW lol).
Using BMW 740iL, Mercedes E and S Class, Jaguar/Daimler and perhaps a 1970 Rover P5B in the mix too.
The cars will be older than usual but very well maintained and in beautiful order throughout.
I've tested the market locally and the feedback has been that the age of car is no real priority at all, but that the appearance and friendliness of the driver and cleanliness and comfort of the cars are a must.
Relatively low outlay and a thoroughly enjoyable hobby business.
So please think of me when you are ready to sell.
Edited by R8Steve on Friday 26th February 13:02
Edited by R8Steve on Friday 26th February 13:03
Mr_Dave said:
velocefica said:
R8Steve said:
velocefica said:
What would the first owner have lost in depreciation in the first year of ownership. Probably enough to buy a decent hatchback new nowadays.
This thread feels very deja-vu, wasn't there an S-Class thread before, the owner fixed the sill rust under the drivers door with a dab of hammerite.
No hammerite here thankfully This thread feels very deja-vu, wasn't there an S-Class thread before, the owner fixed the sill rust under the drivers door with a dab of hammerite.
No rust either that I can see, jacking points and everything look great if not a bit dirty. A lot easier to clean than weld though for sure!
They do rust under there as the skirts catch all of the water. First you'll notice is when the jack goes through them at the MOT... 
A friend of mine has an s500 as well. He bought 8 years ago and it now has 350000 miles on it and other than consumables and the odd air suspension components it has been flawless. I reckon you might like driving lease free in a comfortable car like this.
Now..... where are the classifieds gone again???
Now..... where are the classifieds gone again???
R8Steve said:
T5XARV said:
Wow what a car ! Its comforting to see you taking care of the bits and bobs around the car rather than hammering as others might as it 'was just a cheap car'.
Its exactly what I'm looking for so, in a few months when you need to move it to a new loving home, drop me a line and I'll happily give you £1000.
I'm starting a little enterprise I've been planning for a while now. Low cost Chauffeuring (thats not the name of the company BTW lol).
Using BMW 740iL, Mercedes E and S Class, Jaguar/Daimler and perhaps a 1970 Rover P5B in the mix too.
The cars will be older than usual but very well maintained and in beautiful order throughout.
I've tested the market locally and the feedback has been that the age of car is no real priority at all, but that the appearance and friendliness of the driver and cleanliness and comfort of the cars are a must.
Relatively low outlay and a thoroughly enjoyable hobby business.
So please think of me when you are ready to sell.
Thats very kind of you Steve, I will.Its exactly what I'm looking for so, in a few months when you need to move it to a new loving home, drop me a line and I'll happily give you £1000.
I'm starting a little enterprise I've been planning for a while now. Low cost Chauffeuring (thats not the name of the company BTW lol).
Using BMW 740iL, Mercedes E and S Class, Jaguar/Daimler and perhaps a 1970 Rover P5B in the mix too.
The cars will be older than usual but very well maintained and in beautiful order throughout.
I've tested the market locally and the feedback has been that the age of car is no real priority at all, but that the appearance and friendliness of the driver and cleanliness and comfort of the cars are a must.
Relatively low outlay and a thoroughly enjoyable hobby business.
So please think of me when you are ready to sell.
I actually have an interest in a chauffeur/wedding hire company that runs jag xj8's so if you need any advice feel free to send me a PM
Edited by R8Steve on Friday 26th February 13:02
Edited by R8Steve on Friday 26th February 13:03
SydneySE said:
I was under the impression that cars operated under a hire car licence had to be 5 years old or under; this doesn't apply to wedding cars. Would have thought regular chauffeur cars need to be 5 years or under (perhaps its only in London?)
No its not just London. That is the same law for Hereford & Worcester and is slowly becoming nationwide same rules for wedding cars here aswell. sprouting said:
SydneySE said:
I was under the impression that cars operated under a hire car licence had to be 5 years old or under; this doesn't apply to wedding cars. Would have thought regular chauffeur cars need to be 5 years or under (perhaps its only in London?)
No its not just London. That is the same law for Hereford & Worcester and is slowly becoming nationwide same rules for wedding cars here aswell. Steviesam said:
Can I ask which VIN decoder you used please?
Just the first one that came up on google I used. Here it is though. http://www.vindecoderz.com/EN/Mercedes-Benz
It just shows that, if you are prepared to take a risk, you can enjoy incredible cars for virtually no money.
I bought a 2002 Audi S8 a year ago with a full main dealer history for £2800. To date I have done a cambelt change at main dealer (£799 with waterpump) and an interim service at main dealer (£189) and just recently, after 7000 miles of use, some front suspension bushes, a drive shaft gaitor (£400). So only service items, no faults at all.
I bought a 2002 Audi S8 a year ago with a full main dealer history for £2800. To date I have done a cambelt change at main dealer (£799 with waterpump) and an interim service at main dealer (£189) and just recently, after 7000 miles of use, some front suspension bushes, a drive shaft gaitor (£400). So only service items, no faults at all.
Epic bargedom , thought I was doing ok with a 3500 grand 320 clk with 2 owners and 65000 on the clock and not a spot of rust that I could see.Having sold my m3 thought a bit of a cruiser might be in order,and thus far not really missing the ,cant really praise it any higher than that really. Think this generation of merc offer some great value for what you get.
cb1965 said:
Mr_Dave said:
Alas, thats just a picture of the plastic sideskirts! You need to take them off (black screws) to have a look at the sills They do rust under there as the skirts catch all of the water. First you'll notice is when the jack goes through them at the MOT...
Yep, Mercs of this vintage are not known for having massive rust issues for nothing! QC was patchy to say the least! They do rust under there as the skirts catch all of the water. First you'll notice is when the jack goes through them at the MOT... Then one weekend it appeared next to the main dual carriageway into Taunton. Right in front of the local Merc franchise!
So tonight was a good test to see if the air suspension works well. I had to go and pick up 86 boxes of tiles which when loaded up had the rear end of the car on the deck!
A quick press of a button.
And up she went.
I had the suspension set to full soft at first but it made the front end quite bouncy with the amount of travel and all the weight in the back but changing it to the stiffest setting cured that and it drove perfectly.
As this seems to be one of the areas that causes the most problems in these cars I'm quite pleased that it all seems to be working perfectly.
I've done about 1000 miles in it now averaging about 21 mpg which isn't that bad at all. More importantly in this time there is absolutely no issues to report.
A quick press of a button.
And up she went.
I had the suspension set to full soft at first but it made the front end quite bouncy with the amount of travel and all the weight in the back but changing it to the stiffest setting cured that and it drove perfectly.
As this seems to be one of the areas that causes the most problems in these cars I'm quite pleased that it all seems to be working perfectly.
I've done about 1000 miles in it now averaging about 21 mpg which isn't that bad at all. More importantly in this time there is absolutely no issues to report.
That must have been a relief to find it works without issue !
I remember having issues with the bags not holding air on my old Audi Allroad and that was a costly and frustrating experience as I recall.
Problems with the Airmatic setup on the S Class are often down to a leak in the pump itself. I've been doing my homework on this model.
Carry on and enjoy it Steve !
I remember having issues with the bags not holding air on my old Audi Allroad and that was a costly and frustrating experience as I recall.
Problems with the Airmatic setup on the S Class are often down to a leak in the pump itself. I've been doing my homework on this model.
Carry on and enjoy it Steve !
T5XARV said:
That must have been a relief to find it works without issue !
I remember having issues with the bags not holding air on my old Audi Allroad and that was a costly and frustrating experience as I recall.
Problems with the Airmatic setup on the S Class are often down to a leak in the pump itself. I've been doing my homework on this model.
Carry on and enjoy it Steve !
Actually what can happen is that the aluminium collector boxes corrodes on the join where the pipework enters - they don't look bad but if you put it up on ramps you can feel tiny pin-sized holes that air escapes from. Annoyingly these (on the w211 at least) are nicely nestled amongst the exhaust and back sort of subframe/suspension area and are a bI remember having issues with the bags not holding air on my old Audi Allroad and that was a costly and frustrating experience as I recall.
Problems with the Airmatic setup on the S Class are often down to a leak in the pump itself. I've been doing my homework on this model.
Carry on and enjoy it Steve !
h to get out.My E-Class had all round airmatic (which was unusual on them) and lets just say that was a couple of evenings I'd rather not do again.
I'd still have another though - and your S class OP is ace at 1k. Good luck with it.
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