S Class high mileage advice
Discussion
I am looking at the possibility of buying a high mileage luxury S class. I dont know much about the marque and the depreciation, problems, independent servicing. Any suggestions where I should start looking.
Having a quick flick through autotrader you seem to be able to get a lot of czr for your money when high mileage..but I havent a clue as to whether this offers good value. My current experience is with different type of motoring..cerberas, vipers, porsches; so I havent a clue where to start.
cheers for any help.
Having a quick flick through autotrader you seem to be able to get a lot of czr for your money when high mileage..but I havent a clue as to whether this offers good value. My current experience is with different type of motoring..cerberas, vipers, porsches; so I havent a clue where to start.
cheers for any help.
I have driven one "220 shape" (W220 just-being-replaced-model-shape). with 220,000 miles on. It was a 320 V6.
To drive, you would never have guessed it had that mileage so from that point of view a high miler would be perfectly fine. I'm not sure if there's anything particularly prone to failure as you approach higher mileage though. This example's interior was in OK condition though there was the odd giveaway. Also the bootlid was somewhat rusty (these era Mercedes have a rust problem...) which was another giveaway to the usage.
Otherwise I can't see why these models won't run just as long as the old models do..
Russell
To drive, you would never have guessed it had that mileage so from that point of view a high miler would be perfectly fine. I'm not sure if there's anything particularly prone to failure as you approach higher mileage though. This example's interior was in OK condition though there was the odd giveaway. Also the bootlid was somewhat rusty (these era Mercedes have a rust problem...) which was another giveaway to the usage.
Otherwise I can't see why these models won't run just as long as the old models do..
Russell
dont mind the earlier shape..what are the models?
and then all the way up to 500 & 600; but as I am unsure as to what is best to go for, its hard to work out where to start. I am looking for lots of luxury and a great ride (ooo err..)
>> Edited by woolfie on Tuesday 10th January 17:34
and then all the way up to 500 & 600; but as I am unsure as to what is best to go for, its hard to work out where to start. I am looking for lots of luxury and a great ride (ooo err..)
>> Edited by woolfie on Tuesday 10th January 17:34
Had a w220 s430, s55 and now an s65, I've had w220 s320 cdi as courtesy cars for weeks 
(Reliability) test driven s600, s500 and have driven an w140 the previous big s class s500 w140 and had an w140 s320 chauffer car
The w140 is huge externally and is slightly bigger than the w220 inside, it rides very well on standard wheels, great seats, not as nimble to drive, not as much grip, more roll/intrusion to ride than on the w220 on a twisty road, performance is not as good and although the gearbox is very good and smooth it isn’t as good as the w220 a little less responsive and a little less smooth. The w140 is arguably better built than the w220 and its interior whilst more dated and a little more drab is a bit more sturdy.
The w220 is quite amazing in terms of the ride and handling compromise, its very very good, it still rides almost better than anything (on 16" rims), my neighbour has an rr phantom and the rr is only a shade better and really the rr is very slightly worse on the twisties than a std s class on 16" rims. The 18" rims on the std (non ABC active suspension or AMG suspension) cars give a little more grip slightly reduce the understeer when the car is pushed really hard, but make the ride a tiny little bit more susceptible to road imperfections, it does add a little to steering weight which is nice, there is a little more steering feel on the 182 rims , a bit more again on face lift cars (clear headlights) and more again on the AMG cars , but even the std car, on std suspension with 16" wheels handles very well although it does scrub the fronts under very hard cornering, 18" wheels improve this. The active ABC suspension cars handle even better and the AMG cars are even better again (although a little stiffer on the ride). Again amazing seats in the w220, amg cars have slightly better ones, the engine gearbox combo is even better than the w140 which is very high praise as they are all really silky smooooth, the s55kompressor is incredibly fast and has a rumble the other super smoothies don’t and the s65 is unbelievably fast has a growl but they are still very smooth, even the diesel is amazing for a diesel car.
The W220 has better fuel consumption, my s430 did 24.5 mpg on long trips from manchester to central london (211 miles), the s320 cdi would do 35-37.5 mpg !! but the engine was a little rougher under hard acceleration and fed back a little vibration to the cabin at the lights, the s55 did 22.5 mpg and the S65 does 21 mpg, for the short time I drove the s500 w140 I think it did 18mpg and the s320 never did much more than 20 mpg.
The fly in the ointment is if anything goes wrong all are expensive to fix, if possible I’d get a warranty, my s55 spent six weeks off the road being repaired in the 2.5 years I had it, the s430 I bought at 2.5 years old spent three weeks off the road, my previous ML430 was in the garage for a week in the six weeks I owned it, touch wood the S65 is alright so far.
A clip of S320cdi acceleration and general S55 clip
http://media.putfile.com/S320CDIacceleration
www.putfile.com/media.php?n=AMGS55bigclipNOsmusic
(Reliability) test driven s600, s500 and have driven an w140 the previous big s class s500 w140 and had an w140 s320 chauffer car The w140 is huge externally and is slightly bigger than the w220 inside, it rides very well on standard wheels, great seats, not as nimble to drive, not as much grip, more roll/intrusion to ride than on the w220 on a twisty road, performance is not as good and although the gearbox is very good and smooth it isn’t as good as the w220 a little less responsive and a little less smooth. The w140 is arguably better built than the w220 and its interior whilst more dated and a little more drab is a bit more sturdy.
The w220 is quite amazing in terms of the ride and handling compromise, its very very good, it still rides almost better than anything (on 16" rims), my neighbour has an rr phantom and the rr is only a shade better and really the rr is very slightly worse on the twisties than a std s class on 16" rims. The 18" rims on the std (non ABC active suspension or AMG suspension) cars give a little more grip slightly reduce the understeer when the car is pushed really hard, but make the ride a tiny little bit more susceptible to road imperfections, it does add a little to steering weight which is nice, there is a little more steering feel on the 182 rims , a bit more again on face lift cars (clear headlights) and more again on the AMG cars , but even the std car, on std suspension with 16" wheels handles very well although it does scrub the fronts under very hard cornering, 18" wheels improve this. The active ABC suspension cars handle even better and the AMG cars are even better again (although a little stiffer on the ride). Again amazing seats in the w220, amg cars have slightly better ones, the engine gearbox combo is even better than the w140 which is very high praise as they are all really silky smooooth, the s55kompressor is incredibly fast and has a rumble the other super smoothies don’t and the s65 is unbelievably fast has a growl but they are still very smooth, even the diesel is amazing for a diesel car.
The W220 has better fuel consumption, my s430 did 24.5 mpg on long trips from manchester to central london (211 miles), the s320 cdi would do 35-37.5 mpg !! but the engine was a little rougher under hard acceleration and fed back a little vibration to the cabin at the lights, the s55 did 22.5 mpg and the S65 does 21 mpg, for the short time I drove the s500 w140 I think it did 18mpg and the s320 never did much more than 20 mpg.
The fly in the ointment is if anything goes wrong all are expensive to fix, if possible I’d get a warranty, my s55 spent six weeks off the road being repaired in the 2.5 years I had it, the s430 I bought at 2.5 years old spent three weeks off the road, my previous ML430 was in the garage for a week in the six weeks I owned it, touch wood the S65 is alright so far.
A clip of S320cdi acceleration and general S55 clip
http://media.putfile.com/S320CDIacceleration
www.putfile.com/media.php?n=AMGS55bigclipNOsmusic
Neat.. that was about as in-depth a review as anyone could've hoped for!
The W220's I've driven both had a button for stiffening the dampers - this is not ABC but is the air suspension (Airmatic?) am I right?
It's amusing to stiffen up the dampers for the bends in an S-class!!
edit: at the track in an S-class???
What is wrong with you man!!
>> Edited by pentoman on Thursday 12th January 13:10
The W220's I've driven both had a button for stiffening the dampers - this is not ABC but is the air suspension (Airmatic?) am I right?
It's amusing to stiffen up the dampers for the bends in an S-class!!
edit: at the track in an S-class???
What is wrong with you man!!
>> Edited by pentoman on Thursday 12th January 13:10
Important when you arrive at a potential new clients to secure their business 
I've got a 2001 S320 petrol on 16 inch weels and the ride is wonderful! Gear change is silky smooth and there is just about enough power from the 3.2 engine. On my regular trips from York to London I get over 32mpg which surprised me - I thought it would be nearer 27! I've just renewed my warranty for £912 which seems expensive but I probably got my monies worth from it last year and I would guess any major fault would cost at least £1k to fix. A minor service is at least £260 and a major £460.
There are sometimes some bargains at the main dealers (and you get a warranty) so it's worth looking there as well as the private ads.
Cheers
Rory
There are sometimes some bargains at the main dealers (and you get a warranty) so it's worth looking there as well as the private ads.
Cheers
Rory
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