Student Shedding: My W140 S-Class.

[ajmcampbell]

S600L_B6 said:

S600L_B6 said:

Hey JMC, been reading your post..good move, I've just acquired a S600 LWB W140!! Gee it's BIG lol.

Will be updating with pics and progress in the weeks to come. It's a 1997, blue with two tone tan and cream leather, fully load top spec, 52,000miles on clock and is in pretty good shape! But not to my standards so it'll be getting gutted and re done! :-)

Oh and it's the V12, de-badged!

Hey S600L_B6, glad to hear from another 140 owner! They certainly are pretty hefty, mine is testing my (very poor) parking skills in central Edinburgh to the limit! Sounds like you have a goodun... those M120 units are great. It should shift a fair old bit quicker than mine too!

Cheers A

Lugy said:

I wouldn't bet on it, mine was driven enthusiastically on many occasions, it's much better than the specs would have you believe!

Very true, have found as time has gone on it seems to keep itself upright fairly well despite initial roll! One thing that hasn't helped mine is that I found out the tires are pushing over 16 years old! Bumped into the son of the original owner, said the car had been sitting for numerous years, on inspection tyres so old they don't even have DOT markings! Off to the fitters this week...

[V12 AMG]

In that case, new tyres will transform the drive.

[ajmcampbell]

^^ should do! Went for Dunlops in the end... hope they're good! Fitting on Thursday... also found another W140 separated at birth from mine the other day around the corner from me!!!

[immunda]

Wait, isn't that a W124?

[MikeGoodwin]

If I were that poor as a student then I suppose this might have been a good buy.

[ajmcampbell]

immunda said:

Wait, isn't that a W124?

^^ W140, later model non two tone/different wheels so looks smaller! Its an illuuusion!!

MikeGoodwin said:

If I were that poor as a student then I suppose this might have been a good buy.

Fuel and tyres slowly pushing me into poverty!

[Slow]

Just like to point out this is being advertised by PH on facebook now

[leccyt]

Awesome. I am a big fan of this approach.

My luxury shed during student days was a Saab 9000! £400 and it was mega.

[pSyCoSiS]

A fantastic student shed that will outlive its owners, let alone most other cars!

I am itching to get my 1992 600 SEL (the full-fat 408 bhp version) back on the road.

It's currently sitting on it's ass due to a failed rear shock absorber (will be giving carl at W140 spares a call very soon!).

[bmthnick1981]

pSyCoSiS said:

I am itching to get my 1992 600 SEL (the full-fat 408 bhp version) back on the road.

It's currently sitting on it's ass due to a failed rear shock absorber (will be giving carl at W140 spares a call very soon!).

Any pics?

[RoverP6B]

Love the W140, last of the truly classy S-classes. Also saw a lovely W126 in Southampton yesterday. An S600 and a 560SEL are both on my bucket list...

[E65Ross]

Good work!

I managed to get a BMW E38 728i when I was a student.

That feeling you get driving round in a big barge when everyone else has to suffer in lesser vehicles is priceless!

I do love a W140.... They're HUGE!

[skyrover]

Pretty much my mentality when I bought a Vauxhall Omega as my first car when I was 18 and sick of taking the bus to college.

The only downside is that all of a sudden your mates make you the designated driver

[Slow]

skyrover said:

Pretty much my mentality when I bought a Vauxhall Omega as my first car when I was 18 and sick of taking the bus to college.

The only downside is that all of a sudden your mates make you the designated driver

Tell me about it, in college at the moment and people have things like new corsa's financed etc. We still all end up in the Range Rover due to the size

[FIREBIRDC9]

One question ,

How on earth did you afford the Insurance?


When i was a student , i was Quoted nearly 3 grand for a 2001 1.0 Polo!


Lovely Mercedes regardless

[Slow]

FIREBIRDC9 said:

One question ,

How on earth did you afford the Insurance?


When i was a student , i was Quoted nearly 3 grand for a 2001 1.0 Polo!


Lovely Mercedes regardless

Depends on your postcode generally. Ive had this Range Rover since I was 20 with 6 points and not paid over 1k a year for it.

[V12 AMG]

Aged 18, my 190E 2.6 was cheaper to insure than the Peugeot 306 it replaced.

[ajmcampbell]

Slow said:

Just like to point out this is being advertised by PH on facebook now

So it is! Cheers for the heads up!

leccyt said:

Awesome. I am a big fan of this approach.
My luxury shed during student days was a Saab 9000! £400 and it was mega.

A 9000 would be decent! One lives on my street... a real Swede turbo brick!

pSyCoSiS said:

A fantastic student shed that will outlive its owners, let alone most other cars!

I am itching to get my 1992 600 SEL (the full-fat 408 bhp version) back on the road.
It's currently sitting on it's ass due to a failed rear shock absorber (will be giving carl at W140 spares a call very soon!).

Ooh a 600! Startlingly quick, lots to go wrong though! Mine has a bit of the the usual suspension sag at the back... could yours be something to do with the self-levelling system perhaps? Mine doesn't have it as relatively 'poverty spec'! If you pop a sports exhaust on a 600SEL it sounds like a Zonda too...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN8pHJ3sQ0Q

RoverP6B said:

Love the W140, last of the truly classy S-classes. Also saw a lovely W126 in Southampton yesterday. An S600 and a 560SEL are both on my bucket list...

Thanks, I like to agree! Not a W220 fan so much... last two have picked up the mantle a bit though... W126s are lovely things, usually not as well specced, but the definitive S-Class to look at!

E65Ross said:

Good work!
I managed to get a BMW E38 728i when I was a student.
That feeling you get driving round in a big barge when everyone else has to suffer in lesser vehicles is priceless!
I do love a W140.... They're HUGE!

Nice work! Sounds a similar affair to mine haha! It's great fun until you have to fill it up (!)... it is a bit of a beast to park as rear visibility is poor, no idea where the back of the car is!

skyrover said:

Pretty much my mentality when I bought a Vauxhall Omega as my first car when I was 18 and sick of taking the bus to college.
The only downside is that all of a sudden your mates make you the designated driver

Very true! Somehow been pushed into driving a bunch to Shropshire on Friday!

Slow said:

Tell me about it, in college at the moment and people have things like new corsa's financed etc. We still all end up in the Range Rover due to the size

Exactly! Trouble is fitting four fully grown uni students in a Corsa or equivalent is deeply uncomfortable! That said, not much of a middle seat in the W140... all about comfort for four rather large passengers!

Edited by ajmcampbell on Tuesday 1st December 17:02

[ajmcampbell]

FIREBIRDC9 said:

One question ,

How on earth did you afford the Insurance?

When i was a student , i was Quoted nearly 3 grand for a 2001 1.0 Polo!

Lovely Mercedes regardless

Insurance was surprisingly OK! Sometimes it depends on how the model of car is driven, S280s are pretty slow old things and usually the preserve of OAPs, if I'm honest, so not much in the way of accidents, it follows!

Slow said:

Depends on your postcode generally. Ive had this Range Rover since I was 20 with 6 points and not paid over 1k a year for it.

This undoubtably also helps, was surprised at how cheap it was for Edinburgh city centre however... guess too many people around for it to be nicked!

V12 AMG said:

Aged 18, my 190E 2.6 was cheaper to insure than the Peugeot 306 it replaced.

^ Exactly... mine should be even better if I keep it another year as will dip below the 20 year classic insurance threshold!

[RoverP6B]

FIREBIRDC9 said:

One question, How on earth did you afford the Insurance? When i was a student , i was Quoted nearly 3 grand for a 2001 1.0 Polo! Lovely Mercedes regardless

Typical student hatches are more expensive for students to insure than old-man barges students almost never go for. Looked into this many a time with my sons. My old P6 3500S was going to cost a quarter to insure of what a 1.2 Punto was going to cost even with nearly triple the engine displacement.