Friday 8th July 2011

SOTW: Mercedes S-class (W140)

Behold, the king of barges...

---

The barge-haters among the shed fraternity will no doubt be jumping upon this one as 'yet another example of the sort of German luxobarge we do every other week'. But when I spotted this W140 S-class lurking in the nether regions of the PH classifieds I knew it had to be SOTW. Merc fanboy Garlick would have hidden my car keys if I hadn't, and I wouldn't be going home for the weekend.

But I digress. There is, of course, a proper reason why we are prone to featuring large, luxurious and often German cars on Shed of the Week, one beyond simple predilection. And that is because large, well-built expensive cars can live a long life but, when they get to a certain age, scare Shed-gentiles off with the prospect of large running costs, which depresses the value of them. And makes them prime SOTW-fodder.

Of all these, the W140-era Mercedes S-class must surely be the king of barges and yet, until now, we have never crowned one SOTW.

For starters this is the S320 model and so gets a 220hp and 229lb ft version of Merc's M104 straight six. Although not blessed with quite the grunt of the S500's V8, it's fast enough in the real world, and gratifyingly more powerful than the base-model S280. And besides, in Shed-world, fewer cylinders means fewer things to go wrong.

The W140 S also straddles two Mercedes-Benz eras, being not only possibly the last hewn-from-the-mantle-of-the-earth Mercs, but also suitably high-tech, with double-glazed windows, self-closing doors and the first standard-fit dual-zone climate control on any Mercedes.

This particular car further impresses by dint of being a late-model example (and we all know it's best to get hold of something when all the bugs have been ironed-out - early iPhone users will tell you that).

It ticks plenty of other boxes, too - service history, MOT, new tyres, and full leather. The only worry we have is the admission that 'all four wheel arches have been painted, but not to highest standard'. Hmmm...

But apart from that, this is surely one to get the pulses of all you barge fiends racing. Garlick is no doubt currently trying to work out whether he can justify an S-class and a Lexus...

Advert is reproduced below

MERCEDES BENZ S320 1 OWNER FSH SWAP OR P/X (1998)
147,000 miles £900

146000 MILES

FULL SERVICE HISTORY

MOT NOVEMBER 2011

CAN TAX FOR YOU

NEW TYRES

NEW WINDSCREEN

MOT HISTORY PRINTOUT

SOFT CLOSE DOORS & BOOT

FULL LEATHER

HEATED & ELECTRIC SEATS

DOUBLE GLAZING

BODYWORK PRESENTABLE BUT ALL 4 WHEEL ARCHES HAVE BEEN PAINTED BUT NOT TO HIGHEST STANDARD

IDEAL CAR FOR CHARITY RALLY ETC

PERFECT LIMO FOR BARGAIN MONEY

WILL CONSIDER ANYTHING IN PART EX OR SWAP

ANY QUESTIONS OR YOU NEED TO PART EXCHANGE YOUR OLD CAR PLEASE CALL ME ON 07976603678

KIND REGARDS DUNCAN

[Garlick]

I think I can justify that Riggers, you know how excited I am by this

[MrDarkBlack]

A big Merc shed's been a long time coming

Lovely!!

To have a FSH and a spec like that, £900 couldn't be spent in many better ways.

Edited by MrDarkBlack on Friday 8th July 07:45

[Baryonyx]

It looks good, but the phrase 'ideal for a charity rally' worries me slightly. No doubt it will need those arches looked at too.

[ianwayne]

I don't usually comment on SOTW, but this one looks a proper bargain. It was £50k new.

Edit: Shame not many will see it. For some reason, this article isn't on the front page this week.

Edited by ianwayne on Friday 8th July 08:01

[Jonny_693]

Double glazing and self closing doors for 900 quid. Total win!

[nonplussed]

Oof. Sod the paintjob, if this is mechanically sound it's a complete no-brainer. Smoke it around until it breaks. Buy another one. What's not to like?

[Chris-R]

ianwayne said:

Edit: Shame not many will see it. For some reason, this article isn't on the front page this week.

Edited by ianwayne on Friday 8th July 08:01

PH's dedicated team of crack (smoking?) hamsters is on the case...

[Fartgalen]

That's a worthy SOTW.

[P9UNK]

great car and one owner but remember my brother in law's 5 year old one in the 90s which at one point was costing 'a shed a month' to keep on the road, what could go wrong did. At the same time, being poor, I had a 79 Toyota Cressida, cost 150 quid and never went wrong in 20,000 miles.

[ITech]

I can never decide if I prefer the older, perhaps classier w126 or the more luxurious w140. But, either way, the S-Class is awesome and for only the price of a decent mountain bike! Classic insurance too :-)

[Lord Flathead]

Although now nick-named the Indian Express, at £900 what's not to like? That is a lot of barge for very few rupees.

[J4CKO]

Lord Flathead said:

Although now nick-named the Indian Express, at £900 what's not to like? That is a lot of barge for very few rupees.

Indian Express, not heard that, Why is that ?

Great car for wafting round pretending to be either

1/ Third world Despot, well, his driver anyway.

2/ 90's Russian Mobster

3/ Henri Paul (Someone had to get that in), watch out for white Fiat Uno's Henri !

[kayzee]

ianwayne said:

Edit: Shame not many will see it. For some reason, this article isn't on the front page this week.

It is now... sometimes takes a while to appear.

J4CKO said:

Indian Express, not heard that, Why is that ?

Mild racism...

Looks like a great specification of car there, shame it's not black though.

[ZesPak]

I always liked that weird reflector/plastic thing it's got going on in the back, esp on black ones.
What is that actually?

[47p2]

I owned one of these years ago and it was a fantastic car, fuel consumption can vary from 18mpg to 32mpg. Rusting arches isn't a major problem as there was plenty metal underneath, but do check the front arches carefully as they were made from thinned material. Facelift models with 5 speed boxes were best but remember they do require ATF fluid changes now and again. The 320 engine can seep a tiny amount of oil between the block and cylinder head at the front, they all do this and so long as it isn't pouring out it should not be of concern.

Avoid the 280, they are very slow in comparison to the 320 and not in my opinion worth buying as they struggle to get up to speed.

Hope this helps

[47p2]

ZesPak said:

I always liked that weird reflector/plastic thing it's got going on in the back, esp on black ones.
What is that actually?

Decoration....simples

[ITech]

47p2 said:

Facelift models with 5 speed boxes were best but remember they do require ATF fluid changes now and again. The 320 engine can seep a tiny amount of oil between the block and cylinder head at the front, they all do this and so long as it isn't pouring out it should not be of concern.

I think the 4 speed box is generally considered to be a lot stronger and more reliable than the 5-speed. Agree about the oil though, they do all do that and even changing the front rubber seal does not always fix it totally.

[sday12]

ZesPak said:

I always liked that weird reflector/plastic thing it's got going on in the back, esp on black ones.
What is that actually?

Tissue box holder?

[irish boy]

Great shed! Never had one this shape only the w126.

I predict 10 pages minimum!

[J4CKO]

kayzee said:

Mild racism...

Looks like a great specification of car there, shame it's not black though.

Was thinking the Indian Government still had them or something.

Imagine what you could get for 2 grand....