RE: SOTW: Mercedes S-class (W140)
Discussion
P9UNK said:
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.
My brother had one in the late 1990s/early 2000s and his was the same. His was also the S320 and an impressive car in so many ways, but it was not reliable. His suffered myriad electrical faults the most annoying of which caused it to be regularly very difficult to start. The symptoms were strange: all the warning lights would come on bright, then would gradually dim to a faint glow. Everything else would be dead. If the ignition was left off for half an hour it would generally start normally, but not always. Almost as annoying was the driver's electric window which suffered a nervous twitch and would rapidly move up and down by a few centimetres sometimes opening itself entirely. You didn't need to touch the button. No one dared to open the sunroof. It didn't always shut again. The A/C failed twice. The first time cost nearly two grand, the second time he traded the car in.It is a big car and 3.2 litres sounds like it might struggle, but actually the S320 is pretty brisk. My brother's suffered a persistent misfire which was never solved despite many attempts.
It was excellent in some ways - its was brisk, quiet, its ride was excellent and in the 'nineties it had great prestige. In the end though my brother grew tired of the huge running costs and poor reliability so traded it in for an XK8 convertible. The Jag was incomparably cheaper to run because it was so much less fragile.
I do like the W140 though. It has undeniable kerb appeal.
HAS ANYONE SEEN THE PARROT?Goodfella 555 said:
over_the_hill said:
One point to note though is space. These are big boys coming in at nearly 5m long so make sure you have space on your drive or that your garage is long enough before you get carried away and buy one.
This is a good point, the 728i i owned was over 1.8 metres wide so Waitrose car park was a nightmare front and rear parking sensors were a god send and used even when just going up or down the ramps. CampDavid said:
Honestly, like so many shed of the weeks this highlights the fact that you can buy a £900 S class but you probably shouldn't. Mainly because you can actually buy a really fit and tidy one for about £2500. That's a proper bargain
That is exactly right. It's wise to spend £2-4k on the saloon really, depending on the model or a bit more for the monster coupe version.
ITech said:
That is exactly right. It's wise to spend £2-4k on the saloon really, depending on the model or a bit more for the monster coupe version.
Ah, the C140. Nice cars.But, I honestly think the W140 saloon in LWB form, somehow, looks better and has the correct proportions.
If you're going for the CL, push the boat out and get the CL600 V12!
angusc43 said:
I run an E Class 211 estate in London and find it easy to park. The wife too. It doesn't feel large to me, just normal. Other cars now just feel smaller. The 140 is only three inches longer. It's 3 inches wider too which might make parking at the supermarket a little more tricky - but not by much. But I guess you're right that neither are going to fit in a dinky pre-war garage or on a small patch of ground outside a London terraced house.
W140 is a totally different proposition to park. Even if on papaer there doesn't seen much difference between that and a W211...A lot didn't have parking sensors, and the sheer girth of the beast puts people off even thinking about parking.
The Series 1 cars had the pop out rear twin aerials which helped to 'aid' parking. Still, wouldn't lke to take one into a multi-storey car park!
Struggled enough with an old LWB XJ40, and that is nowhere near as wide as a W140!
Itsallicanafford said:
...i'm new to this 'shedding' lark...when does a cheap smoker beacome a money pit? Is there an approved formula for working this out?
'Sheds' are driven until they drop - there's no formula because, generally, you don't spend any money on them at all.If you wanted to restore it - you'd buy a better example from-the-off.
If you're looking for a reliable daily-driver, you'd not choose something with the size (and thirst) of a bus.
Note to prospective buyers - this is really MUCH larger than you think.
Friend-of-mine's next-door neighbour bought one and when they got home and parked it (touching the garage doors) the other end was taking-up 75% of the pavement!! It was never going IN the garage - much too wide - and so it spent a few months dumped on the kerb and then disappeared...
Ecurie Ecosse said:
With regards to the article, are you sure dual-zone climate was standard? I think air con was standard and climate was an option, apart from on the S500 and S600.
I used to sell these new, and I'm pretty sure the later cars came with dual zone climate as standard. It was introduced with a few other items of standard kit and we'd never known such generosity from MB before. r129sl said:
I like the V8, but always get a bit irked with comments suggesting that the 6-cylinder cars aren't 'proper'. Yes the V8 is a great engine, but I've spent a lot of time with 3.2's and they do a great job in the S and even the SL too. Quick enough for civilised wafting and quiet too. Don't ignore them. johnpeat said:
Itsallicanafford said:
...i'm new to this 'shedding' lark...when does a cheap smoker beacome a money pit? Is there an approved formula for working this out?
'Sheds' are driven until they drop - there's no formula because, generally, you don't spend any money on them at all.If you wanted to restore it - you'd buy a better example from-the-off.
If you're looking for a reliable daily-driver, you'd not choose something with the size (and thirst) of a bus.
Note to prospective buyers - this is really MUCH larger than you think.
Friend-of-mine's next-door neighbour bought one and when they got home and parked it (touching the garage doors) the other end was taking-up 75% of the pavement!! It was never going IN the garage - much too wide - and so it spent a few months dumped on the kerb and then disappeared...
I agree, you really can't exaggerate how big the W140 is. The length doesn't cause problems, but the width can become make the big Merc genuinely unwieldy at times. My XJ Jag feels positively small and dainty in comparison.
My brother's certainly had dual climate on it. Pretty much everything was standard on it I think, it had a huge spec. His 320 performed surprisingly well and the 3.2 litre six was a smooth engine. The S320 has more performance than most people will ever need.
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