Discussion
considering an S class to make the winter commute luxurious.
Planning on getting a 100-150k miles, fsh, all electrical working one with decent MOT record, which seem to be around for £1.5-3k. Probably 2001-2004 era..... 320cdi, and like the idea of the extra space in the L version, but a little concerned about its previous life.....
Is this the height of folly, or is it, on balance, likely to be alright.....?!!
tbh I want to spend enough that I won't necessarily be spending out a huge amount in the first year - but it seems the values at this low end are somewhat unrelated to mileage/history, so any particularly useful advice welcomed.....
Planning on getting a 100-150k miles, fsh, all electrical working one with decent MOT record, which seem to be around for £1.5-3k. Probably 2001-2004 era..... 320cdi, and like the idea of the extra space in the L version, but a little concerned about its previous life.....
Is this the height of folly, or is it, on balance, likely to be alright.....?!!
tbh I want to spend enough that I won't necessarily be spending out a huge amount in the first year - but it seems the values at this low end are somewhat unrelated to mileage/history, so any particularly useful advice welcomed.....
I wouldn't be too concerned about mileage, age or anything else.
They are great cars when they work, but anything can and will go wrong!
I've got a '00 S500, one owner before me and 50,000 miles and it has had issues!
Currently one module has failed for whatever reason, so I have no dash switches, wipers, indicators or working instruments at the moment!
I bought it cheap originally, due to a running problem and lack of heater.
They were both easy fixes, but I haven't managed to sort the latest one yet.
They are great cars when they work, but anything can and will go wrong!
I've got a '00 S500, one owner before me and 50,000 miles and it has had issues!
Currently one module has failed for whatever reason, so I have no dash switches, wipers, indicators or working instruments at the moment!
I bought it cheap originally, due to a running problem and lack of heater.
They were both easy fixes, but I haven't managed to sort the latest one yet.
Rust would be my biggest concern with these, although the later models are supposed to be better. It seems to vary though, some of the pre facelift cars can be quite rust free, whilst others are terrible, so they're not as consistently bad as the E classes of the same era, especially the w210.
There are plenty of cheaper ways of fixing the other, well known issues nowadays, suspension pumps and struts etc can now be repaired or refurbed quite cheaply, and things like injector seals and pipework on the diesel versions can be sorted if caught early so I wouldn't be put off by any of that myself.
I've been looking out for one for months now, but really can't make my mind up about which version to go for. The couple I have seen that stood out were sold within minutes of being advertised, you can be sure everyone who's after them knows the issues, so the good ones get snapped up quickly.
There are plenty of cheaper ways of fixing the other, well known issues nowadays, suspension pumps and struts etc can now be repaired or refurbed quite cheaply, and things like injector seals and pipework on the diesel versions can be sorted if caught early so I wouldn't be put off by any of that myself.
I've been looking out for one for months now, but really can't make my mind up about which version to go for. The couple I have seen that stood out were sold within minutes of being advertised, you can be sure everyone who's after them knows the issues, so the good ones get snapped up quickly.
I can't PM you but I'll be selling mine shortly.
2003 '53' LWB S350
Just ticked over 100k
Really good condition for it's age. Has been very reliable, save for one strut failure, nothing else has given up on me.
Perfect service history with no missed services, all Mercedes Benz main dealer apart from last year where I took it to Mercedes specialist DDR Surrey and asked them to fully service it including new gearbox oil, new discs and pads, 4 new tyres etc.
Been a lovely car but I have something else arriving in a couple of weeks. Drop me a PM if you're interested.
2003 '53' LWB S350
Just ticked over 100k
Really good condition for it's age. Has been very reliable, save for one strut failure, nothing else has given up on me.
Perfect service history with no missed services, all Mercedes Benz main dealer apart from last year where I took it to Mercedes specialist DDR Surrey and asked them to fully service it including new gearbox oil, new discs and pads, 4 new tyres etc.
Been a lovely car but I have something else arriving in a couple of weeks. Drop me a PM if you're interested.
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