W140 s500

[lowan74]

Hello,

I know this board is primarily for older S-Class models, however I am looking for some advice/experience around a 1995 W140 S500 that I am looking at purchasing in the Marrickville area. Understanding that these can be an expensive model to own, I am keen to get the vehicle checked out for any upcoming / imminent mechanical repairs and expenses prior to purchasing it.

Can anyone recommend a Mercedes specialist in this area to perform this type of inspection, and provide any idea of the type of cost of such an inspection?

The car has 135,000 km on it, appears in good condition. I will be checking whether air conditioner and wiring harness have been replaced, and that everything works – Does anyone have any other key tips to check out?

Many thanks - Matt

 

[BenzBoy]

Welcome to Topklasse - the W140 is one of my favourite Benzs.
For a pre-purchase check I suggest Autohaus 1 - http://www.autohaus1.com.au/Home.aspx as they tend to specialise in cars of the age you are looking at.
Regards,
Brian

 

[260ebenz]

Sounds like a question for resident W140 owner Mat Kean he is the bloke to ask about the W140 Mercedes he and his Wife own a magnificient S280 W140!

Cheers.

 

[SEL_69L]

Obvoiusly, a car such as this needs a proven service record. To begin with, it should prove the claimed 135,000 klm. I would invest some well spent money getting an appraisal of the vehicle, Autohaus One would give you some honest answers. From this, a budget to bring the vehicle up tp scratch could be worked out with them, with an order of priority of work that needs to be done.

Autohaus One in Alexandria has Peter Swatosch as one of the owners.

Peter has invited the Mercedes Benz Club to his premises on a couple of times over the years.

 

[lowan74]

Thanks so much for the kind help - I will let you know how I get on..

Cheers - Matt

 

[lowan74]

Hello All,

After getting a mechanical inspection completed (at Autohaus One, as recommended), and several weeks of targetted repairs on the car, I finalised the purchase of my W140 last week and took delivery of the car on Wednesday afternoon.

I will take some pictures shortly, but after a few short days of using the car as a daily driver to properly familiarise myself with the car, my only question is "Why didn't I buy one of these years ago".... I had high expectations, but have still been blown away be the comfort, performance and agility of this car. It is hard to get back into my 10 month old Falcon (my normal "daily driver") after driving this car that truly does everything better.

Thanks again to all for your recommendations relating to vehicle inspection.

Cheers - Matt

 

[BenzBoy]

Congratulations on the purchase - sounds like you are enjoying it.
Regards,
Brian

 

[SEL_69L]

Yes. show us some pictures, and let us know of what work needed to be done.

I am sure that we would all be interested.

 

[Styria]

Yes I am also interested in the work to be carried out and, only if you are comfortable to do so, I'd be much interested in the various costs involved. I understand that the 500 engine with its quad cam configuration is an absolute 'mind blower' and I must admit that I have always been taken with the shape of the W140.

They have been much criticized over the years, particularly by the press as being too big, too ungainly and, in a round about sort of way, the media has killed those cars. Matt, one of the topklasse members, as well as 'S-Class' in South Africa are quite familiar with the 140 series, although the latter has since disposed of the car due to fairly major problems with the engine, but the headstone reads "God how I loved this car". I hope you will continue to enjoy ownership. Just as an aside, I collected my Gleaming Beauty (6.9) from the used car dealer at Burwood and by the time I reached West Ryde I said to myself "why would you want to own anything else" - and that's the truth and I am still better than 70% convinced in the validity of that statement. Regards Styria

N.B. There is plenty more to look at in these threads:

http://www.topklasse.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1098

http://www.topklasse.org/forums/showthread.php?t=641

S-Class in South Africa also submitted a really great thread dealing with his 500.

http://www.topklasse.org/forums/showthread.php?t=262

 

[Tony66_au]

I seriously considered buying a W140 500SEL 18 months ago after driving one (Actually it was an imported 600SEL V12) but settled on something else.

The V 12 was interesting but the 500 was for me a far nicer car to drive, I still know bugger all about them though.

 

[WGB]

Apart from the general complexity of a big modern mercedes the 500 is a nice balance between big and reasonable and is really the product that M-B excels at.

The only common problem I have heard about is failure of the pump that works the door closers and even then I know the Star Shop in Perth rebuilds them for a few hundred dollars rather than the 2 1/2 big ones that M-B was charging a couple of years ago.

Enjoy the car. I really love my E500 and like Styria I knew it was mine before I'd even pulled out of the dealer's lot - just took a day to convince "She who must be obeyed".

Bill

 

[lowan74]

I have attached 2 initial photos which I recently took of my new purchase. I have spent that last week giving it a good basic clean inside and out, although the interior still needs a bit more care.

The car had a good service history with some unusual usage patterns (including the first 2 years at ~5000 km/year, 6 months on HC plates in 1999 (covering 15000km), then reverting to low usage for the bulk of the last 15 years. The interior condition was average to poor, exterior is average to good. Unfortunately the car was driven by a smoker at some stage however this odour is well on the way out, and should be gone before too long. The nicotine stains on the hard plastic internal surfaces came off easily.

The major work required on the car was replacement of the A/C evaporator (a well known problem) which ended up taking 26 hours, replacement of some in-dash lamps and sliders around the vents. The work was conducted as an "off books" transaction by an ex Mercedes mechanic, so I would prefer not to disclose the price. The bulk of the price was related to the labour hours rather than the parts.

The car had previously had the wiring harness replacement conducted.

I will take some interior photos once the interior is a bit more presentable. The car is a beautiful vehicle to drive - and is incredibly spacious. I am so happy with my purchase decision...

 

[260ebenz]

lowan74 congrats on the purchase of the S500.

How many klms has the S500 travelled?

26hrs to repair the a/cond evaporator wow!

I am quite a fan of the W140 S-Class I have had the honour of driving a MBCNSW Members S280 last year what a car!

Cheers.

 

[lowan74]

Thanks for the kind words-

My S500 has just over 135,000km on it.

Cheers,

Matt

 

[Michel]

Thanks for the kind words-
My S500 has just over 135,000km on it.
Cheers,
Matt

Merely run in Matt.

Quite a lovely motor car.

Congratulations.

 

[260ebenz]

Thanks for the kind words-

My S500 has just over 135,000km on it.

Cheers,

Matt

lowan74,

135,000kms that's excellent enjoy the car!

Cheers.

 

[Styria]

Hi Matt, is this your first Mercedes and why did you choose the W140 - for years now, they have been undersold badly, especially the V12 version. Unfortunately, the net can be very harsh on the reputation of a Motor Car. Similar to the journalistic press - they can make or break a car as evidenced with the (English) Rover 75, and also the 'new' Falcon with its strange unusual looking grille.

Really looking forward to your continued contributions. It is a nice looking car indeed and, as Michel says, only just run in. Regards Styria

 

[lowan74]

Hi Styria,

This is my first Mercedes - in the 1980s when at high school in inner Melbourne, my walk home from the train station took me through the backstreets of the suburb of Armadale, which were lined with new W126 380SEs, 420SEs, 560SELs, various SECs and I absolutely loved walking past and looking at these beautiful cars. My dream was to one day own a 420SE.

As the years have passed by when the W140 originally came out, like many in the media I thought it to be less attractive than the W126 and it was not until early last decade that I really appreciated the style of these cars, and the outstanding technology they offered - to the point of seriously looking at buying one, and becoming quite familiar with the odd quirks of these cars.

In 2006 I almost bought a 1995 S500, however I tend to be quite particular about vehicle condition and presentation, and this car was poorly presented and this put me off the vehicle. I decided to keep the money in the bank. It amazed me that someone could spend ~270,000 on a car and not keep it in immaculate condition.

Keeping an eye on cars in the market over the past few years, finally this year I saw my new car advertised and my wife suggested "why don't you take it for a drive" - and within a month it was mine!

Cheers,

Matt

 

[260ebenz]

Great story there Matt and good to have another low kilometre Mercedes owner here on board at TopKlasse!

When I bought my 1990 260E 3 years ago the car had only travelled 105,000kms now it is has 127,000kms and still going strong!

Happy motoring Matt.

Cheers Tim.

 

[MR028]

I have attached 2 initial photos which I recently took of my new purchase. I have spent that last week giving it a good basic clean inside and out, although the interior still needs a bit more care.

The car had a good service history with some unusual usage patterns (including the first 2 years at ~5000 km/year, 6 months on HC plates in 1999 (covering 15000km), then reverting to low usage for the bulk of the last 15 years. The interior condition was average to poor, exterior is average to good. Unfortunately the car was driven by a smoker at some stage however this odour is well on the way out, and should be gone before too long. The nicotine stains on the hard plastic internal surfaces came off easily.

The major work required on the car was replacement of the A/C evaporator (a well known problem) which ended up taking 26 hours, replacement of some in-dash lamps and sliders around the vents. The work was conducted as an "off books" transaction by an ex Mercedes mechanic, so I would prefer not to disclose the price. The bulk of the price was related to the labour hours rather than the parts.

The car had previously had the wiring harness replacement conducted.

I will take some interior photos once the interior is a bit more presentable. The car is a beautiful vehicle to drive - and is incredibly spacious. I am so happy with my purchase decision...

Very nice! It looks like a good one, and the grey colour really suits that model, in my opinion. I really like the style of the W140; one of Bruno Sacco's masterworks. The more time goes by, the more the styling works. I'm also beginning to really appreciate the rare 140 coupes too.