2001 S320 £6495 lotta car for the money?

[crammy69]

This has got my bank account itching, had a chat with the seller and it sounds like a lovely old thing. Its only got MB history up to the last two carried out at 57k and 62k which Im assuming to be basic oil and filter jobs. Its got 71k on it now so due a service although has iol and filters done recently but book not stamped.

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/982570.htm

Given the 71,000 mileage what important (expensive) things need to be done as this stage? cambelt (is it chain?) or anything special?

One declared/known fault is a passenger seat SRS sensor on the blink, seller quoted around £230 to have new one fitted, is this common or inidcative of further worries?

Any views gents?

 

[nick mercedes]

Any views gents?

Go for it, looks like a nice car.

 

[ringway]

What a lot of car for the money. Just superb value.

These cars are rarely abused, and if you could put aside say £1500 for repairs it would be a great purchase.

I always remember the "What Car" magazine verdict on these cars which stated... "The worlds finest saloon car"

And you can buy one, for the same money as a 3 year old Mondeo...

 

[ringway]

Depending on the service schedule, it may well be possible to maintain full MB history (62k to 71k) if you took it to the main dealer.

 

[MBManInKen]

Any views gents?

You better make sure everything is in perfect working order and I would not take the seller's word for it, get RAC or some other organisation to run a full inspection on it.

They are great cars, provided they have been meticulously maintained. In that sense, it ought to come with full service history. The maintenance booklet has space to record all the work done during its lifetime and has the full schedule set out in it. So, ask to see it and check it carefully.

If the seller claims something is "easy" or "cheap" to fix, get them to fix it as part of the deal. There is no such thing as a cheap s-class...

Items to inspect particularly carefully to make sure they are in good working order (and expensive to fix if they are not) are:

• airmatic suspension - look out for leaky struts or noisy pump;
• Catalytic converters: make sure they are not rattling
• Gearbox
• Climate control
• all, and I mean all, electronics. Try all COMAND functions, make sure you don't forget to test the navigation so you know its drive is working well;

These cars are rarely abused, and if you could put aside say £1500 for repairs it would be a great purchase.

Sorry, but £1500 quid won't get you far if things start to fail on these cars...

 

[crammy69]

You better make sure everything is in perfect working order and I would not take the seller's word for it, get RAC or some other organisation to run a full inspection on it.

If the seller claims something is "easy" or "cheap" to fix, get them to fix it as part of the deal. There is no such thing as a cheap s-class...

• airmatic suspension - look out for leaky struts or noisy pump;
• Catalytic converters: make sure they are not rattling
• Gearbox
• Climate control
• all, and I mean all, electronics. Try all COMAND functions, make sure you don't forget to test the navigation so you know its drive is working well;

Sorry, but £1500 quid won't get you far if things start to fail on these cars...

Thats the thing, I've bought in haste before and lived to regret it, nothing take the shine of a new car than a large bill. I think it would certainly pay to get an expert to look the car over for obvious issues. I only do around 3000 miles a year (hopefully more next year with a trip to the Paris & the Nuburgring) so its not cost effective to buy a car that needs loads spending on it. Its been a steep learning curve coming from 2 Japanese cars that cost me little more than an MOT during my ownership!.

Would it be easy to upgrade the command to do Europe as well? it only has the UK maps in it at present ( would it be CD or DVD?)

 

[James Rothwell]

At first I thought it was value then I realised it was a petrol not a diesel. I'm sure for that money you could get one off a forecourt with a warranty?

I haven't look on autotrader or anything but it I'm sure £6k-ish would get you a 8 year old S320 with sensible miles, the warranty will be worth it's weight in gold if the airmatic system fails.

 

[James Rothwell]

Couple of links for you

Slightly older one

Slightly newer one

Nice diesel one

 

[nick mercedes]

Thats the thing, I've bought in haste before and lived to regret it, nothing take the shine of a new car than a large bill.

Don't listen to all the naysayers, trouble with posting any car to the forum is that they all get ripped to bits whatever they are.

If you fancy it, go and have a look and see if it's as good as it's supposed to be.

It's not done huge milage, and the silver and black are a good combination.

 

[Big_Jon]

You have a very good indy up in northfleet/dartford, would they do an inspection for you?

RAC inspections are a total waste of money, they make perfectly good cars sound totally knackered.

If this car is as it should be, it looks a good buy.

 

[crammy69]

You have a very good indy up in northfleet/dartford, would they do an inspection for you?

RAC inspections are a total waste of money, they make perfectly good cars sound totally knackered.

If this car is as it should be, it looks a good buy.

Thats true, but I was thinking perhaps Steve in Maidstone would be closer, Ill give him a bell in the week and see if its the sort of thing he would do, he certainly knows his stuff. Ill try and get down thre in daylight one evening this week first to see if the bodywork is as per the pictures. Meanwhile I shall do some surfing of old posts to get a feel for these cars.

Anyone know how expensive fixing the airmatic could be if it did go wrong?

 

[MBManInKen]

Thats the thing, I've bought in haste before and lived to regret it, nothing take the shine of a new car than a large bill. I think it would certainly pay to get an expert to look the car over for obvious issues.

That's a good idea. I don't agree with others that it's a waste of money. They give a fairly accurate picture of the car's condition, putting you in far better position to make a judgement. These are complex cars and if spending many thousands of pounds, it's best to know exactly what you are getting and where the issues are. These are also very complex cars, so another good reason for getting an informed opinion.

The petrol engines are simpler than the diesels.

It's always better to buy in an informed way and with some rational facts rather than just based on the heart...

Would it be easy to upgrade the command to do Europe as well? it only has the UK maps in it at present ( would it be CD or DVD?)

It's CD based and you can buy the Europe map - PM Alfie, they do them.

 

[Big_Jon]

Mick at Mertech in Chatham is also very good.

I use him.

 

[PBS]

Thats true, but I was thinking perhaps Steve in Maidstone would be closer, Ill give him a bell in the week and see if its the sort of thing he would do, he certainly knows his stuff. Ill try and get down thre in daylight one evening this week first to see if the bodywork is as per the pictures. Meanwhile I shall do some surfing of old posts to get a feel for these cars.

Anyone know how expensive fixing the airmatic could be if it did go wrong?

A leaking NS front stut on my 2003 S350 was over £1000 to supply and fit at a main dealer (just for one) . IIRC they were about £650 each to buy, perhaps plus VAT, can't quite remember.

Don't want to scare you off but not cheap!

 

[kth286]

These cars are tinny compared to the previous S class 140.

It will be worth perhaps £2500 in 2 years.

Go for the 140 in 320 engine size - very solid cars.

 

[crammy69]

These cars are tinny compared to the previous S class 140.

It will be worth perhaps £2500 in 2 years.

Go for the 140 in 320 engine size - very solid cars.

I have been considering the W140 but the Mrs is keen for me to get a more modern shaped car that is a little more presentable, she doesnt really get my old car fetish. As regards tinny, I watched this fifth gear segment below about the W220 vs the newer one and has inspired me to get one...

http://fifthgear.five.tv/jsp/5gmain.jsp?mnk=410&id=296&description=Dirk+Benedict

 

[MBManInKen]

These cars are tinny compared to the previous S class 140.

It will be worth perhaps £2500 in 2 years.

Go for the 140 in 320 engine size - very solid cars.

Having had a W140 myself, the above is perhaps the fashionable view, but it's not really true. The W220 is not as tank like as the W140, but I can assure you it is not tinny at all. My W220 has proven to be very reliable too.

And it's truly a generation further ahead than the W140. Airmatic suspension is a big step forward and so are the rest of the mechanics. Steering has a lot more feel to it and the electronics of the W140 are now well and truly outdated.

Both the W140 and the W220 come to their own in V8 version, but in the W140 in particular the 320 engine is a bit on the small size.

 

[Seamster15]

Jay has a nice looking S320 CDI for sale...

 

[A210AMG]

Car looks nice for the money.

As for depreciation in two years if its worth anything your better off than if you had just bought a C180 Classic brand new and you still have the car.

As long as you put a little asside for any maintenance it should be fine? your millage is very little so I would stick with a petrol rather than derv? My old boss has a S500L and that did 25 to 28mpg pleanty enough given your miles.

Go and see it and have it looked at by someone in the know for piece of mind, if your happy go for it. Informed advice is great but sometimes you just have to go for it as people will always have good and bad to say about what you buy.

I agree the looks of this model is far 'newer' than the previous shape and with a nice private still looks a great car.

 

[V12]

W220 - tinny? huh?