Buying a W140 coupe this week

[philr1981]

Hello All

I plan on buying either a 1998 500 or a 1996 600 during this week. From what I have seen and been told, both are in very good condition and prices and mileages are similar.

Fuel consumption is not a factor as usage will be extremely low.

Can anyone help me out with hints on what to look for and if I should avoid one vs the other?

The 600 is a jap import (2010) as according to the dealer it was never available in the UK as a new car. No history prior to 2010 but tracked down both prior owners and both suggest it is a very straight car. The 500 is a regular UK car.

Cheers in advance.

 

[guydewdney]

CL600 was available. Early cars suffer from engine loom degradation, the plastic gets brittle with heat znd starts shorting out.

stunning cars. Miss mine.

 

[Stratman]

The V12 (600) coils are a known weakness and cost a fortune to replace. The V8 (500) engine is as near to bulletproof as any engine can be.

In case you haven't looked at it, here's a link to the Wikipedia W140 page

 

[guydewdney]

Oil feed to camshafts went,didnt it? Some bloke in the states - k9jrf or something like that had a blog.

edit
http://k6jrf.com/MB_S500.html

 

[noy91]

The V12 (600) coils are a known weakness and cost a fortune to replace.

I was under the impression that was only on the 3-valve twin spark V12s, not the M120?

 

[dinoy]

checkout front wing they rust and hard to find and expensive new

 

[philr1981]

Thank you all. The wiring loom has definitely been replaced in the last month.

Regarding any other issues mentioned (or anything else for that matter) is there any symptoms or signs that I should be on the look out for and could potentially use as a lever to get a discount?

Regarding the coil failure, what ball park price wise?

 

[philr1981]

I noticed that the width of the vehicle is listed as 1895mm...will this include the door mirrors and will the car fit into a normal garage door? It's a double inside so no problem once in)

Cheers

 

[Stratman]

I think Noy91 is right, it's the later V12s with the automatic cylinder shutoff that have the coil problems.

The earlier 48 valve engine just suffers from crispy looms

 

[MicB]

I had to let my CL420 go due to excessive corrosion to the inner front wings around the struts.

Wonderful cars but not immune to corrosion......gentleman's carriages intended for wafting from A to B.

Mic

 

[SL300-24]

The V12 M120 has 12 coil packs that sit on top of the spark plugs. They do occasionally go but are about £50 each to replace and an easy job, so not too expensive.