Going S-Class Hunting

[Alex225]

Well I think the time has come for me to part with my W211 and let it make way for a W221 S Class. This will likely be the last diesel car I own but ultimately I'll probably keep it at least 4-5 years much as I have with my E320. I'm looking at pre-face lift S320 models and to be honest my criteria is probably fairly simplistic, good condition and ideally memory seats, sunroof and preferably a decent set of wheels.

So I've found this one within my price range, relatively low mileage, appears in good condition and has the kind of options I want.

Now my only concern is two gaps in the service history. On paper it seems it may have missed a service in 2012 which is odd as it was serviced by Mercedes right up to 25k, then a gap until it's service in 2013 at 45k. The other gap is 2018 but the car only covered 6k between services so less of a worry.

23/03/2009 – Mercedes Dartford @ 8125
31/03/2010 – Mercedes Dartford @ 16446
16/03/2011 – Mercedes Dartford @ 25140
05/04/2013 – Specialist. Keys Bexleyheath @ 45879
03/04/2014 – Mercedes Ashford @ 51470
14/04/2015 – Mercedes Ashford @ 55379
16/03/2016 – Mercedes Canterbury @ 56677
14/03/2017 – Indi @ 60458
10/07/2019 – Mercedes Canterbury @ 66142

I'm still keen to see the car but any tips, advice or thoughts are welcome.

 

[clk320x]

Have you got a link to the ad?

 

[Alex225]

I do, from Autotrader so hope this works :

Auto Trader logo

 

[zipdip]

Well I think it is a good car,the sun roof was a extra, along with the headlight washers,decent low mileage for the year,does not seem to have the bubble in the leather on the centre are rest quiet common on these cars,check to see if it has a puck in the center armrest compartment,this is the only way you will be able to connect your phone to the car,give it a test run and make certain the electronic parking brake works ok,it is to the right of the igniton key, many owners just use the button on the end of the gear selector that just puts a prawl into the gearbox and this tends to sieze up the electronic brake from lack of use,it loks like a decent S with a few goodies,would not worry about missing a year on the service.

 

[Alex225]

Thanks Zipdip. I did kinda think the same and it's highly likely it had a service in between but there's no proof of it. Despite the mileage it appears to have been serviced regularly in every other respect. I assume the service intervals on these is 12k/12 months or similar?

I will definitely check the parking brake, I knew it had an electronic one but didn't realise it was a separate button for that. Kind of assumed the P would do both but then again I've not looked round an S Class as yet. Good info to know.

 

[Deleted member 150136]

The front drivers side picture looks like the bonnet,bumper and wing are all different shades.
My old w221 in silver had a different shade of bonnet, I thought I could live with it but couldn't so had to get it painted.
Whether it's a silver S class thing?

 

[SmartAmg]

Got to say, that seems like a lot of motor for the money.

 

[SmartAmg]

Got to say, that seems like a lot of motor for the money.

The front drivers side picture looks like the bonnet,bumper and wing are all different shades.
My old w221 in silver had a different shade of bonnet, I thought I could live with it but couldn't so had to get it painted.
Whether it's a silver S class thing?

Sure that's not the lighting in the showroom?

 

[Deleted member 150136]

Picture 7.
I'd say the bumper is a different shade.

 

[Deleted member 149005]

Again might be a trick of the light, but does it look lower on the near side rear than the offside rear? The nsr wheel looks further into the arch?

 

[Alex225]

...,check to see if it has a puck in the center armrest compartment,this is the only way you will be able to connect your phone to the car...

I meant to reply to this point. Yeah I'll have a check of that although in my W211 there's no connectivity for my phone but I get by haha.

I'll just be grateful for MP3/USB connectivity. I'm assuming that the CD changer can play MP3 CDs or even DVDs?

Got to say, that seems like a lot of motor for the money.

It's mad really! That said the salesman I spoke to was surprisingly honest about everything I asked. Initially he spoke as if they had more than one S Class in but when he checked, he said because it's such a niche car they wouldn't generally have two of a car like this in stock. I'm hoping that, that may give me leverage on the price but we'll see.

Got to say, that seems like a lot of motor for the money.

Sure that's not the lighting in the showroom?

I can't say I'd seen it as an obvious difference but I'll certainly look in better light as the showroom lights may make the difference. I wouldn't be surprised if the car has had some paint in it's time but I know silver is hard to match so will be mindful.

Got to say, that seems like a lot of motor for the money.

It's mad really! That said the salesman I spoke to was surprisingly honest about everything I asked. Initially he spoke as if they had more than one S Class in but when he checked, he said because it's such a niche car they wouldn't generally have two of a car like this in stock. I'm hoping that, that may give me leverage on the price but we'll see.

Got to say, that seems like a lot of motor for the money.

Sure that's not the lighting in the showroom?

I can't say I'd seen it as an obvious difference but I'll certainly look in better light as the showroom lights may make the difference. I wouldn't be surprised if the car has had some paint in it's time but I know silver is hard to match so will be mindful.

Again might be a trick of the light, but does it look lower on the near side rear than the offside rear? The nsr wheel looks further into the arch?

I spotted that as well, I will be checking that out when I see it as well.

I'm aware it has Airmatic suspension and I know with my E Class that can often look different. Then once it's got moving and then parked up it levels out properly. I want to ensure it's not got any leaks there.

 

[zipdip]

The one thing it seems to be missing is the revercing camera,which can be retro fitted,the other good point about this vintage S is the sat nav does not cost a fortune to update ,put the air con on and make sure it is cold, if it is not cold they will recharge it,but make certain it is cold when you come to pick the car up, as at this age the condensors go and so a recharge will only last a day or so, condensors are about £300 fitted,so not that expensive,the W221 is dropping in price,the dealer is asking about right for the mileage,but of course you can always haggle ,but would keep the warranty in any negotiations,

 

[zipdip]

Batteries are the big thing with this car,you have two batteries the big one behind the rear seat panel in the boot does most of the electricals,your car has the comfort setting where the the steering wheel moves up and the drivers seat back when you want to exit the car if it has been chosen in the computer can drag a failing battery down very easily ,check the fog lights at the bottom of the front bumper they sometimes get cracked and are a pain to replace.

 

[Alex225]

More helpful replies, thanks guys.

I noted the potential lack of reversing camera. I know I'm a bit of Luddite but as long as it's got parking sensors and LEDs the camera would just be a real plus.

Batteries wise, I've been haunted by them in my W211 haha. It killed off two, I replaced the front one and the back on is much larger than the first one fitted. I still keep it on a C-Tek when I'm not using it though. Had the same issue with my fog lights too, one randomly smashed on the E Class so good point to note.

 

[John]

It does look lopsided to me as well but it could be OK.

I remember my 211 55 would lean to the left slightly on full left lock, and did the same on the right but not loads. This S is doing the opposite though.

I've noticed lots of cars around these days have body-coloured bumpers which don't match the body colour and are out by a shade or two. I presumed it was to do with the type of paint covering the bumper being different to the car body. Not sure though. Virtually every car in our work car park has the mismatch so I presume it's been the norm for a while now.

Parking brake is done by a pull lever on the lower right of the dash near where your right knee would be. You can hear it operate too.

I found the OEM rear parking camera a pain on this platform as it got grubby easily so I had to keep cleaning it as I got out to open my garage door. Newer platform ones are covered over when not in use.

There is a lot of wear on that driver seat bolster which seems a bit odd considering the mileage but the service history etc. seems to add up.

Hopefully it wasn't clocked between services / MOTs so maybe look for other signs of wear!

 

[Deleted member 149005]

The seat wear might be indicative of lots of short trips, consistent with the (relatively) low mileage?

There again it is 12 years old..

 

[Teego]

Not sure I'd worry too much about the service gap in 2012. Mileage still only 10k pa. It's had 4 MB dealer services since then I would think any problems would have been picked up. Seller's HPI check shows no mileage discrepancy. If you had the reg no you could check the MOT history with DVLA.
It's got to be worth a test drive. You might make a cheeky offer and get it.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

You got a fine set of points of advice there.

I had a similar S500 from 21,000 to 55,000 miles and it was absolutely fault-free, with the one exeption of the parking brake issue outlined above. Previous owner / chauffeur had never used the think so it seized, costing me about a grand to replace (mainly parts).

Generally there are some fabulous W221's around that have been barely used by well-off owners. Just avoid ex-carriage trade cars. There are lots of W221's with pure main dealer histories... which is nice

As discussed above the only way to check paint is visually in daylight. These days, more than ever, people can disguise faults and, on the other side, poor photography can suggest faults that aren't there.

In general, when you see an older car like this, just be pedantic and sit in it for a while checking systematically that everything works - not just the ice-cold air con. It doesn't take long and might save you £500 on sunroof that sticks or a boot release that's stopped working.

In general, an S class shouldn't cost more to run than an E class.

 

[Alex225]

Yeah I'll definitely be giving the paintwork a thorough look over. I've heard all sorts of reasons why bumpers can look different, can be how it's faded compared to other panels etc. Some people will be certain it doesn't make a difference others will say it could. I'm of the mindset that it's 12 years old, if it's had a bit of paint for a scuff fine, if the panels are all different shades or it's had cr*p repairs I'll give it a miss.

My main two items to check really are the drivers seat, I noticed some wear on the bolster too. I assume these have faux leather similar to my E Class and in 140k that's aged very well. That said the last 40k I've done and that's literally been me sat on my butt going in virtually a straight line. If I'd been in and out the car in jeans all the time, then it could wear more. The rest of the car may be more indicative of unexpected wear and tear. On the flip side, someone sitting in the chair heavily will also do it. My other half's SL's seat was quite worn when she got that with about 70k on, can only assume that was short drives as the seat was far more worn again than my E Class.

Lastly that suspension as well. If they've had the car sat around, I'd expect the air ride to not have settled if they literally moved it inside and took photos. The test will be when I start it up and test it out properly.

To be fair, being a garage they have a legal obligation to sell something fit for purpose. Plus they seem to pride themselves on their service and local reputation so you'd hope they wouldn't try and pass on a lemon knowingly.

 

[Deleted member 149005]

The paint could well be original - the shade can vary depending on the material it is on...plastic, metal etc.

This can be particularly noticeable under lights such as street lights, fuel forecourt...