Low Mileage W140

[WDB124066]

Mercedes-Benz 500 SE 1993 | Trade Me

 

[WDB124066]

Nightmare in disguise or a reliable runner...

What goes wrong with these...?

Mercedes-Benz Other CL600 V12 1999 | Trade Me

 

[grober]

Ignition coil cassettes[ if it has them ??]- self leveling hydraulic suspension- but the biggie is the potential for fried insulation on the engine wiring and throttle bodies etc. There's a lot of heat under that bonnet

 

[WDB124066]

Does the fried insulation affect the post 1997 cars grober - the ones without the bio-insulation...??

 

[grober]

I think its just a rate related thing the bio- stuff goes much faster but I reckon it all goes eventually if it gets hot enough for long enough .
That car has fairly low mileage and provided it hasn't just tootled around town at low speed cooking the wiring and been in a temperate climate environment rather than a tropical one then might be fine. I would certainly be giving the engine compartment wiring a very close inspection and checking for any weird electrical glitches if you were thinking of purchasing

 

[millo777]

I've never heard of a 97 or later w140 having wiring harness issues. I used my S600 in Dubai as a daily driver for 2 years without any problems despite the 45c ambient temperatures. The soy bean wiring was still used on the wing mirrors even on the later cars, and the auto dim versions are eye wateringly expensive to replace.

 

[grober]

I've never heard of a 97 or later w140 having wiring harness issues. I used my S600 in Dubai as a daily driver for 2 years without any problems despite the 45c ambient temperatures. The soy bean wiring was still used on the wing mirrors even on the later cars, and the auto dim versions are eye wateringly expensive to replace.

Well that's good news as the OP seems to be looking at a 1999 CAR.

 

[WDB124066]

So pretty much bullet proof so long as the rear SLS holds up, or have I got my rose tinted glasses on...?

 

[millo777]

I still think the w140 is the best car MB ever built, and thats coming from a w124 fan boy.

Don't be under any mis conceptions about running costs though. The m120 is a great engine, it's 2 m104s ona common crank afterall. But thats means 2 of everything, 2 mafs, 2 air filters, 3 ecus (1 for each bank of cylinders and 1 to synch them) etc etc

They have a front sub frame as a well as a rear, which at this age may need re bushing.

The only real problem I ever had was rear suspension, due to driving the car with shot spheres. The rear struts have rose joints on the bottom mounting which are not replaceable. When the car starts clunking at the rear, it needs new struts. Currently about £250 each from Sachs, so not too bad in the scheme of things.

The double glazed windows are quite heavy, so it's not uncommon to need new regulators on the front windows.

After the driving a v12, it's tough going back to a 6, and you will weep at the filling station. 90 litres gets me 300 miles. You've been warned!