Merc virgin about to pop his cherry.

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Smw

Active Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2016
Messages
99
Location
Notts, UK
Car
W140 S500
Hi all. I've recently been itching to experience a bit of luxury and comfort when I'm driving. I'm a self employed plasterer and am stuck in my Caddy Maxi everyday so I've decided that I want a Mercedes to brighten up my weekend driving. I'm keen on the older cars and have found a 1999, 90k mile S280 in lovely condition. It has FSH which gives me lots of confidence. Are there any serious niggles I should be aware of with this model?

Thanks for your help.

smw
 
lovely cars these mercs, but make sure all the electrics are in working order and check all oil and coolant aswel as gearbox. give it a good drive for any knocks in the suspension. possibly go for the bigger engine model as these i would think would be under powered by the cars weight but thats just my opinion
 
It's from a dealer so I would hope all of this would have been checked previous to being offered for sale. I will check though. I can't really afford to run anything bigger than the 2.8 although I would like to. It's only going to be a weekend treat so I won't be doing too much with it. I'm also trying to find out if I can get Isofix retrofitted. Thanks for your reply.
 
As dr51ngy said, check the levels but also check things have been serviced when they were supposed to be but if you can, do check that the service stamps are genuine as I had a car once that had a false Mercedes dealer service stamp in it!

The service dealer may not be able to give you all the detail (if he can then great!) but should be able to confirm they did the work when the stamp says
 
Thanks for your reply. I'll certain be checking as much as I can.
 
All the above is spot-on.
I echo that the 2.8 is underpowered, family had one from new. They tend to be a poorer spec as well, seeing as they are entry-level ones.
In terms of affordability to run, the 320 will be as good on fuel as it doesn't need to work anywhere near as hard, so if this one isn't absolutely 100% then walk - there are plenty about. My 500 wasn't bad on juice at all, considering.
 
I hadn't even considered that a 2.8 straight 6 could be classed as under powered. I've learned something already. Thanks for the advice.
 
She's a big old car, not a slim one !
You're welcome. Good luck with it.
 
I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow when I go and see it. I'm very excited!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom