New member with £650 W140!

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a lex

Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Messages
49
Car
W140 S280
Hello all, new to the forum with my latest acquisition. Caution: shed action ahead!

Well, my poor Jeep heap that I bought last October from eBay didnt make it through the MOT and I didnt want to spend anything on it so I spied this wee beauty on eBay middle of last week and patiently bided my time on the auction. With 13s to go I made my single bid of £650 and quite to my delight won!

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

I aimed for this one because the advert was coherently written, the house in the background looked nice and hell I just had a good feeling about it.

This morning I took the train from Hull via London to Andover where I purchased it from a jolly nice retired couple who were selling everything and moving to the South of France in 2 weeks time.

To be honest what greeted me was above my expectations in almost every way, so what do we have?

A 1997 Merecedes W140 S280 in Ruby Red Metallic and Cream Leather. 122k Genuine miles and MOT to Apr 12 and tax until Jan 12.

Ive yet to go through the exact spec list but it seems to have all the usual S Class bits and bobs, the only noticable thing missing are the self-closing doors - but the double glazing is present and correct :hehe:

According to the HPI report it was delivered as 'R493 BUB' but straight away put on to '2 FV'. It stayed with the first owner for 8yrs before being sold and put back on to the original plate. In 2007 it changed hands again and was put on 'R37 OWT' - this chap was a city trader who in 2009 apparently moved to Hong Kong and the car sat in an undergorund parking garage until April 2010 when he gifted it to his aunt (the wife of the chap I bought it from). A year of not moving obviously didnt do it very good and this chap paid £2800 to a Merc specialist to get it back on the road!!! Every fluid/filter and most bushes on the car were changed as well as it having a general check over.

The chap I bought it from then drove it for about a year and in that time replaced the PAS pump, ABS pump and Vacuum air pump, spending aobut another £1-1.5k. In April this year they started their house hunt in France and so the car was SORNed and then retaxed again yesterday for me.

Its come with a folder of receipts and invoices which I have only just started to read through and at the moment ive no idea of the service history, although if the original owner had it on a 50k private plate I doubt he skimped on the servicing.

Faults? Well yes there are some:

- Small hole on off-side front wing - might replace, might not.
- AirCon is cool but not cold.
- Drivers window slows down when dropping towards the end of its travel.
- Drivers side temp increase on the climate control is tempremental.
- It needs a new side light bulb!
- The CD player wasnt working, but I replaced on the way home with a new unit - will need to set it up later.
- The interior needs a bloody good valet!
- Some scratches and scrapes around the body, but in fairness I think most will tidy up.

Ive just driven it from Andover to Hull (280 miles) and bugger me if it wasnt the perfect journey. Smooth, relaxing, no clonks, rattles or vibrations. Engine is strong and pulls well with no smoke etc. Gearbox is very very smooth and it goes and stops in a straight line without pulling one way or another.

The alloys are perfect and the deep 235/60r16 Michelin Primacy all have 5mm+ and give a very cushioning ride.

Initial impressions are great. Even though its only the 280 its 200bhp moves it along well enough - it certainly doesnt feel slow. You feel the weight between 50-70mph although the pickup between 70-90 seems better. On the journey home it averaged just over 30mpg at between 60-80mph.

I appreciate its a bit of an old mans car and the colour isnt great but actually im dead chuffed and I think its going to serve me very well on the daily grind.

Tomorrow morning im setting off on a 2k miles road trip around Scotland - my AA card is at the ready but hoping not to need it. On AUG 15th its coming back with me to NL where its going to live most of the time. Even managed to sort a great insurancr deal for £256 pa!

Some very quick pics, will post more after the road trip.

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The pics really are crap - I will try to get some nice ones in Scotland!
 
Hello and welcome to the forum!

And what a bargain!!!
 
Welcome to the forum :thumb: That is a lot of metal for your money, bargain.
 
Bargain! :)
 
Congratulations, that's a fantastic buy. Well done!
 
I concur with the judging panel....lots of car for the money and i sounds as if previous owners have done the first round of replacement parts..hope you have lots of motoring fun in her.
 
Hi welcome to the forum :thumb: nice looking car for the money enjoy
 
Buys just don't come any better than that. Looks fantastic.
 
Welcome.
What a bargain at that price.
Looks to be the same colour as the C280 I'm collecting on Sunday.
Where did you get such cheap insurance?
I think I'm being done by Budget.
 
Welcome to the forum ,

Looks like a great bargain !

If you're passing Ayrshire way , give us a shout and we can have a mini S Class GTG : there are a few of us about .
 
Thanks all for the welcome,

The insurance is via a broker called Lancaster - they can do an online quote.

The policy is underwritten by Allianz and is called an 'enthusiast' policy.

256pa fully comp is a right bargain at the moment IMO.

Ill take some much better pics on the road and then of the interior when ive given it a bloomin good valet.
 
Hello and welcome......great buy......I just paid £3250 for an R reg CL420.

I do not think you can go wrong......you could spend a couple of grand on the car and still have a bargain.

Mic
 
You can usually cancel a policy and get a pro-rata refund for 'unused' months, sometimes less an 'admin.' fee. Check your policy document.
 
Welcome to the Forum, what a great first post, Looking forward to a report on the 2000 mile trip around Scotland.
Even witrh a few bills coming your way, you are still ahead on the deal.
congrats on a great car.
 

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