S-Class 320Cdi - is a 10 year old car likely a bad idea?

[mystic.bertie]

Guys i have got this notion of buying a 10 year old 2003 s-class 320cdi, my budget wont allow anything newer. Anyway do these cars require a lot of attention and things replaced as they get to this age. Im good at mechanics and dont mind doing fixes to my car, im just a bit reluctant due to the amount of electronic gadgets on this car. Also what is the chances the air suspension will need work, if it has not yet been done?

A garage has a 2003 model for 5k, do you think the warranty would be beneficial to a car like this or would it not cover a lot of electrics and air suspension?

 

[tombo5609]

You may get different points of view from other members but for what it is worth I can only give my experience.
For the last 30 yrs I have driven Mercs from the 123 series throught an SL500, W124s. My last car was an S320, I now have a E270 CDI and every car was in excess of 10yrs old. I have never paid more than 3500 pounds and touch wood have never had any major problems. Let someone else lose the big money. I always assume that I am going to spend a couple of hundred on checks, ie wheel alignment oil, filter change etc. My thinking is that a good 10yr old merc is better than a 2yr old Ford.
Just as an aside, last year (April) I paid 2500pounds for my 2002. S320 petrol that passed its following MOT without an advisory. I only changed it because my yearly mileage had gone up and i needed a diesel.
Just think of driving a luxury Mercedes on Lada money.

Tom

 

[boxbrownie]

As always its the same old story with bought used car warranties, never found one that's worth the paper (even nice glossy flash brochure paper) they are written on.
Be very very careful with a warranty and triple check the small print, The forums are littered with stories of "my warranty claim was turned down!" threads.

Lovely car though, my Lexus is now ten years old with 115k and runs like a dream and has always been reliable.....then again it's a Toyota in fancy dress, not a Merc

Your judgement really, it's what you feel when you look it over and check its history.

 

[Benzowner]

Prior to my current car, which we have had for 2 years, we had a 1997 S Class 320 petrol so the car was 14 years old when we sold it with about 70k on the clock. The main problem with ours, was rust, nothing too serious, but a constant drain on the finances keeping up with it. The only other item that went was the airmatic pump. Not sure if your 2003 will have the same rust problems, and who knows when the airmatic pump is likely to fail. They are nice cars, check it out thoroughly, as you would any car.

 

[W2--]

If you don't do a lot of miles than the 320 petrol is a better bet IMO.

 

[mystic.bertie]

You may get different points of view from other members but for what it is worth I can only give my experience.
For the last 30 yrs I have driven Mercs from the 123 series throught an SL500, W124s. My last car was an S320, I now have a E270 CDI and every car was in excess of 10yrs old. I have never paid more than 3500 pounds and touch wood have never had any major problems. Let someone else lose the big money. I always assume that I am going to spend a couple of hundred on checks, ie wheel alignment oil, filter change etc. My thinking is that a good 10yr old merc is better than a 2yr old Ford.
Just as an aside, last year (April) I paid 2500pounds for my 2002. S320 petrol that passed its following MOT without an advisory. I only changed it because my yearly mileage had gone up and i needed a diesel.
Just think of driving a luxury Mercedes on Lada money.

Tom

Cheers for the reply. Did you find the s-class better than your e-class. Im thinking of an e-class too if i cant dfind a s-class. Is your E the 2003 onwards model? Was the S nicer to drive?

As always its the same old story with bought used car warranties, never found one that's worth the paper (even nice glossy flash brochure paper) they are written on.
Be very very careful with a warranty and triple check the small print, The forums are littered with stories of "my warranty claim was turned down!" threads.

Lovely car though, my Lexus is now ten years old with 115k and runs like a dream and has always been reliable.....then again it's a Toyota in fancy dress, not a Merc

Your judgement really, it's what you feel when you look it over and check its history.

i have had warranties in the past, long long time ago, and its a hit or a miss with what they cover, so its probably not worth paying more for a longer warranty.
I bought bmw 528i years ago, the warranty was pants, then i found out it still has about 6 months of bmw warranty left as the previous owner had kept it going, so it was transferred to me, a had thousands worth of repairs done inc new gearbox, cylinder head gasket, inst panel and so on. It seems to really cover almost everything.

Prior to my current car, which we have had for 2 years, we had a 1997 S Class 320 petrol so the car was 14 years old when we sold it with about 70k on the clock. The main problem with ours, was rust, nothing too serious, but a constant drain on the finances keeping up with it. The only other item that went was the airmatic pump. Not sure if your 2003 will have the same rust problems, and who knows when the airmatic pump is likely to fail. They are nice cars, check it out thoroughly, as you would any car.

i will check it thoroughly, im maybe being a bit paranoid but im worried i buy it and lots of electric things give me problems as it has way more than any other car ive had. Also apart from checking the level of the car when cold, how can i check the suspension is fine? How common is it for the suspension to be faulty at this age. ie is it likely to happen sooner or later or are many cars problem free with the suspension?

If you don't do a lot of miles than the 320 petrol is a better bet IMO.

i would love a petrol but i do 46m a day so i needs a diesel for now.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

If you like to tinker and your budget is £5kish, I'd be inclined towards a W211 E320 CDi Avantgarde; a W220 is a very plush car but they can be riddled with electrical gremlins.

 

[mystic.bertie]

If you like to tinker and your budget is £5kish, I'd be inclined towards a W211 E320 CDi Avantgarde; a W220 is a very plush car but they can be riddled with electrical gremlins.

thats what im worried about, as i dont know the car, its kind of difficult to test everything electrical. Some people will just tell you everything works when its not the case.

How does the E compare to the S to drive?

 

[Deleted member 37751]

How does the E compare to the S to drive?

I've owned both a W220 and seven W211's.

To be pretty blunt, the W220 is like driving a boat compared to a W211, but that is just my opinion; others may tell you the S wafts along but I wasn't a big fan. A W211 sort of wraps around you while also being spacious.

 

[mystic.bertie]

I've owned both a W220 and seven W211's.

To be pretty blunt, the W220 is like driving a boat compared to a W211, but that is just my opinion; others may tell you the S wafts along but I wasn't a big fan. A W211 sort of wraps around you while also being spacious.

the range rover p38 is like a boat, the w220 is not that bad on the road, i want to waft in comfort and i only have a 5k budget, that is very very max. There is not many e-class diesels in my area in scotland.

There is more bmw 530d and jaguar s-type 2.7d cars to choose from.

 

[Seamster15]

Unless low mileage forget the e60 530d, for your price point my money would be on a w211.

 

[mystic.bertie]

Unless low mileage forget the e60 530d, for your price point my money would be on a w211.

why is this are there known reliability issues?

is the w211 a good bet with higher miles then, they seem to hold their price even higher milers.

 

[A210AMG]

What you really want is a S211 E320Cdi....

 

[Gollom]

What you really want is a S211 E320Cdi....

Why is that? Do you happen to have a good example to sell? :bannana::bannana:

 

[Spin_bowler]

You might get lucky with a W220 at the 5K mark or it might cause you sleepless nights. I ran an S320 petrol for a couple of years and got away with it, not too many big bills, but the airmatic pump did fail twice.

Given your comments about no leeway in budget and how 46 miles a day means you need diesel I think you should err on the side of caution and forget all about an S at this level. You'd be better off taking your chances at the £2k end of the market and seeing if you get lucky, if it all goes wrong at least you could buy a Fiesta or similar to get you to work and back.

Personally I think £5K is a terrible budget for an S-Class, it's too much money to take on the chin and walk away if something major goes pop but not enough to get one that'll be guaranteed solid for any period of time.

Be wary of rot. These things RUST.

 

[W2--]

why is this are there known reliability issues?

is the w211 a good bet with higher miles then, they seem to hold their price even higher milers.

BMW e60 don't waft. The ride is poor, cars like Porsche, Aston have better ride than that!

But they do handle pretty good when you are on your own and wanting a bit of fun.

 

[John Jones Jr]

You might get lucky with a W220 at the 5K mark or it might cause you sleepless nights. I ran an S320 petrol for a couple of years and got away with it, not too many big bills, but the airmatic pump did fail twice.

Given your comments about no leeway in budget and how 46 miles a day means you need diesel I think you should err on the side of caution and forget all about an S at this level. You'd be better off taking your chances at the £2k end of the market and seeing if you get lucky, if it all goes wrong at least you could buy a Fiesta or similar to get you to work and back.

Personally I think £5K is a terrible budget for an S-Class, it's too much money to take on the chin and walk away if something major goes pop but not enough to get one that'll be guaranteed solid for any period of time.

Be wary of rot. These things RUST.

^^^Listen to this man.

 

[R120]

5k will get you a lovely W126 though! I ran an 84' 420 SEL as a daily driver for 2 years, 380k on the clock, no rust and everything worked. Was written off in the flooding of 97.

Happy days.

 

[tombo5609]

With regards to your question regarding S class V E Class. I found them two different beasts. The sheer luxury of the S class where hard to beat and i loved driving it. My journeys where mainly from southern france to Merseyside and you could not beat it for compfort.
After selling my place in France my mileage was mainly local and it is here that I found the fuel consumption started to show itself, down from 30+mpg to 20+ mpg.
I have had the E270CDI for 5 months and enjoy the economy and find it more practical but for pure luxury and self indulgence go for the S class.

 

[mystic.bertie]

ok guys after reading what you all said i think ill pass on the s-class. I get the impression i will be increasing my chances of having an unreliable car. I will have a look for the e-class diesels but where i live they are few and far between.