S Class W140 V140 Looking To Buy

[teemyob]

Hello All,

Back in 2000 I had a mint 1996 (P) S280, big spec ex demo/1 owner.

Paid £19k at an MB Dealer and had sheer hell with it. I ended up parking it outside the dealers with noticies in the window detailing the catalogue of errors.

But, as it was such a lovely car, I am looking for another! Especially now the prices are so fairly low.

I am leaning towards an S320 or S320L with high Spec. I saw

Mercedes-Benz S 320 Lwb Auto With Private Plate | eBay Also seen a Black S420, but they want too much money for that.

Nice 100,000 miles but very high spec. Sold before I could even get to see it!

But in reality, my budget is £1500 - £2000 and I would look to spend £1,000 on an LPG Conversion.

Initially, I think the car will be a weekend tootle about but then some higher miles might come later, hence get the LPG done now.

I am wanting fairly high spec vehicle, seats, roof PDC etc.

So if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to comment. I have read through similar posts on here. But mostly out-of-date now.

Thanks,

TM

 

[millo777]

There are plenty of nice w140s out there for not much money, but I'd suggest you keep at least £1k in hand for a full service and sorting the inevitable deferred maintenance.

If you do a search on here and other forums you'll find plenty of info on what to look out and check. The most important being head gasket failures on the 6 cylinder cars, and degrading wiring harness' on all cars up to my 1996.

Get a long wheelbase version as they look better, and the best spec you can find, but test every button as fixing things can get expensive.

 

[neilrr]

Anyone know what the definition of insanity is?

 

[Howard]

That's like divorcing a woman because she cheats on you and steals all your money and then remarrying her !

Madness

 

[teemyob]

thanks you

There are plenty of nice w140s out there for not much money, but I'd suggest you keep at least £1k in hand for a full service and sorting the inevitable deferred maintenance.

If you do a search on here and other forums you'll find plenty of info on what to look out and check. The most important being head gasket failures on the 6 cylinder cars, and degrading wiring harness' on all cars up to my 1996.

Get a long wheelbase version as they look better, and the best spec you can find, but test every button as fixing things can get expensive.

Thank you.

I also saw Thiis

But not sure I could live with that Dash colour

 

[clk208]

Paid £19k at an MB Dealer and had sheer hell with it.

Out of interest what problems did you have with the car at the time?

I guess by this age these cars will have had lots of issues ironed out, providing they aren't regularly recurring problems they could be a better buy at this end of the market. At least they are disposable if you don't have much money tied up in them

Certainly an imposing looking car.

 

[teemyob]

Problems

Out of interest what problems did you have with the car at the time?

I guess by this age these cars will have had lots of issues ironed out, providing they aren't regularly recurring problems they could be a better buy at this end of the market. At least they are disposable if you don't have much money tied up in them

Certainly an imposing looking car.

Where do I start?

Dealer sold me car knowing full well head gasket was bill hooxed. Then had major issues with many minor.

They eventually after numerous visits replaced the gearbox but failed to do the job properly which was a another issue, they seemed to not know what they were doing.

This was proved when the gearbox replacement was a botched job and the car was involved in an incident that could have proved fatal.

Taking the car to an alternative garage revealed the serious bad workmanship.

Story is long and drawn out.

TM

 

[brigadier]

Why not look for s500? Usually they had better spec and the engine is more suitable for this type of car. If you plan to convert it to LPG won't make much difference in economy.

 

[millo777]

Search for posts by Borys as I seem to remember he previous had an S500 with lpg conversion and posted some mpg/running cost figures.

The grey car in the ad you linked to looks great, but thats the first one I've seen with manual seat adjustment!

I'm sure you'll have your pick of many though.

 

[Tan]

I have an S280 that belonged to my late father, we have had this car since it was a few years old and has been great. Although not the best specced car in the world, it has much less to go wrong.

As your looking at converting it to LPG, I agree with previous comments that an S500 would be a better choice and would be much better spec'd.

Options to have would be Parktronic, Xenons, Folding Mirrors, Sunroof and Bose. The soft close doors also felt like a gimmick and are quite troublesome.

Good luck with your search and enjoy when you get one.

I hope to have ours back on the road very soon, I miss driving it so much.

Sent from my iPhone using MBClub UK

 

[brigadier]

I found that one of the hardest spec to find is ESP on these.

 

[teemyob]

Esp

I found that one of the hardest spec to find is ESP on these.

I think ESP was standard on all models from December 1996.

On a different note: 3 Mercedes Salesmen, 1 related to me, another a mate and another who I know. All told me to buy an Audi A8 instead. Now there is a money pit.

 

[teemyob]

sell it

Search for posts by Borys as I seem to remember he previous had an S500 with lpg conversion and posted some mpg/running cost figures.

The grey car in the ad you linked to looks great, but thats the first one I've seen with manual seat adjustment!

I'm sure you'll have your pick of many though.

I found http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/classifieds-cars-sale/127968-mercedes-s500l-lpg.html

Did he sell it?

 

[brigadier]

Borys sold his but told me new owner wanted to sell, so maybe worth to send him a PM.

Esp was introduced in 1996, but only standard in S600, maybe, as only 1 of 6 post 1996 cars had it.

 

[teemyob]

s500

Decided on an S500 but cannot find anything decent anywhere.

AM I too late?

TM

 

[brigadier]

I've seen some good examples not too long ago for sale, but a good condition w140 is becoming a rare find, you're right, because of the upkeep costs of this car compared with purchase costs these days. However don't give up hope, I'm sure there is a nice example to be found.

This one looks ok in pictures, no mention of rust and has the two tone nappa usually found on s600's
1996 MERCEDES S500 AUTO Auto | eBay

 

[teemyob]

still looking

Still no luck

MERCEDES BENZ S500L 40,000 WARRANTED MILES 1 OWNER FULL MERCEDES SERVICE HISTORY | eBay

Too dear, been told to avoid pre 1997 due to wiring harness issues.

Also found an S420 but it is gold and beige!

TM

 

[V12]

My dad has just picked up a 1997/1998 S280 with 77, 000miles on it.

It's perfect inside and drives faultlessly. One downside, someone painted the bonnet, roof and bootlid silver whilst the rest of the bodywork is red. I guess to imitate a maybach style paint job

He's putting it through an MOT and will put it up for sale soon at sensible money.

Pm me if you want more info/contact details.

 

[joecash]

How much rust do you want with it?

 

[clk208]

Still no luck

MERCEDES BENZ S500L 40,000 WARRANTED MILES 1 OWNER FULL MERCEDES SERVICE HISTORY | eBay

Too dear, been told to avoid pre 1997 due to wiring harness issues.



TM

This looks stunning. Is the wiring harness that much of an issue? Thought spare harnesses were readily available, albeit a few quid to fit..