Hi folks, your views and help on model numbers....

[silverback mike]

I've tried googling, to no avail.

Couple of things..

Firstly, I'm after the model number for the s-class model, the large one that was around mid to late 90's as I'm tempted with an S320 Longwheelbase which a friend is selling.

It is a late N reg, 150k, full merc history, immaculate in every way. The owner is as fastidious as they come, he will let me have it for £3000, full MOT taxed for 4 months, it's got every single option known to man, and is genuinely a nice one.

Yes, it's a gert big panzer, and won't go that well, but it's one heck of a big safe family wagon for the money. It's certainly got me thinking, especially as I need something safe for the family as I'm in legal wranglings with the dealer who sold me my current BMW.

Worth a punt?

Thanks in advance,
Mike.

[steve-p]

I think that's the W140 you are referring to:

www.benzworld.org/forums/w140-s-class/1184780-official-w140-picture-thread.html

[silverback mike]

Thank you Steve, that's it.

[dazren]

Mike if you were't happy with the 540 for fuel consumption, I'd steer away from petrol S classes. I used to have a 96 S500L immaculate with FSH, when I sold it in April 05, trade bids varied from £3.5 - £6k with only 72k miles on it.

DAZ

(If you are serious about the S-class make sure the aircon works properly.)

Edited by dazren on Monday 24th July 12:18

[silverback mike]

Hi Daz, I'm in a bit of a quandry at the moment, without a decent family car - the 535i has been clocked so I'm not driving it and taking the dealer to court / trading standards.

The tvr can't fit the kids in and I have an astra turbo diesel as the tvr support vehicle - not wifeys favourite chariot

The s320 seems a great car, which basically I can pay for out of savings whilst the 535 shenanigans gets sorted. Fuel consumption....well, it won't do that many miles and if it is on a par with the 535 ish...it's ok. I must confess to really liking the solidity and styling of them. I have always been equally a merc and bmw fan.

Aircon works, that's another thing, the 535's has packed up and in this weather

[dazren]

One thing I'd be wary of is the sheer size of the car. Although I enjoyed driving the car for a number of years I'd frequently miss out on parking spaces around town which annnoyed the hell out of me.

DAZ

[silverback mike]

Very valid point. It's the longwheelbase model as well. Mind you, wifey only ever parks in the mall. Was yours the lwb?

Edited by silverback mike on Monday 24th July 12:54

[Church]

I loved my 93 S500 and for the money they are possibly the best value cars available??

Mine had done 170k when I got rid of it (only ran it a year or so) and only problem I had was the original alarm went haywire immobilising it so for <£300 had a new system fitted. Other than that it was bullet proof.

So go for it, as long as its good as you say it is you won't lose any money as someone else will appreciate it the same way you do.

[silverback mike]

cheers.

[iluvmercs]

We have a 'C140' CL420 (The coupe equivalent to the W140).

We've had it 6 years and and driven 40,000 miles in it, with absolutely no problems. Just regular servicing at a Mercedes Specialist.

If you get an S500, you'll certainly enjoy the experience

Darren

[silverback mike]

That's good to hear Darren, however this one is only an S320, I'm wondering if it has enough power to move the thing!

[steve-p]

The 3.2 engine moves the E class along very nicely, enough to surprise the odd hot hatch, so even allowing for the extra weight over the E (which itself weighs 1700kg or something) I should think it would be OK. Would that be the straight six or V6? My E has the V6 but the straight six had a similar power output. The changeover point was '97 I think.

[silverback mike]

I think it's the straight six...not too sure though.

[iluvmercs]

silverback mike said:

That's good to hear Darren, however this one is only an S320, I'm wondering if it has enough power to move the thing!

Apologies....I didn't read the initial thread properly!

Seeing as its a 320 you're after, I can add a little more.....I own an E-Class Coupe which is has the 320 engine.

The S320 is indeed a straight 6, 3199cc, 24v. 220bhp, 219lb/ft torque. It should be more than enough to pull the S-Class along, and cruise nicely all day well into naughy numbers.
These are very strong engines and if maintained properly should just keep going and going and going and going.....
I would assume the engine in the S320 can suffer from the same well-known problems as the E320 engine (being the same and and all ) The main one to look out for is an oil from the back of rocker cover, along with excess coolant/oil usage....this would imply a head gasket needs replacing (£600-1000 job on my E-Class)

My car weighs 1490kg and I have timed the sprint to 60mph in about 7 secs, and Vmax'ed it at about 145-150 on a flat road.

The S320 standard wheel base in 1890kg, with the long base an extra 10kg. So with that in mind, your still going to get a reasonable performer, getting you from A to B confortably and swiftly

Even though I now know its the S320, my comment still stands! You will enjoy ownership of a W140

Darren

Edited by iluvmercs on Tuesday 25th July 11:49

[pentoman]

The W140 is regarded by many as the ultimate S-class - the replacement was cut-down, smaller, in many ways less fancy, and the 500 and 600 models became less powerful.

It can therefore go wrong and/or be expensive to fix. However with a good garage and some useful internet resources (www.mercedesshop.com) it shouldn't be too much worse than other Mercs, and probably better than a Jag or BMW (no strong basis for that comment by the way!) There are a number of things to watch for though that I have heard about:

Air con/heating - look for puddles in footwell. Leaky heater matrix is very expensive to fix as the whole dash has to come out.
Door closing - if it has the auto-closing doors, the pumps regularly fail and are expensive to replace. Or you can just slam the doors...
Suspension - if the ride is stiff it probably needs new spheres, like a Citroen.

The 320 engine is in less model Mercedes, so shouldn't have any really expensive parts or anything, compared to the V8's on which some things could be pricey.

But for £3000 I guess you can't really go wrong. I guess you could get something boring like an E300 turbodiesel instead but that would be nothing like as cool.


Lastly, go here: www.mercedes-seite.de/mercedes/pkw/index.html
for a full details on the model.

[silverback mike]

Thank you very much for the input chaps, much appreciated. I'll keep you posted!
I think wifey may have an issue with the gargantuan size, she is giving me negative eyebrow lifts, so for once in my life I'm going to get her in the car giving it a bit of stick before I commit.

Thanks again fellas.

[silverback mike]

Just a quick update for you chaps...
Mrs silverback did try the car for size, she didn't see the need for something so large. And seeing as she was going to be the main driver we decided not to go for it, even though it was a marvellous car for the money...

Looks like it's a C280 sport that's top of the list. It tends to tick the majority of boxes.....however she has taken a worrying liking to the new shape vw beetle