I have an S320 which is very cheap to maintain and operate. Its ultra comfy on the highway and is rather fuel efficent for its size. The people who post stuff about the 140 being expensive to own and operate are people who don't have respect for the cars and are not willing to learn about their features and technolgy (ie. they should be driving japanese to begin with). 140's are complicated cars and if you buy one you should plan on learning about it. Bringing it straight to the dealership when trouble comes your way is a great way to part with thousands of dollars.

I personally would not buy an S500. There are a few reasons. The S500 has a big V8 engine in it which in itself will be more intensive to maintain than the 6 cylender. When the top end overhaul time comes around its 2 times as expensive because there are two heads rather than one. The 6 has plenty of power and gets better fuel economy. The S500's also commonly come with rear A/C (coolant lines run under the car and can corrode and cause your whole system to fail) and ADS which are options that I would avoid. ADS which is the Adaptive suspension does not give any better ride quality than the standard suspension and adds to the complexity of the car. Each one of the "shocks" in the ADS system costs about $1000 each. The shocks for the standard suspension are $130 each. Of course we won't even mention the computer that controls ADS that most scanners can't read codes from.

If your going to go with a 140 go late model. The 1992-1995 models have biodegradable wiring harnesses that are a pain to deal with. Additionally 1996 and newer 140's have OBDII that allows you to buy a cheap scanner for most engine related issues. Additionally the 1995 and older cars have a lot of much more complicated accessories that break and are very expensive to repair. They also got a lot of the bugs out of the 140 in the later cars. Evaporator failures (a common ailment of 140's) are quite uncommon on 1996 and later cars. The later models also give you a nicer 14 speaker bose audio system with 4 deckmounted subs and Tweeters in the rear view mirror housing. You also get more up to date interior colors and better exterior styling that makes the car look less massive.

There is NOTHING on the planet that rides better than a well maintained 140 chassis car. My friend's 2006 Lexus LS430 has a rough ride in comparision to my 140 that needs some minor front end service. Even the 220's seem cheap in comparison to a 140 due to the lack of double pane glass and lighter weight construction. The 140 seems like a bank vault in comparison to any car on the market.

The 140 was such a wonderful design that a Chinese firm has bought some of the plans from Mercedes Benz and is producing a similar car with some different cosmetics. I forget the name of the company but it says something when a design that was eliminated several years previously is still being produced.

In my opinion the 140 chassis was the last car that Mercedes Benz ever produced. Mercedes Benz Died at the turn of the 21's century and the company that exists now is just using the old companies reputation to sell inferior cars.