Considering 1995 S420 Pros & Cons
 

Hello everyone

Just signed up today. I have the opportunity to purchase a 1995 S420 with about 130,000 miles. My father in law passed away and my mother in law wanted me to sell it for her. I've been driving it and it is in immaculate shape on the inside. A few problems that I had repaired to sell the car - all new brakes, right rear window regulator replaced. Only other problems of note are 1) the Antenna failing to go up when the radio is turned on; and 2) the odometer recently stopped working. ( I would appreciate help on repairing those items as well). Overall it is a solid car with no obvious interior or exterior wear issues. I can purchase for $5,000.00.

1. How reliable is this car going to be?
2. What can I expect from a mileage standpoint?
3. Is it practical to use as an everyday car?

Thanks

$5,000 is probably a fair price for this car.

1995 is the last year of this chassis (W124), and that engine is considered bullet-proof, the best of the best.

You should expect about 17 mpg in town, and 24-25 mpg on the highway.

This car is extremely practical to use everyday, other that it doesn't get the fuel economy of a Civic or Corolla.

But who cares? I drive a V8, too. :D

Disregard all of the above, because Paul S. thought it was a W124 mid sized car (which he owned) but it is not.

It is the big S class car.

The W140 is what the 1995 S420 is.

Whole 'nother type of car entirely. Driving one of them is like dancing with a really fat lady who can dance really, really, well.:D

I've never owned one, but I've heard that the W140 cars have a lot of issues. However, with the low mileage you may get lucky with that one if it was maintained well, and it sounds like it probably was.

Are you sure that it is the radio antenna which fails to extend? I ask because I do not know.

When I bought my '96 E, I also thought that the antenna was defective, but wondered why the radio still worked so well. Turns out that the antenna for the radio is integrated into the rear windscreen, and the antenna in the rear quarter panel is for the (nonexistent) telephone.

Jim's right. I thought it was an E420.

It's an S420, so the only thing that applies is the engine. It's the same engine as the E420, which is a great engine.

The S class cars are not what I'd call economical or cheap to own.

$5,000 is a great price, but it's not what I'd call practical as a daily driver.

Wonderfull cars, if you don't mind putting in premium fuel to the tune of about 16mpg go nuts and drive it every day.

Its an S class, IE its built for people with money, so cheap to buy doesn't translate to cheap to own. W140's are pretty reliable but they are getting old and this example has a few miles, so if you don't do the work yourself expect to spend a couple of grand here and their.


The W140 is a fantastic car, Mercedes spent $1B to design and engineer them and it shows. Considering how cheap you can get them these days its hard to complain about a few repairs here or their.

Hehe, I like that description. I still love the W140 body; it just says "serious." I could probably afford one but as someone said I probably can't afford to own one. Things aren't cheap to fix when you own the top-of-the-line Benz. Make sure the AC condenser (?) got fixed because when that goes you will better hope you arebuddy buddy with a mechanic!

I liked that description, too! Yours works, also.

The threads you can find by using the search function are replete with stories about the cost to run them. If you get a good car, it is not too bad.
But if you get one less than perfect you can get killed on repairs.

The Mercedes Benz mechanics at the dealers used to joke that the air conditioner was hung from a string from the ceiling and the whole car was built around it.

And a LOT of them had bad air conditioners. Book time for labor to r/r them is over 22 hours, and the dealers around here charge $150 an hour or more to work on them, you do the math

I saw one of them in the service department of the Mercedes Dealer about 10 years ago for this problem. It looked a horror: the seats, entire dashboard, windshield, everything was out of the car, the wires remeinded me of what you see when the telephone repair man comes to the Bank to work on the phone system and pulls the panel out of the wall, wires all over the place.

Then there are the problematic vacuum locking and soft close doors and trunks, all the extra fripperies from the W140 trying to out-Japanese the Japanese, depixillating numbers on the dashboard, and the troubles go on and on.

And people wonder why you can get one for $5,000 now, a $100,000 flagship car not so long ago.

That is why. And they love to drink Persian Perrier. Lots of it.

But, they are comfortable, well built, have "presence" of the ambassadorial and dictatorial kind, and for a really, really bad wreck, they are "THE" car to be in.

And STFU about the princess. She wasn't wearing her seatbelt. The one person who did, survived the wreck of that W140 S280

All the people I know who own W140's have been happy with them. I only know of one S500 that needed the evap core done, cost the owner $2,500. He wasn't happy but he wasn't about to dump the car or complain about it because he got it cheap.

That was a nice car I tried to get my friend to buy it, 1999 Grand Edition 100k miles. First owner was a MBCA member.

Remember only the pissed off people post about their cars.

But what will she do in bed? Would "more cushin for the pushin" come into play? Would her oral arguments be good?

I've been driving my ('94 S500 Cpe) for 11 years and it's a fantastic car.

1) Mine is the best MB that I've ever owned and it's been the CHEAPEST to run (in terms of repair)!
2) I get 15.5 to 16.5 typically and 21- 22 mpg hiway.
3) Depends; at gas 0of $4 - $5/ gal it's not going to be a Honda! A fillup will cost $100+.

How true!! LMAO! Last year I had to replace the evap . . see Menu#16. The first Picture says it all!

Your antenna problem is described in Menu#31. Most likely the same problem. You can fix that kind of problem yourself . . .

All things considered it's a wonderful car to drive esp on the freeways . .

IIRC 95 was the last year of power rearview mirror and parking assist rods.

As mentioned, the antenna mast is for the phone. It doesn't extend when the radio's in use.

At 130K miles I expect a bunch of suspension bits need replacement. You should think about a new timing chain at 150K miles.

1) My 95 S420 had a nagging SRS light which would stay on for 2-3 mintues after a start. I think it was caused by a bad driver seat seatbelt clasp. Also nagging check engine lights which I wrote off to a bad engine wiring harness. The 95 is pre-OBD II so you don't need special equipment to read and erase engine codes. Worst problem was an appetite for plugs and wires that ultimately might have been a bad coil. http://v12uberalles.com/ will help you sort closing assist and other issues for not a lot of money. JimF's website is the bible for keeping the car running.

2) My 95 S420 averaged 15mpg city and got a solid 20mpg cruising at 75mph.

3) They don't feel their size. IMO, much lighter and nimbler than a 560SEL. The biggest annoyance is you can't reach a CD if you leave it in the back seat :) Now that I'm in a 124 after a couple of 140s, I realize that I hit some part of the cabin when I shift position on a long trip. Being in the driver seat of a 140 is like having the couch to yourself.

$5000 is a good price for a car with known history. Just the same, check a 97-99 to see if the 5-speed AT and side airbags aren't worth the additional purchase cost.

Sixto
87 300D

Get the exclusive '99 Grand Edition.
 

If you really love the W140, the '99 Grand is the one to get. IF you can find one.

Final W140 built, and only 600 of them were the "Grand". All of them, in Obsidian black, special bird's eye maple inside, those factory AMG wheels, and the unburstable 500 engine.

Far and away, more covetable than the S600.

They are very hard to find, good condition low mile ones especially.