Like all cars they can be expensive or cheap to own. My neighbor has had 3 of them and just got a W220. His first one ran it about 80k. Nothing but issues. The second and third one he got ran fine all the way threw 100k. He now has a 2002 S600 and loves it more then his W140.

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2015 ML350 4Matic. Wifes DD
2015 GLK350 4Matic. My winter DD
2012 E350 4Matic. Road Trip car
2009 CLK350 Coupe Designo.Kleemann Tune For nice days/DD
2006 CL600. V12.Eurocharged Tune. Enough said
2005 CLK55 AMG Coupe.Kleemann Tune. For the sound and style
2004 CLK320 Cabriolet. 2005+ Interior swap. For the sunny Florida days & beach days

Oh wow...yea, don't buy any car sight unseen unless it's a deal you just can't pass up! Even then it's worth it to go and look!

I honestly would look at that 560SEL you were talking about that's local.

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Current cars:
2000 ML55 AMG, 174k miles
2003 C240 T-Modell, 202k miles
1995 S320, 207k Miles

Yeah, well look at the photo and give me your opinion.... worth $2100?

The people with the 560SEL work odd hours and I have not been able to see it... really not wanting a V8 W126 anyway. She said one front window off the track and the other does not work. Also, it has high miles and timing chain last change is unknown. She also said a radiator hose had sprang a leak (probably simple, but who knows, it could be the radiator and it has 260K miles! $2000 nego, but this probably would be a $$$$ car to repair.

Whoa...260k miles? No thanks...

That 300SEL looks great! I'd say its worth at least $1200. You could even polish up the paint, maybe repaint the wheels, and sell it for more! I sold mine with destroyed front seats, and bad valve seals (2 quarts every 1000 miles) :O for $2000.

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Current cars:
2000 ML55 AMG, 174k miles
2003 C240 T-Modell, 202k miles
1995 S320, 207k Miles

Yeah, when she replied 260K, that was an immediate decision of no.

He wants $2100. Did you mean to put $2100, or really mean $1200?

I thought I read $1200 for some reason... even at $2100 it still looks to be worth it...how many miles are on it?

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Current cars:
2000 ML55 AMG, 174k miles
2003 C240 T-Modell, 202k miles
1995 S320, 207k Miles

149K miles. Clean Carfax - always a southeastern car - no rust at all. Garage kept, hence the nice interior. Some wear though for a 20 year old car.

Here are a couple more more photos. I really like it.

The rims need repainting, but my local dealer does that for $50/rim, so that's no biggie.

Interior looks good, except for the cracked center console wood trim. I know William Rau refinishes those for $350 or so. It has become impossible to find good (non-cracked) ones on eBay lately. Needs a new radio antenna, which is $100 or so. All in all, not bad!

From what I see in the photos, for <$1k it would be immaculate. However, that is assuming everything mechanical is 100% which is still a big assumption.

Really refinished wood costs $350? I paid that for a brand new center console piece from the dealer!

You have a lot of options on the wheels. Personaly I would get a spray gun and shoot them myself.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

You can't just buy a new piece, unfortunately, if you want it to look right.

The only way to hve the new piece match the others is to send off both the piece you want refinished and another piece from the interior (usually the ashtray), and then the refinisher color-matches it and also match the finish, so in addition to being the same color, the new piece also isn't more "shiny" than the old, etc.

If you just buy a new piece and stick it on, it will be the wrong color, the wrong finish, the grain probably won't match, and it will wind up sticking out like a sore thumb.

-Chris

Guys,

Saw a 1994 S500 coupe with no service/repair records except for the ones in the Mercedes-Benz records booklet which goes up to just 100,000 miles (with many blank pages in between pages with oil change records). The car has 136K miles, is in good shape, most switches/gadgets seem to be working well and I was just wondering about the wiring harness and the evaporator core, is there a mileage at which these items most definitely would have to be replaced for the car to continue to function properly? The A/C in this car blows really cold, is it safe/logical to assume that at 136K miles for the A/C to be blowing cold the evaporator must have been replaced? How about the wiring harness? What does it do anyway? Enlighten me please.

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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver

I am not sure... those are some questions I had as well. Im not sure if evaporator core failure is certain on all models and if A/C is working after 15 years is a sign of a new core or not. Seems like its a possibility either way. Most I inquired about, the seller had no clue if the core was replaced or not.

As far as the engine wiring harness... well, that controls the electrical parts of the engine. There is supposed to be an area of the wiring harness that you can easily inspect to check for brittle/frayed wiring. I think someone mentioned it on a thread here.

I am not sure of the exact age/mileage these tend to fail... I guess it depends upon maintainence/weather conditions the car has seen. Some fail earlier than others, but from what I gather, these are bio-degradable.

Some seem to still be going with the originals, while others have been replaced.

1995 was the last year for the engine wiring harness issue I have gathered.... while the evaporator core issue seems to linger on into later years on these... perhaps even the 1999 models? I guess you just to not hear it as much since they are newer models.

Those are two things I'd definitely would love to get some answers on since they are the main weaknesses of the W140 chassis. Oh well.

Regarding the evaporator issues with the newer W140s, yes indeed, it lingered on, I purchased my 1999 S600 at 88K miles and the evaporator had already been replaced in it. I don't know if it goes bad with time or with mileage.

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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver

Yep, that is what I was thinking I was told that it even lingered into 1999 on the core issues. I wondered the same thing. I once heard that enviroment has alot to do with it rather than age or mileage. My uncle has a 1993 300SE (W140), with only 78K and he had to have a new core installed three years ago (when it had 54K) @ a low price of $2200. It has always been a garaged southern car (South Carolina). So, with that car, it was not really an mileage issue.

Someone said a tip was to turn off the A/C a few miles before you get to your destination to let the core dry somewhat before parking. I have no idea why, but it seems to have increased the life of them.

If you can live without A/C its not a problem, but if you cannot take heat or live in the south especially, A/C is a must for most unless they like to sweat it out. I see you are in KC and I know it can get sweltering hot there in the summer!

A 1999 S600 eh? Thats very nice! Cream of the crop W140!