'99 S320 - A Good Buy?
 

Have come across a pristine '99 S320W... last year for the W140. Vehicle has 75K miles, full service records and is accident-free. VMI reveals cylinder head gasket renewal at 35K miles, air mass sensor at 45K and water pump and belt tensioner at 50K miles. No HVAC or transmission work. Seller is asking $21K.

Was thinking about buying a 2006 E class this fall... but not certain all the bugs have been worked out. Is the S320 a good choice for the next couple of years while M-B works out the E's quality problems or is the S320 a maintenance disaster waiting to happen? Was the leaking evaporator problem resolved by MY '99?

Perhaps I should just look for a good '98 C230...

The last 2-3 years of the W140 chassis was a good car!

I would drive one.

The only real concern is the A/C evaporator. MB NEVER really fixed the problem!

S320 Value
 

The S320 is a great vehicle. I have a 97 that I absolutely love. Some folks on this forum will tell you that it is underpowered. Compared to the S420 or S500 it certainly does'nt have as much acceleration (my wife can blow my doors off in the quarter mile with her S420, but who races this type of car). Mine cruises the highway at 100+MPH with no problem. I have had it up to over 130mph before I got chicken (and there was still some pedal left). The ride at 130mph was just as smooth as if I was going 75.

The W140 has some weaknesses in design that are well discussed on this forum. Run a search and you will see these discussed in detail. I have recently replaced my HVAC blower regulator, had a small transmission leak repaired, and currently have door closer and electric mirror issues. I have also replace a ball joint. All these issues together have cost less that $1K to address. I have also read about wiring harness issues with the earlier W140's but have not run into that problem yet myself. I would not trade my 97' S320 (which just clocked 115K miles) for anything. This is a great road vehicle.

Having said all of that, $21K sounds a bit high. I got mine for $11,500 less than a year ago with 97K miles on it. I bought my wife's 98 S420 two years ago with 85K miles on it for $21K. I would expect that you could do a little better than that for a 99 S320. Check out luxurymotors.com for comparison shopping. They usually have several for sale. That's where I got my wife's

Good Luck.

I bought a 99 s320 last October with 77K for $19,000. So far all I have had to do is change the oil and A/T fluid. I'm glad to have the 6 cyl vs the 8 cyl engine with cost of gas these days.

Great riding car, I drove it over 800 miles in one day last month and wasn't worn out at the end of the day.