Looking at those pictures...such a shame to not care for a vehicle such as a W140 despite the expense. In this case ya depends what he wants for the car that would make my decision in buying it.

It was my understanding that you could get any option on the S320 that came standard on the S500. For example ASR was standard on the S500 but was an option on the S320. The Bose Beta sound system was another that comes to mind. The only thing that I think was NOT available on the S320 was the electronic driver adaptive transmission.

I think that the S320 is a wonderful compromise between the gas guzzling S500 and an E class. Consumer reports called it "The most rational luxury car". My only hestation would be the condition irregardless of price. If it's $2000 but it requires $10,000 worth of repairs (and with the tranny, suspension and the evaporator you're already pushing the envelope) you'd be better off with one in better condition. Also you need to price the restoration on the interior before you think that it's just dirty.

Remember the W140 was built to compete with the Rolls-Royce, NOT BMW. My 93 S500 was $96,000 new and when it comes to repairs I believe it! Since I've had it I've had to do the following:

Timing chain and tensioner $1200
Brakes and rotors $ 850
Rear pneumatic shocks $2000
serpentine belt and tensioner $400

and this was a car that had been serviced regularly and was inspected before I bought it:eek: .

Oh, plus $500 for sheepskins- I thought that the leather was "just dirty" too.

I don't want to scare you, I love my S500 , but you need to know what you're in for before you take the dive!;)

I checked the pix. Inside doesn't look bad and I'm sure the seat back could be had from a dismantler for not a huge amount. That suspension thing would scare the crud out of me though.

Yea, I'm going to get it on the lift and take a look from the bottom before I shell out any cash. I see this as a $500-$1000 car in its current condition. That's what I could expect to get out of it by parting it out.

Thanks for all of the input. The only thing that I don't like about the car is the ASR. I'm sure that when it functions it is fine but the number of posts about failed ASR systems makes me think that it should have been skipped, in this case in favor of a rear window sun-shade and/or heated seats.

-Tad

Just the double paned window glass is easily worth $1000. The computer modules alone are a small fortune in addition to bose amp's and speakers an other audio tidbits. The Wood trim for the dash is also easily worth $1000. You might want to check around on parts prices. W-140's are packed with expensive parts even used. If you part it out let me know I have a list of spares I would love to have on hand. Especially if you think the whole car is only worth $1000 :)

Off the top of my head:
The S600 has adjustable suspension all the way around. You can adjust from soft to super hard.
More leather and wood. I think you could up spec both of these.
Sued headliner.
Wine cooler was an option.

Everything that was an option on the other models was standard on the 600.

Yes. Thats the S600 which is considered a supercar and is not really a fair comparison to even an S500. The S600's interior was standard full leather with suede headliner.

My "low end" 1999 S320 has a full leather interior including the backs of the seats and the same really nice burled wood dash that comes in the S500. From what I have seen the S500 and S320's are identical cars interior wise.

Does anybody have any specific data on S500 options only? It would be nice to know the differences if there are any. :)

Try the audio system see if it works...if it doesnt (makes popping,static sounds) thats another $500 there for an amp rebuild.

I would buy a W140 for the stereo alone!:)

Yeah.... Its absolutely wonderful! 4 subwoofers on the rear deck and a center channel speaker behind the rearview mirror. It sounds quite good. A friend had a Volvo C70 Convertible with the Dynaudio system and it sounds almost as good.

Yeah, I don't see the need to practice on a decent dash cause there are so many at the pick 'n pull that are beyond use to practice on.

We've got several dismantlers here, of course, one of them is like you describe -- they take everything of value off and file it carefully away. Their prices are a tad steep, but you know they'll probably have the part you need

At the pick 'n pulls (they've got three of them in the bay area), the prices are about a third of what they get at the dismantler but you have to get lucky with many parts. If you can show up 5 minutes after they put out a new (junked) MB, oh baby...

Im quite lucky to have a careful dismantler near me that has somewhat reasonable prices. I wish the pick and pulls would stick to Domestic and Japanese cars that people destoy and throw away anyway.