Good good good. You got the W140C!

In another thread, you wrote,

"just down the road from houston is a reportedly immaculate 1997 s500c with only 20k miles. the colors aren't my favorites, but i telephoned this morning to hold it until i can make the drive on sunday to see it. good thing i did. within an hour of my phone call and deposit, someone else saw it and wanted to buy it. car was on the lot for less than 24 hours.

m-b dealer has starmarked it."

So, this is the car you bought? Most of your cars are white with blue leather. What color combination is this car? What did you pay? It did come with the warranty?

I think you made the right decision. With the exception of the original evaporators being faulty, the other items that may need repairing fall within the normal list of items that any Benz would require. My local MB shop says they replace evaporators on W140's for $2,200, parts and labor, and do it one day. One looooooong day.

The W140's, especially the coupes, are one of my favorite cars, and albeit expensive to own, they are probably the best car Mercedes ever built.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

well, thnx for your kind thoughts.

i agonized over this acquisition, but after a chat with a long-time automotive counselor[the shop foreman at the local benz dealer], i elected to complete the transaction.

as i think i said in my last post, the exterior color is ruby. the interior is black nappa leather.

i would have preferred white or silver, but there were aspects to this car that compelled me to ignore my preferences. it was a one-owner car. purchased in december 1996[as a 1997 model] by an 87 year old plutocrat and his 69 year old wife. it spent all of its life in the relatively benign[no snow, no saltwater] climate of san antonio, texas.

with its first owner, it amassed a grand total of 20, 330 miles. the interior appeared as if uninhabited. it has one minor ding that you have to illuminate just so so as to reveal it.

the dealer starmarked it and priced it at 37,900. on the advice of my m-b dealer shop foreman, who told me that i would be an idiot not to acquire it, i have acquired it.

my shop foreman friend relates that after 1995, evap core problems became less of a feature of operating one of these cars...he says that benz finally improved the quality of the evap unit.

the last thing that i have to say about the w140c is that it is such an overkill when compared to my 560sec. surely this series was the product of a teutonic response to the lexus.

in many respects, i would have preferred that benz had improved the w126c, i.e., more soundproofing, more torque and hp rather than inject such steroids and come up with the w140c.

having said that, the w140's in their improved, bullet-proofed years, as a matter of automotive history, will be considered the zenith of automotive design and construction. their like may never be seen again. i think of this car as the psychic descendant of the m100's.

i am an old lotus aficionado. what i liked about the w126's is how they captured what i liked about my lotus'es in vehicles that did not have to be rebuilt upon every outing. unfortunately for benz, toyota discerned that the us market preferred cadillacs to lotuses. the w140 series was the benz effort to erase their previous mentality so as to get back into the us luxury game that lexus had stolen away.

funny thing, though. after having driven this 140 for 250 miles, i can say that benz still didn't get it. the lexus product that was its target was quieter, traversed road irregularities with more silent aplomb. and did it all with less mass.

based on my collection, this may sound heretical, but benz has forced me to conclude that the japanese have defeated them. i remain confused as to why it is that lexus product goes over road irregularities more quietly than do benz products. especially s class benz products.

oh, excuse me, my e320cab is quieter over road irregularities than any other benz i own. why would that be do you think?

Ruby with black leather. Sounds beautiful.

You know, you promised us in the other thread that you would share pictures of your cars with us. Make sure you include a picture of this car.

I wonder, too, how Lexus makes quieter cars, especially since the W140's have double paned glass.

I also agree with your statement about the W140 the Zenith of automotive design and construction.

Happy motoring.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

again, thnx for thinking i know something. i shall try to learn to use the company digital cam and shoot these cars for you.

it is not the wind noise. benz silenced that, albeit lexus did it without double paned windows.

no, it is the noise of the tires and and wheels running over lane boundary buttons and other road irregularities. i can't understand why it is that benz has failed to attenuate the noise radiated from these suspension impacts.

when visiting LA, i rent xj8's. now there is a car that has less shock travel than any s class benz. and definitely less mass. but it traverses road irregularities and lane boundary buttons with significantly less impact noise.

why is it that benz has failed to equal this level of acoustical attenuation?

for me, it is one of the great mysteries of automotive design.

and i found the post-2000 sonderklasse benzes to be no better in this regard.

as i said, most mysteriously to me, my 1995 e320cab traverses these road irregularities more silently than any other benz that i own or have driven. i cannot wait to find out how the car sounds once i have attenuated the wind noise by fitting the removeable hard top that i have learned might be acquirable.

so they go

I am not sure why this is the case, but I have seen it on benzes from the 70s right up until today. It seems absolutely nothing has been done about it. The most blatant example is probably the 126's in this regard. My guess would be bushings in suspension but I am not sure why really

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currently just 1989 300SE 185k miles

I think he is talking about the GPS navigation system not the digital gauges.

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1985 500SEL 124k miles
2001 Honda Civic EX

Well folks, time to update this long thread:

About a month ago I traded up to a 1998 S 500 L (V140).

If my opinion on how great the W140 series is was based on with my experience on an S 320, now my new S 500 L has up shifted my views to the extreme: there are difinitely very few cars on the road today that can equal the comfort, safety, power and driver satisfaction that the W/V140 provides (and usually they all cost within six figures).

The new addition to the family came with only 22,000 original miles on it, carefully mantained by the local M.B. dealer and as a plus had already the evaporator exchanged (as a 100% warranty job) about a year and half ago.

It has almost ALL the extras you could ask for, including the original factory installed fridge on the truck that can hold 4 botles of wine or 12 cans of your preferred soft-drink/beer. And I say "almost", because sadly the original owner only ommited to order the rear electric sport bucket seats.

A neighbor just received his 2003 S 350 L (facelifted V220)a few days ago. When his car and my car are parked together, the 140 looks imposing and certainly like a Benz. The S 350 looks like a Benz, sometimes like a Lexus, other times like a medium sized B.M.W., and if the light just hits it right, it really looks like a Huyndai Sonata with an expensive and very well done paint job.

Going back to the fact that DaimlerChrysler based the Mayback on the W140 instead of the W220 leaves few doors open for discussion on wich model is superior...

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A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]

I concur with your comments on the looks of the new W220 S class.

It looks like Benz, but not like an S class should.

I can't tell you how many times I notice a "C" class behind me or near me on the freeway, and then realize when it gets close to me that it is actually an "S" class. The two models have such similar styling that it's too easy to confuse them.

Plus, the styling of the W220 makes it look smaller than it actually is. I believe it was intentional on the designer's part. They somehow (mistakenly) believed consumers wanted a less imposing car.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

What happens if somebody slams into the back of the W140 or W220 at a good clip when you are sitting at a toll gate? Frame damage, right? The older MB's had massive steel bumpers to protect them from damage. The newer ones have fragile plastic that breaks at the slightest impact.

My mom's '95 E320 wagon was a good example. She backed up into my sister's old 260E and broke a hole in the impact strip, and the bumper itself. $$$$'s of dollars to replace!

A few weeks ago, on the Mass Pike, I got hit by a Ford E350 van in my 350SD. It felt like the whole rear-end was wiped out!

I was shocked that there was no damage to my car. Not even a scratch from his license plate! He never even stepped on the brakes!

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1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

As far as the S-Class wars. I knew the W220 was going to be successful the first time I saw it. I fell in love with the exterior styling. The interior looked good in the brochure, but in person I didn't care for it (not enough wood in the backseat). The rear seat headroom and legroom was accomplished only by having a much thinner benchseat. The way the W220 handled was much like my E-Class, but with a better ride.

The view from the driver's seat is very similar to my W126's. Not too bulky, but still wide and flat with the three-pointed star at the end of the hood. I definitely like the W220, and may get one in the future. Probably an S400CDI! If it's a proven product! But I will always keep my W126's.

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1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

Maybe MB was betting that the multitude of airbags in the newer cars was going to take the place on the thinner sheetmetal and seats



Warren
1992 300SD 168K
Columbus Ohio

That's true. The sheet metal is embarrisingly thin. The doors are light, and the interior is cheap.

Bang on the doors and fenders on the W220 to see how solid it is. They must have crush zones that span the whole car!

I read once that these cars were designed to absorb the damage, not only to protect the driver, but also the person they hit, or are hit by. This translates into some embarassing situations where an older MB (especially S-Class)involved will win everytime. Usually with no damage.

But all car manufacturers are going this way. Not just MB.

Have you seen the 2005 - 06 S-Class that has been previewed before. 22 inch wheels? Who the @#ll needs that? Oh yeah 16-airbags with PRE-SAFE II. Did I mention it's the ugliest car to ever see the light of day? This is what happens when Bruno Sacco leaves the group.

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1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

Anyone wan't to buy a garaged 95 S420 with 7990 miles? That is seven thousand. PERFECT belongs in Mercedes Museum. Please reply if you are intrested. CLEANEST W140 in the USA!

The other I day I ran accross this article written on the british magazine CAR about the W140.

The words summarize what the W140 is really all about:

"Mercedes-Benz is the car maker that has striven more than any other to construct the world’s best car. Time and time again in its 100-year history, these efforts have been met with resounding success. Its current champion, the S-Class (1991-1998 / S280-S600), is the definitive expression of automotive perfection, and not merely for its unrivalled on-road presence. It is this car’s unstinting commitment to thoroughness, the completeness of its conception and the sheer scope of its competence that justify its reputation as the most sophisticated car the world has ever seen.

Yet the most astonishing thing about this Mercedes is that for all its formality, for all its size, it is as deft and as nimble as a competition-bred sports car. It plays the entertainer as well as it plays the faithful retainer – an ability that never fails to amaze the unwary. Equally astonishing is its detailing: the double glazing, the electrically assisted closure of the doors and boot, the modest flap that emerges from the boot-lid to aid your opening it. But all this is merely the outward evidence of the completeness of the car’s inner being. It is engineered for almost every conceivable circumstance, whether it be cornering, cruising, or even crashing.

It is also quick, and dead quiet. It will pacify its driver and cradle its passengers in luxury the lap of which they will never have experienced before. Effortless high-speed cruising is – in this car more than any other – conducted in the sepulchral space of the most opulent drawing room.

The S-Class reeks of quality –quality of every kind, a quality that runs to the very core of its soul."

[Taken literally from an article printed on CAR magazine, July 1994, page No. 139]

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A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]

Honorable Rosich,

I see in your post above that you have bought a '98 S-500, but I was shocked to read that the evaporator had needed replacing ! I haven't seen this problem on '96 and later W140s, and am wondering if I missed something important. I thought they sorted this problem out in the mid-'95 model year, but now I am not sure. Can you shed any light?

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David Foley
'97 S-500