I do beleive the evaporator issue is a calamity shared by ALL Mercedes-Benz cars.

My brand-new station wagon (E320T, 1995) with only one year of use and about 7,000 kms. on the odometer had to be completely dismantled (both airbags, complete dash removal, wiper arm and motor, etc, etc, etc.) to gain access to the evaporator, which was defective FROM FACTORY!!!!

The work lasted almost a week a and half.

A. Rosich
S320, 1998
E320T, 1995

. . . my two cents!
 

Those of you who know me, know that I just 'love' my C140. My web page (red house) is a testament to it.

It's the finest MB I've ever owned and love to take it out for a ride! Yesterday, I got in and headed north! Ended up in Oceanside.

As far a repairs, I do most of my own, but fortunately, it's been very low maintaince auto. I plan on keeping this car for a long time.

One of my best friends owns a CL500 (1998). When she decided to buy the car, she let me ordered it by choosing all the extras I wanted and even the exterior and interior colors.

I do love also the C140. She lets me drive the car everytime we go out and some day I am planning to buy it from her, since she has put on it only 3,000 miles since 1998 (she owns several other cars).

Only problems so far: A constant leak through the glass sunroof that the dealer (as usual) has been unable to fix, a broken driver's side door window, which the dealer broke while fixing a burnt bulb in the seat controls, and a sticking self-closing mechanism on the driver's door also (the part has been changed four times and stills go nuts).

A. Rosich
S320, 1998
E320T, 1995

Although it is an interesting styling exercise, I've always considered the 140 chassis coupe an answer to a question that nobody asked.
Gilly

I definetely agree. The C140 falls in the same category as the 350/450 SLC. Cute cars, but their purpose?

I think their purpose of existance is just to fatten the wallets of M.B., as they charge ridiculous premiums for the coupes over the sedans.

By the way, talking about the answer to a question that nodoby asked, I have the brochure for a special body converter which builds W140 STATION WAGONS!!! This W140-T is very cute (for those of us who love wagons) and it even comes standard with an ELECTRIC FOLDING REAR BENCH SEAT which can be lowered from the front dash by just pushing a bottom.

You could order any W140 sedan (from the S280 to the S600, short of long wheelbase), with the options you wanted, and then the conversion specialists would charge you a cool $60,000.00 to get your W140-T.

A. Rosich
S320, 1998
E320T, 1995

Now that does sound interesting. Any website or anything on the company, or can you scan and post the brochure, or at least a few pictures?
This would be intersting to try to convert over to a wagon and modify also to fit it onto an ML or G-Wagen frame!
Gilly

. . . .coupes!
 

I've always considered the 140 chassis coupe an answer to a question that nobody asked. per Gilly!

Interesting comment! But for those who 'love' the coupe, there's nothing like them!

But being an inquisitive person, I decided to look at some data to see if that's really true! So take a look that these stats below and you'll see that coupes are really not very popular.

But a corollary question; because they're so expensive or because people don't like them period independent of $$$?

So to answer that question, I picked my car's year, 1994. Here's some data for US sales;

E320 Sedans: 14,600
E320 Coupes: 825 <-- $7k more than sedan but affordable
S320 Sedans: 3,308
S500 Sedans: 3,880
S500 Coupes: 790 <-- $10K more than sedan!

So I think the data shows that people just don't like a coupe and price is really not a consideration. And those that do are in a definite minority!

[Edited by JimF on 07-27-2001 at 12:01 PM]

C215 might be a better handler, packed with more tricks/gadgets, but C140 is, and will be the only Ultimate Coupe from MB. Sure it's huge, but it's powerful, too. Fit/Finish quality is un-matched. I would rather have a late model CL600(MY1999, W140) than a CL500(C215). CL600/CL55 AMG is another story though... :) :)

Andy Kuo

Please realize that saying "I've always considered" is about equal to saying "in my opinion", and we all know what that't worth! It's a cool car, the old 126 coupe used to be my "dream" car, there all neat cars. Just really a "niche" car, though. Low production, higher profit, I'm sure that's what they're all about. With the 140 though, they're so damned big that a coupe version was, well, in my opinion (again) just way over the top. The 126 and 220 (why a seperate chassis designation for the 215 is beyond me, when it's quite apparent it was designed parralel with the 220) seemed to be better suited to a coupe version. The 140 chassis seemed better suited to the wagon transformation rather than a coupe. Incidentally, all 3 of these cars would be very "ripe" for conversions to convertibles, any comments? Anyone ever done it? Boy, a C140 convertible, I'd just faint dead away! What a monster!
Gilly

At least one company offered a convertible conversion for the W126 coupe. I cannot remember the name, and I threw away the book some time ago. I think it had 4 seats. The hood folded under a body colour cover which was almost, but not quite, flush with the rear deck.

, . . . check this out!!!
 

Pic of a Florida S500 coupe that was modified. I really don't like convertibles but this is a far different story!
http://pages.prodigy.net/jforgione/mbzs500_95conv.jpg

[Edited by JimF on 07-27-2001 at 12:02 PM]

Man, is that cool! Or what? Doesn't look all that big in the picture, have to see it in person to get the whole effect. Too bad the top couldn't be hidden under a solid tonneau cover. MB could have done it better of course, but a nice conversion.
Gilly

Mr. JimF was right on the dot. I saw two C140 "convertibles" in Ft. Lauderdale about 3 years ago. One was black and the other one smoke silver. Quite an interesting excersize, but the hidden top "a la Jaguar" is not very flattering. I would say that is the only flaw, the rest of the car looks very nice. I wonder about the structural integrety? Could it be as rattle free as an SL?

I have tried to search the web for information on the W140-T to no luck, so I will soon scan the pictures from the brochure to post them here.

By the way, I have seen some classified ads containin the C140 "Convertible" on the DuPont Registry Magazine.

A. Rosich
S320, 1998
E320T, 1995

Having owned a 126 and presently own a 140...I disagree with the guy who said the quality of the 140 was lower.....my 140 is head and shoulders aboue the 126 I had in terms of detail..leather ,woodwork etc......the car is a tank and still handles much better than the 126 did....in terms of repair however...I would say the 140 is three times more expensive than the the 126
In regard to the new S class...I agree it does look/feel cheaper...but have you guys nitced the price is also cheaper?
The brand new S class has a sticker that is about the same as the one on my 1992 140 car.....I am sure mercedes could have made another tank...but would people pay an additional 20K....especially with the inroads that Lexus has made in the last 10 years?........just my opinion

Warren
1992 300SD 125K Silver/gray...becker 10 disc changer
Columbus Ohio
turner@greif.com

W140...
 

Frankly, I would pay $20k more for a superior automobile. No, I would not pay $250k for the Maybach though. :-)