Considering a W140 1997 S500...
 

Hey guys,

In my town there's a guy selling his 99,000 mile S500, and I was wondering what to expect from a car of this mileage. Any weakpoints to the W140 of this vintage?

I know of the evaporator shtick and the wiring harness, but what else should I check to see has been done?

He's asking 7,000, and I feel thats fair; is it? I'm much better at pricing W126's and such.


Thanks,


Carlen

The only wiring harness issues were at the MIRRORS on that model.

The auto trans & the no-service policy can be $$$.

Buy you a automatic dipstick for servicing trans and filter.

Unfortunately we had that issue with a 1997 E320 we had; first year of the electronic trans with that no-service deal... Good to know the ignition harness is okay in the 1997 year though. Thanks!

Next they sell lifetime motor oil service with cars.Which means never have to change oil.
8 years ago I heard about that,a ceramic engine.It was supposed to not use oil,to run even cleaner.

Springs breaking off at the ends.... SLS shocks if it has them.

I can't even begin to question how much replacement parts would cost... Weren't the old Mazda rotary's ceramic?

i worked for a mazda dealer parts dept. from 1/79 to 9/83. never saw any ceramic pieces in the motors. sold lotsa rebuilding parts, seals, orings, gasket kits, springs, etc. you may be thinking of the CARBON apex seals that were used up until my73. after that, steel apex seals are used because the liners in the housings had a chrome layer applied. and so it goes, chuck.

That must be it; I could have sworn I read something when I was about... 10 years old about ceramic faces to the rotary. Must have been a concept.

At that age, I would have killed for a 70's RX-7 GSL.

Two things:

Price is not necessarily "too high," but I would not pay that much for it.

They are known moneypits - what is more important than that price is this; how much money a year can you afford, and do you want to dump into a car this age year after year to drive it?

I would be prepared to spend A LOT of money on it.

For the mileage, it is actually quite a bit below list.

This car is less for me, more for my father who is thinking about giving my brother his 1998 AC Shnitzer 740iL. Basically he would supply the repair funds and I would do the work.

As far as moneypits go, my uncle whom I purchased my 560SEL owns a 14,000 mile 1994 S420, and has had a fairly good time with it. It's just the upkeep and scheduled maintenance that seem to be where peoples downfall with this car are. But if you are unable to do it yourself or pay for it, then you probably shouldn't be driving a W140 in the first place.