I love my '88 Mercedes 300SEL, but have recently got the "fever" for a 1992-95 S-Class sedan. I found one in Atlanta for $2200 and its got me wanting one. I know that the W126 is a cheaper and easier car to maintain, but I think it may be a good trade-off of a W140 in equal condition? I dont know. How many W140 owners long for a W126? None probably, but I thought I would give it a try. I love my car and not ever sure I want to trade it, but would like to see whats out there and if anyone is interested in a trade for a nice and solid W126 that needs very little.

It has around 158K (the odometer recently stopped and thats no joke - follow my threads - I know alot of people say that, but its true in this case) and it has a nice interior, no rust, nice paint, etc. Cruise control dont work, thats it. Everything else works fine. NO leaks, NO oil burning, tranny shifts nice. etc. It does have that slight splutter at idle - probably plugs. Smooth on acceleration and on the road. Original Florida car, then South Carolina, Georgia, now Tennessee, so NO rust.

I will post more details any interest. Also photos... I will take some recent ones and post here, but it may be a couple of days.

*I would also consider trading for a 1995 - 1998 Toyota T100 4wd SR5 truck, as I am also in the market for one of those.

There is a good reason there are not w140 enthusiasts like there are for w126's and the like. In my opinion..

This is not unlike trading a nice 911 SC for a semi-current 996 chassis 911.
Yes the interior is more modern, some stuff may work better by virtue of it's age, or lack of, but it's a freaking VW...

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 406K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 195K

I think you're insane for wanting a w140 at all; search the w140 forums for problems and what it costs to fix them in www.benzworld.com. I like the timeless w140 body, but there's no way I'd ever buy one. I know too much.

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- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

lol. Thanks for that info. Obvioulsy no W140 owners think that since no one wants to trade for a nice and easy to maintain 6-cylinder W126.

Yeah, I know that that W140s are more troublesome cars... I just love the styling and willing to take a chance on one as long as it runs good. My uncle has a 1992 300SE that he had to have an evaporator and headgasket replaced on, but other than that, its been an excellent car... his dad bought it new and never had any other issues. I know some had that engine wiring harness issue as well on the pre 96 models, but oddly he said they have never had to replace the engine wiring harness and its never had a problem, but its a very early 1992 model (made in late 1991) and I read somewhere that the earliest W140s didnt have the wiring problem... I / they could be wrong though?

I just like the W140... it seems larger and more comfortable than the W126. I loved my uncles W140 when he let me drive it.... seemed like a whole different beast than my W126.

I dont know, I love my car, but needing a truck too, or like I said, a W140 and buy a beater truck. I may just try to trade it for a nice Toyota truck... then again, I may end up keeping this great car.

It is larger and more comfortable(opinion), and has better this that and the other. But it's never been or will be the car the w126, any w126 is. They will go away over time where the older S class is still belovid. Buy a cheap truck and keep your car.

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 406K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 195K

Thanks. Yeah, I love my car... just have always wanted a W140. I wanted a W140 before I even bought my W126, but a W140 is almost impossible to find here locally - why, I have no clue. They seem to only reside in huge metro areas of one million or more people. lol.

Maybe if I could get some new front steering/suspension on my car, I would be happier with it. It has more play in the steering than I like. Its my understanding that there is an adjustment on the steering box that will take up this slack... I wish I knew how.

A W140 did finally pop up locally on a local Craigslist... its a 1993 400SEL.... $2450, 125K miles, stated to run excellent, but I wonder at that low price if this car is loaded with costly/hidden issues?

There could be a lot of issues. A guy I knew sold a s420 cheap because the closing pump was needing resetting all the time. Got a price quoted at the dealer for a new pump (about $900 IIRC), and just decided to sell it. A friend of mine bought it, and we readjusted the pump according to the method found on v12 umbras' website, replaced the ball joints, and did a few other cosmetic things, all for under $300. If you can remanufacture things, it can be a great car to own. My friend paid $5k for that car.
One reason that he decided to buy it, was because there was a receipt from the year previous to him buying it for the evaporator core in the cabin being replaced at the dealership.
So, get the VMR from the dealership, and see if the evaporator has been replaced, and what other work has been done. Check about the engine wiring harness. Sometimes the duovalve fails, so run the car at max temp inside and check the heater core temps. (not exactly what you want to do in Georgia this time of year.... but necessary to check). Open and close each door and the trunk about a dozen times. That should tell you if the pump is timing out... The doors will stop closing themselves... Drive it around, and if the front end creaks at low speeds over bumps, and whole turning, probably needs new ball joints... About a 2 hours fix if you have a pitman arm puller or ball joint puller from horrid freight... I had to modify mine with a die grinder, but for $10 it worked well... If you have a voltmeter, check the battery while the car's running... it might need a new alternator.... Should be 14.4 at idle. At least it is on mine... Check for tranny flares... All the general things that go wrong on a car...
I"d personally look for a 97-99. Has a much better tranny in it...

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All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to stand by and do nothing.

Too many people tip toe through life, never attempting or doing anything great, hoping to make it safely to death... Bob Proctor

'95 S320 LWB
'87 300SDL
'04 E500 wagon 4matic

If they're only asking $2450, I'd go check it out, and if it seems OK, I'd offer them a lot less. Seems like they just want to get rid of it.

If you could get it, for say, $2k and decide a few weeks later that you don't want to keep it, you should be able to get your money back out.

What could possibly go wrong

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1979 240D, 4spd manual, Power Sunroof, manual windows, 147k miles, Pastel gray/Black MB Tex.
1991 300D 2.5 - Smokes like it's on Crack!

Thanks for that information. Sounds like an array of potential issues. That seller wont reply anyway.. probably a scam.

I would love a 1997-99, but well out of my price range... I have to settle for a high mileage 92-95 model... cant even find one of those though.

there's an s600 here in l.a. (a 97, i think ) for $4k. such a deal.

then just stop by the gun shop on the way home, buy the cheapest, most powerful handgun, and one bullet. just kidding.

you don't want a w140 ! ever ! even here, where image is everything, you see fewer and fewer every day, unless you're near the wrecking yard. meanwhile, i see many w126s still moving along, with smiling, happy people behind the wheel. 560s, 500s, 420s, 300s (sd, se, sel) and even an occasional 380. all these people can't be wrong.

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"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread."

The 126 was a huge hit in California. My mom lived in Newport Beach when they came out. There were already lots of Mercedes there in 1980, but when I returned in the summer of 81 it seemed like there had been a 126 revolution. At that time it seemd like half the Mercedes I saw were 126s already. I went back down and helped my mom move in the fall of 82 and could hardly believe my eyes. They had become more common than Hondas. The 300SD was the most common, by far. By then my Mom had a 116 300SD. Sudenly 116s seemed antiquated and Passe. I'll never forget the time I pulled up to the intersection of PCH and Jamboree Rd. and discovered that we were completely surrounded by w126 300SDs! I chuckled when I noticed, then pointed out to my mom that we were completely surrounded. As we sat there waiting for the signal to change, we watched the parade of Mercedes of all types passing in front of us. Lots of SLs, and in those days, you almost always had a w108/109 Convertible within sight. Sometimes I wondered what percentage of V8 convertibles resided in Newport beach. They were supposed to be rare, but you saw a handful every time you went out in the car.

Californians were already well tuned in to Mercedes-Benz and the w126 300SD was such a revolutionary car that it took the South Coast by storm. There were no other cars that even came close, in terms of combining quality, comfort, refinement and fuel economy. Of course, there were lots of 380SELs too, but they weren't quite as legendary. They were the only way to get a LWB for the first few years of production, but their engines tended to asplode.

There were other parts of the country where 126s and 300SDs in particular, were popular, but I never saw anything like the revolution that happened in Newport Beach. On more recent trips through the area, I've noticed that there is no longer any one car that dominates. You see lots of S-Class still, but they are outnumbered by various Japanese Luxury cars, and Luxury SUV's. Today there are many disgruntled MB owners. The w140s were troublesome, and the w220s even worse.

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1979 240D, 4spd manual, Power Sunroof, manual windows, 147k miles, Pastel gray/Black MB Tex.
1991 300D 2.5 - Smokes like it's on Crack!

Speaking for the minority or maybe only myself - having been through 2 126 300SDs, an 87 SDL and a 91 300SE then a 93 SD and 94 S420, I can tell you there's no way I'm going back to a 126. The 126 is a fabulous car. If MB still made them MB would still be selling them. As my neighbor said of his dad's 500SEL, it devours the road. But the 126 still requires me to work. I have to adjust to the 'ergonimically' correct seat, I have to adjust to the huge steering wheel, I have to live with cold hands, etc. MB put less Teutonicness (you vill drife it und you vill enjoy it!) in the 140 plus made it bigger, softer and feel lighter. All pluses to me and seemingly few others.

A few things have come into play to make the 140 desirable to me again: 1) you can get one for the price of a same condition 126, 2) they're taking the place of 123s in pick-n-pulls, and 3) the electronics are not so mysterious anymore (thanks, JimF!). For all the reliability and cost concerns of a 140, they're not known to strand drivers anymore than a 126. How can faulty closing assist be an issue? Put as much arm into closing the doors as you would 126 doors and they'll latch without closing assist. The M119 is everything the M116/7 wanted to be when it grew up. Replacing the timing chain is horrendously complex but it doesn't need chains or head gaskets as often as earlier engines.

I'd prefer a 140 with velour, manual AC, power windows and locks and not much else. MBUSA didn't want to sell them that way and I've only seen one or two possibly gray market barebones 140s for sale in the US. Easier for me to learn how to fix them than make enough to afford one.

Everybody thinks MB engineering and quality went downhill in the 90s. Spend some time in a W189 and you'll think it's been downhill since 1963.

Sixto
87 300D

It'll be a cold day in hell when I own a car that has an entire system dedicated to closing a door. That's right up there with the talking
"the door is ajar" crap from the 80's in my opinion.
But luckily for all of us, it's still mostly to each his/her own.

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 406K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 195K

Ok... thanks. I guess I will keep my W126 and do some upgrades... mainly with the steering... I dont like the light steering. I need to figure out how to adjust out that "slack" from the steering box.

Thanks for all of the replies.

Adjusting the slack isn't that difficult. My Mercedes dealer used to do it in a few minutes, and usually didn't charge me extra for it. You can get rid of some of that light feel by installing a smaller diameter steering wheel. I was never a big fan of the oversize steering wheels.

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1979 240D, 4spd manual, Power Sunroof, manual windows, 147k miles, Pastel gray/Black MB Tex.
1991 300D 2.5 - Smokes like it's on Crack!