Hi All,

I'm new here and I am hoping to get some advice.

I am thinking about buying a 99 S500 with 124k on it for 3300 bucks. Well the downfalls are listed below.

1. Rear shocks bad (I hear you can have them converted to regular shocks fairly cheap) they are hydraulic.

2. Check engine light is on. That needs to be working in my state in order for the car to pass emissions inspection.

3. Power steering pump seems to make a little bit of noise.

4. Comfort relay is bad. The seller has a a new one to go with the car. He claims it needs to be programmed by Mercedes.

The rest of the car seems to be in good shape. Body is clean and straight, and the interior just needs the usual good cleaning.

Please, any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

Sounds like a good deal. '99 was the last year for the W140 chassis and considered one of the better years. $3300 seems good for a '99 W140.

If it was me...I'd offer the seller 3K and no more.
You WILL be spending a minimum of 2K in repairs within a few months on the repairs you mentioned. Count on spending twice that for other repairs you don't know about at this time.
It's an 11 year old car going on 12.
I would not swap out the rear self leveling systems for regular shocks....
I look at it this way and most don't agree....if I can't afford to fix it correctly....then I have no business in owning one.
You fix it correctly..it will last you for many years to come.
I have a 18 year old 140...original owner....and never have had serious issues with it.....engine and tranny...never a problem. Radio issues, window reg issues. No a/c issues. Luck I guess!

benzs500, if you are an experienced DIY'er on MB automobiles then it could be a good deal for you; however, if you need to have an indy perform the required neglected maintenance then steer clear because repairs will be expensive. Either way pay for a PPI (pre-purchase inspection) by a MB-trained tech who knows that vintage MB automobile so you know exactly what repairs are pending.

As mentioned repair the self-leveling rear suspension. Otherwise that car won't ride/handle as designed.

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Fred Hoelzle

The first red flag for me was 99 S-class V8 with decent miles, latest model of the 140, for $3300. This is what I'd expect to see a 92 in average condition go for.

KBB alone is $7000 in "fair" condition, and I'd have to agree with that. The owner has a rock bottom price on it because they know it has expen$ive issues - and I can guarantee the owner is telling you about 1/3 of the story.

The adage to live by is "there is no such thing as a cheap Benz." Spend the extra bucks on a well-maintained example.

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former: 83 300D, 97 C230, 93 400E

current: 08 C300 Luxury , 92 500SL

All good replies. I don't mind putting some money into a car that is going to be a good ride. However, I don't want to pour more than what I paid in.

Are the rear shocks usually to go bad on these cars, or is something else worn out on the rear of the shock system to make them bang and clang around.

I can drive the car just find when I test drove it, however it just sounds like the rear end of the car is literally falling apart.

Something has to be drastically wrong for that pricing. I would not be shocked to see if it has a bad title. Nothing is 'fairly cheap' on a W140.

Always remember... you get what you pay for...

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

If you have a CEL, pull the codes. They might point to their own expensive repairs. Cruise it by an autozone or Aamco, they're read codes for free, get the codes and then figure them out (don't just take their translation/diagnosis). If it's a MAF or O2 sensor and it's been going on a long time, you can figure the cats are probably ruined as well.

Plus three on a good PPI.

And the old saying quoted here about cheap benzes is far too true. In the end you might end up spending ten thousand on a seven thousand dollar car.

Good luck.

Not sure if I mentioned, the car drive and ran fine aside from the noisy rear end. I guess the best bet here is take it to a benz tech and have them check it over before I buy. Thanks all.

I read your post and the responses and you'd mentioned that.

However, driving fine might or might not mean anything vis a vis a CEL. It might be the silly small evap leak code (often just a loose gas cap) or it might be a MAF or O2 sensor (or a hundred other things). I mentioned those specifically because while they may or may not cause driveability issues, the compensations they trigger in the engine management system can, for example, over time build up combustion chamber deposits and cause the cats to fail.

Also, driving around with a CEL on is never a wise choice, and that this owner did so suggests a lack of concern about the car at all, meaning there are potentially LOTS of things that have been neglected in addition to the ones that are snarling and snapping at present.

Power steering pump is noisy,because the rear shocks are shot and leaking,its a tandem pump that builds pressure in the rear hydraulic shocks,so,if you replace the rear shocks with regular ones +hardware from junkyard for the rest of the set up,you need to replace the whole power steering pump with one from a S420 without rear hydraulics,if you can find one and plug the lines+ who knows what else...

Hey Thanks all for the responses. I've decided to just stay away from this one all together. Sounds like the owner let it go to hell literally and for a few more thousand I can probably get one that needs little to no work.

I'm also not wanting to buy this and have it in the repair shop for months until I can drive it. We don't have many mercedes technicians around here and the ones we do have are always backed up.

I figured this price and car was too good to be true!