2000 S500 Airmatic Problem
 

My neighbor has a 2000 S500 with less than 90k miles. She runs well, looks ok ( just needs a good detail) but the one thing that gets me is the Airmatic suspension. The whole left side is down to the ground while as the right side is in the normal height position. Neighbor mentioned spending about $2200 last year on the suspension only for it to fail again 6 months later. I have not driven or examined into detail but thinking of offering around $1,500 for it. My neighbor has many cars and would prefer to sell to me than someone else since I deal with cars on a daily basis. Every story I have researched talked about how problematic & expensive the Airmatic system is to maintain and repair. I have also read some owners converting Airmatic to regular coil springs.

I have dealt with many air suspension systems on the older Lincoln Navigators, Continental & Town Cars. Pretty simple air suspension system but also very expensive to repair.

From what I have read the single biggest issue with them is the cost of the components. When working properly its a great system. Replacing the struts doesn't even look that hard from the DIY's I've read. Sounds like that $2200 they spent last year might have been $1900 parts and $300 labor.