Anyone here ever owned a late 90s S-class Mercedes?

[dmn23]

I'm kinda sorta not really in the market for a new (used) car. I've culled it down to a Mazda 6, Infiniti G37, or maybe the right Accord. They're all hovering around $20k, give or take.

Then I see this thing: https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/688128207/overview/

DISCLAIMER: I know there's nothing more expensive than a cheap [insert German luxury brand here].

But there's a compelling case to be made for, "Ehh, screw it, even if I have to throw a couple grand into it it's still going to be $10k less than everything else I'm looking at, plus it will likely be more entertaining." Three owners, no accidents, and 67k miles in twenty freakin' years.

The R129s are regarded very well but I'd love to hear first, second, or even third-hand accounts of your experiences with these. Talk me down.

 

[Coralkong]

I didn't own one, but I've ridden in one.
My buddy's Dad had one back in the day. He loved it, but got rid of it because it wasn't very practical in the winter time (*ahem*).

I don't recall it being overly quick off the line or anything like that, but on the highway, it sure cruised along nicely. I remember my buddy and I were doing 100 mph and it had a LOOOOONG way to go. Smoooooooooth..........nice car.

 

[TomcatMF]

I had a 2002 C240 that was a terrific car. Maintenance is a bit pricey (anywhere from $200-$600 depending on the service needed) but only comes up every 10K miles. My particular car had a couple of repairs that were pricey. I had to replace the MAF for about $1000, but it was damaged by the smoke from the 2007 wildfires. I had to replace the AC compressor, and that was about $700 because I know a good, yet cheap, mechanic who works on these cars, otherwise it would have been about $1500. It was shortly after that I sold the car, but it had 127,000 miles on it and it was still running strong and felt like a new car. Mercedes cars age very well.

I'm thinking about replacing my Corvette with a CLS550 right now.

 

[mikesr1963]

Dry weather car, New Mexico so no moisture soak like you would on the East Coast. Wiring always makes me paranoid on cars from Europe. What kind of warranty can you purchase with it?

 

[dmn23]

Dry weather car, New Mexico so no moisture soak like you would on the East Coast. Wiring always makes me paranoid on cars from Europe. What kind of warranty can you purchase with it?

Probably none. Also, the Carfax shows it was a Florida car for most of its life.

 

[mikesr1963]

Probably none. Also, the Carfax shows it was a Florida car for most of its life.

Next

 

[Lerxst]

I had a 2002 C240 that was a terrific car. Maintenance is a bit pricey (anywhere from $200-$600 depending on the service needed) but only comes up every 10K miles. My particular car had a couple of repairs that were pricey. I had to replace the MAF for about $1000, but it was damaged by the smoke from the 2007 wildfires. I had to replace the AC compressor, and that was about $700 because I know a good, yet cheap, mechanic who works on these cars, otherwise it would have been about $1500. It was shortly after that I sold the car, but it had 127,000 miles on it and it was still running strong and felt like a new car. Mercedes cars age very well.

I'm thinking about replacing my Corvette with a CLS550 right now.

Somewhat similar to a friends used Merc experience...Dealer repairs were insanely expensive so a good independent tech was needed. There were still instances where the part cost was high due to limited or no OEM alternatives available locally.

 

[Tig]

Of all the German auto manufacturers, Mercedes Benz has the lowest reliability rating.

 

[Coralkong]

Of all the German auto manufacturers, Mercedes Benz has the lowest reliability rating.

That might technically be true, but I know the newer VW's are fucking garbage.

My neighbor's clutch went up at 16K miles.
Rear wheel bearing went at 18K miles.
Head gasket at like 22K miles.

Had electrical gremlins the entire time he had it. He told me the headlights would flicker when he hit potholes. The interior light would flicker on/off as well, for no reason at all......I mean, like it would turn on driving down the road kind of thing.

Finally traded it in after 3 years, 4 or 5 major repairs, took the $7K hit and bought a Chevy.

I said "Good luck with that...." but he was so pissed off, he didn't care.

He was PISSED OFF.

Ouch.

I think Mercedes are well-built, solidly designed automobiles. I think most of the problems that arise with them are from owners not doing the scheduled maintenance tasks, probably because they ARE expensive to work on (and probably hard to work on, as well.)

 

[DFB]

That might technically be true, but I know the newer VW's are fucking garbage.
My neighbor's clutch went up at 16K miles.
Rear wheel bearing went at 18K miles.
Head gasket at like 22K miles.

Had electrical gremlins the entire time he had it. He told me the headlights would flicker when he hit potholes. The interior light would flicker on/off as well, for no reason at all......I mean, like it would turn on driving down the road kind of thing.

Finally traded it in after 3 years, 4 or 5 major repairs, took the $7K hit and bought a Chevy.

I said "Good luck with that...." but he was so pissed off, he didn't care.

He was PISSED OFF.

Ouch.

Now that is a lemon.

 

[Coralkong]

Now that is a lemon.

Yeah, I think the VW dealer fixed most of it for free, but he was out the car for a week each time.

I remember he told me he drove down there (the car was in the dealer's shop at the time, and had been there for DAYS, but he never could get a solid update on what was being done to it.) and almost got arrested because he went ape-shit at the service counter when they told him they couldn't find anything wrong with it.



Did I mention he was pissed?

Poor Phil. Super nice guy. He'd just had enough.
:madpoke:

 

[Tig]

That might technically be true, but I know the newer VW's are fucking garbage.

Ah, you are correct about late VW's. They have taken a sharp nosedive over the years.

Audi, top 4 in overall ratings.
BMW, top 10.
Porsche
Mercedes Benz
VW

 

[Coralkong]

Ah, you are correct about late VW's. They have taken a sharp nosedive over the years.

Audi, top 4 in overall ratings.
BMW, top 10.
Porsche
Mercedes Benz
VW

It could be because MB's have introduced those "baby" models, where everything in them is just made with cheaper components. I'm not a MB guy, but I know that they have several different classes of car, and I can't see one you can buy these days for under $40K-ish new being NEARLY the same quality of build as the one that costs $80K+ 17 years ago. Know what I'm saying? I don't know that for fact, just pointing it out.

The MB in question here was a pretty expensive model, if memory serves. (SL500)

EDIT:

http://www.autoblog.com/buy/1999-Mercedes_Benz-SL_Class/

That's an expensive car, even in 1999. Yikes.


EDIT#2:

I say, you only live once, fuck it... @dmn23 go test drive it. You might hate it. I doubt you will, but you might. Fuck it, you might love it and it might last forever, especially if you take care of her and treat her like the classy bitch she is. Go for it, says I!

 

[sleewell]

I currently own an '11 E class and before that owned an '06 C class. Great cars. Maintain them properly, had no issues. I don't think I'd own an older one but I love the S class.

 

[Rick 381]

Buy it. Life is too short to drive boring cars. The other stuff you're looking at may be good dependable cars but no one has ever gotten passionate about any of them. Boring see another one every block cars. Snooze.

 

[Lerxst]

Buy it. Life is too short to drive boring cars. The other stuff you're looking at may be good dependable cars but no one has ever gotten passionate about any of them. Boring see another one every block cars. Snooze.

IIRC he's already got a Miata so he's covered there.

 

[Deep Eddy]

Buy it. Life is too short to drive boring cars. The other stuff you're looking at may be good dependable cars but no one has ever gotten passionate about any of them. Boring see another one every block cars. Snooze.

Or, buy a cheap, boring car and go travel to cool places with the money you saved.

My $0.02.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[Tiltsta]

You seem to be aware of all the potential issues, so if you dig the car, buy it.

My only comment is that Mercedes handling over the last couple of decades has been tuned more for the geriatric set, at least this is how it feels to me. Sure the AMG cars are very different and have a much firmer suspension, and active suspensions have firmed things up over the last few years, but there was a big block of time where they drove like buicks. I'd expect the SL series to have a little bit more of a sporty feel than the normal Mercedes sedans, but I've never ridden in that model, so I can't say for sure. Last thing you want is a 300 ci V8 powered convertible that handles like driving a couch.