Is buying a used Mercedes s class worth it or would it be too much of a headache finanically...

I'd personally go for a w140 instead. Older but more reliable and more comfy

Although my personal favorite is the w126. They can be found for under $2k in good condition pretty easily, and are some of the coolest cars ever made. But that's if you're into old cars

Ill sell you mine for $8,500
Twin turbo V12 model
Bread related

Do not. I had a 2004 e65 745i and it was a complete shitheap with 110,000mi on it and the transmission went by 125,000mi. They design them to be short lived for people who can afford to lease it and get the new one in a few years.

This pisses me off. So many pre-95 Mercedes with 200k+ miles are still going strong, but most of the early/mid 2000s ones are absolute shit heaps by 100k miles. What changed in their engineering philosophy?

>What changed in their engineering philosophy?
My guess would be the DaimlerChrysler merger coupled with the retarded EU regulations that forced MB to use worse quality steel and worse, thinner water based paint layers instead of their previous thick "toxic" ones. The worse steel/paint combo really shows in late 90s C- and E-class Mercedes' being rustbuckets that fall apart from just looking at their direction while the W123/124/126/201 era Mercs are still going almost rust free to this day and I'm willing to guess some of the mechanical problems are due to Chrysler parts that they were forced to use due to the merger.

More people trade up now leaving perfectly good cars with poorfags who can't afford to maintain them

...

My father's S320 had 420k km when he bought it.
He has changed the transimission, which by the way is rated for less than the engine is capable of putting out. He changed some front suspension components. He needs to change the water pump. 20k km later, the car is going strong.

And I think it looks better than the w220

4 speed or 5 speed?

Curious about the older w123/W124
How do the gasoline models compare to the diesels for long term durability?

>8.5k for a water damaged s class
Go for it OP

Does it include the bread?

yakuza style

benz is oficially dead r.i.p
holy shit how do you go from making godmachines to pos they are now
my prayers to daimler

w140 or nothing op its fucking godmachine

Does this only apply to the s class from that year or all Benz? Also what would be some other options to consider

Are they pieces of shit because you can't afford them?

So basically don't buy an s class unless it's 91-98?

>watch me drift in my retirement landboat

It was a 5 speed. Now it's a 4 speed from a w124 diesel.

A w220 costs like $4k here. What are you talking about. They are just shit.

Well going to say this. An early/mid 2000s s class can be had for a few thousand bucks

The Chrysler deal really fucked them up. Shit just got transported from Chrysler to Mercedes through some magic and their cars just got way worse.

>mainstream icon of status
>gonna buy a hand me down used one for pennies

i will never understand that. especially when you can't afford to maintain it

This is pure BS. Daimler bought Chrysler outright there was no "merger"

Chrysler sold out to Daimler because they wanted Mercedes-Benz tech and platforms, and they didn't get them. No, your shitheap 300 or Pacifica is NOT an E-class. The closest you'll come is a Crossfire, and that's the 2-generations previous SLK...without the best part of an SLK, the roof.

Daimler hoped that the Chrysler presence in North America would help their dealer network, and Chrysler shit in their own hat with that long before the purchase, because Chrysler's product was regarded as junk before the purchase. There are NO Chrysler parts bin parts in Daimler vehicles.

I don't know why people persist with this stupid notion that Chrysler watered down Mercedes-Benz. It's 100 percent not true, and 15 seconds of research will show you that.

As for the quality drop off in the late 90s, it was economics. Mercedes-Benz tried to compete in markets they weren't in, and failed. It's really as simple as that. By 2002, that was generally sorted out. After that, the problems were the same ones that all Mercedes-Benz cars have when people don't maintain them.

If you buy an expensive luxury car, it's simple - maintain it, or you'll feel the pain. They're complicated, expensive machines, no matter how old they are, and no matter who makes them.

Buy your S-Class, but...buy one that's been maintained, and then maintain it. If you don't, it breaks, and you will suffer.

Unlike most people posting here, I've owned a few of these, so I can actually give you a real answer, and not a 15-year old "I read it on the internet" answer.

Any S-Class you buy will be far and away a better car than any of its contemporaries. It always has been top of the heap in any given year - that's its whole reason for existing, as far as Mercedes-Benz is concerned.

That said, the cheap ones are not worth your time - they haven't been maintained. Get one with service records, or walk away, no matter how nice the car looks.

Depending on which model you get, it willl either have an air suspension (airmatic) or a hydraulic suspension (ABC) and these will be the big cost items - be ready for pump maintenance and leaking air shocks - they're old, and rubber degrades.

The v-8 engines are pretty solid, and the first v-12 (M120 engine...) is pretty good. Some of the early 5 and 6 speed autos can suffer from a valve body problem that you can actually fix yourself now, with a kit from the internet. Electronics can be wonky, but it's almost always a sensor failure.

Don't get your drawers in a wad about fault codes and scanners and other Scotty Kilmer level fear-mongering...these are complicated cars and 90 percent of the fault codes are simple stuff (computer glitch, burned out bulb, etc)

I'm partial to the W126 models, but you have to be VERY careful buying one, and then be prepared to do 5000 in deferred maintenance, especially rubber bits.

Next after that would be a W220, later models, after 2005.

Good luck!

This. The cost-cutting started years before Daimler-Chrysler. It's easy to forget these days what an impact the original Lexus LS400 made on the luxury car market. It made the w126 feel like a dinosaur and cost tens of thousands less. Lexus begat the cheapened 1994 C-Class and 1996 E-Class.

>Mercedes 5 speed
>rated for less than the engine is capable of putting out
Total fucking bullshit, those engine are good until 800ft-lbs and have been used in everything from older S classes, higher end AMGs after the turn of the century, Sprinter vans, the Challenger and Charger, several Jeeps including the Wrangler, and even the fucking Mercedes-McLaren SLR

Just because you can afford to buy them doesn't mean you can afford to maintain them

those transmissions*

God damn those wheels are shit.

God damn those wheels are even shittier.

God fucking damn I thought the other two were bad but those wheels take shit to a whole new level.

Lol so true mang fucking shit, here's my whip check out these hot wheels lol real hot shit

So you wouldn't recommend an w140? Because the w220 was what I was thinking of picking up originally, but again I have zero experience with Benz. Honesty I feel like anything before 95 would be too old for me. I'm just not into cars that have that look. If I do buy an w240 or w220, how much should I have set aside for maintenance right out of the gate? I was thinking maybe 2k, but again I'm unsure how much these cars cost to upkeep on an annual basis

you see that lads? the front bumper isnt the entire front end of the car like modern cars, this was pioneered by domestic americrap cars (thanks gm) and the grille is part of the hood wow thats class as fuck senpai

Don't buy an S Class if you're poor

Just get an LS430

I just took my father's word for it, I can't argue if you have the stats. But either way the transmission held for over 400k km.

"Poor" meaning what?

This, they even look like Benzes.

Meaning you can't afford the maintenance

That car looks fucking gay as fuck

You look gay as fuck

Are you Philopino?

You know having open containers of alcohol in a car is illegal right?

Only if you're poor

It's going to be a headache if it isn't a total shitheap as others have stated about all early 2000s. The parts will be expensive, and you'll want to find a non-dealer mechanic for it so you won't be taken to the cleaners when something on it eventually breaks. The most common problem you'll have is the airbag suspension either leaking or just outright collapsed. Unless you're really dedicated to the idea of owning one, you'd be better off getting something else since most of the "revolutionary" technology in it is already standard for most cars past 2006 anyways.

Don't. I bought an S500 and its a huge headache, parts are very expensive too.

What year? Did u have it inspected before you brought it?

Meaning you need to buy a used s-class