I might be beating a dead horse.. but I was wondering for some opinions.
I grew up around Mercedes and my dad left me a 1995 S420 whch he bought brand new in 1995. It has around 65,000 miles on it and I recently had the blower, alternator, alternator harness, Engine harness and light switch changed. I am about to have the bose amp swapped out for a new one and the head unit changed despite the old original unit still being working. Everything looks good in the car and it is brand new and garage kept. Kind of memory of my dad. My question:
Can the car last me another 5-10 years ( like another 100,000 miles)? I think I got most of the problems fixed up but people say the car is full of problems( There is a slight vibration on the car when i drive past 50mph but otherwise.. great engine, air con also doesn't seem as cold as my mom's xterra.) The tires were rotated like 4 times the past 1/2 year. Despite the fixes, I keep feeling that I might get stranded when i drive the car out. (Since I have)
Are my worries justified?>
or should I just get a new car? (the resale price is crazy.... I just do not expect it from a 90,000 + car brand new)
The W140 worries me more than the 95 W124 E class wagon that I also have and love. I have less doubts on that car going to over 150,000 miles since I have seen it done and many cars... But I plan on giving it to my sister and I might be driving the S-class everyday.
Anything else I should look into then?
Any advice would be helpful.
oh yeah.... how much s the mpg everyone is getting on their rides.?? I haven't bothered to calculate it.
Like you say the resale is stupidly low on these cars. If its not really costing you anything aside from maintence and you have another car why not keep it. Mine is my daily driver and I have about 120,000 miles on it and it feels fine. The vibration might be the bushings in the front end. 60,000 is quite low miles for these cars I think Bayhas has over 200,000 miles on his 92 300SE so these cars just keep on going, mechanicly they seem to be strong its just the electrics in them that are a real problem.
As for mpg I know mine is not a 420 but I get 10km/L on the open road and about 7-8km/l around town.
the v8s in these cars are quite good.
all have the harness issues through 1996.
keep it, you will enjoy it for years to come.
but the memory of your father will persist even if you have to sell if you do not like it.
hard to imagine not liking a W140 though!
The 140 is such a superb car, then factor in the fact that your dad left it to you, it seems perhaps you may retain and maintain this great car. As for years of service one might expect from it, well that depends entirely on your means/desire quotient. i.e., if you have the means and desire to have items which may need repair fixed, then the car will last indefinately. however, if you're wanting to know how long the car will run w/o having to stick any signifcant money into her, then you really need to look at how much sentiment might be attached to her, because eventually you will be committing resources to keeping her running properly. that being said, please understand i'm not telling you that these cars have a propensity for breakdown, but that these cars are very complicated so there is actually more to break down on them than say the average car. how much will you need to set aside each year to keep her going? now THAT is a subject for some debate, and has come up from time to time on this site. i suggest you pull up a search on that and then you'll want to draw your own conclusions. best of luck.
I would not own a car that I was afraid to drive daily. I recently drove my 28 year old car (a 1978 Porsche 911SC) daily for a 3-4 month stint while I was doing some repairs on my S600. Again, I would not own it if I were afraid to drive it. Get rid of the W140 if it worries you. You'll sleep better at night
However, here's a perspective on buying a new car (I assume you mean brand new.). The new car will very likely cost you more in depreciation over the term of ownership than the S420 will cost you over the same period of ownership.
I have the same car like you ,just double the miles and I bought just a year ago.
In 1 year I put on 20K Miles and have no problem at all.
I drive it ,like you see on the miles,almost daily with full cofidence.
Just do all the service and try not to skip them
I need 18MG,good luck whatever your decision might be.
In my S500's, which have a slightly bigger engine, I get about 16MPG city and as much as 23MPG highway. Like everyone has said before, as long as you keep up the maintainence, this car will last you forever! I drive both Benz's as daily drivers and put about 15,000 miles a year on each of them. They have been perfect, and have never left me "stranded" sure there are things that break, but nothing that prevents me from driving the car until I have time to bring it to the shop. As for the A/C not being cold, I would assume it either needs to be "charged" or the evaporator needs replaced. Don't let the cost of replacement scare you away from keeping the car, I replaced one in my 500SEL and the A/C is cold enough to keep a penguin happy!! It is BY FAR the BEST A/C in any car i've every been in, new or old!! Where other cars take 5 or 10 minutes to get cold, the benz is like an ice box in less than 2!
Best of luck in whatever your decision is!
I have the same car. I bought it from a neighbor 4 years ago. His wife said it was too large acar for her. I like the car, but I did not like paying for replacing the air conditioner component that is located under the dash or repairing the windshield wiper transmission.
The car is very safe. I drive at the speed limit, and I take two children to school every day. I like being in a quite riding 4,700 pound car.
I think the car is awesome and I might end up keeping it around. Something about the mercedes built before 95 that still amazes me. i still think my E320 95 wagon is one of the best cars i have ever owned.
Just not used to the size but i guess i could get used to it.
So like is it worth paying to have the bushings looked at? Its the only thing i can think of besides having the frame damaged... that could cause the benz to shake after 50mph.
There was a front end shimmy problem on the earlier W140, but I thought it was earlier than 95. Search "steering shimmy" or similar phrases, and I'm sure you'll find lots of discussion. As I recall, new lower control arms may have been a fix, but I think some say that they never got rid of it in their cars. What about wheel balance? It's probably worth having a quality road force measurement wheel balance done on a Hunter balancer maching. Find a good tire shop and a good technician who really knows how to use the Hunter.
yeah I had the tire balance done a few times this year already.. and i got new pirelli tires installed last year too. I'll do some research on the steering shimmy. SO it might not be the bushings then?
Lower control arms come with new bushings installed. I wouldn't say bushings are not the problem. The bushings can be replaced without having to replace the control arm.
My '95 S500 has not had any of the electrical problems you describe - but once solved with a new harness they should not reappear if the harness was installed correctly.
Yes - the front end of the W140's that year are sensitive. You have the right direction to start by bringing the front end to "fresh", the lower control arms are relatively inexpensive on eBay, finding the a guy to put them in is relatively easy.
Tire/wheel balancing has to be done very-very righteous to minimize that "vinration" - if it is out a hair then you will get a specific speed-related resonant vibration at a specific 5mph slot somewhere between 45-60mph, that disappears as the speed is increased.
I was able to eliminate 98% of the vibration on mine. I had the control arms replaced which helped.
You could eliminate the vibration 100% if there is a tire/truck giy in your area that has the deluxe balancer that balances the tire at speed - unfortunately I don't have one in my area.
The best I could do was clean the inside of the wheels to take off the accumulated brake dust/dirt buildup, and then had the tires balanced with care, and had them use the same type of flat wheel weights that MB originally used on the wheels (versus the "slug" type). You can always score one MB wheel weight at your MB dealership, normally from the service rep, to show as a example to a tire shop. My local tire guy had the same type of weights he uses them for other custom wheel balancing.
New control arms, clean wheels inside and out, re-balanced with car with the flat weights took out 98% of my speed-related resonance vibration - like I say having the wheels balanced on the car at speed, unfortunately that machine doesn't exist in my area.
I went to ebay and I can't seem to figure out which parts you mentioned. There seems to be a repair kit so I am not sure what does consist of. Any advice? Thanks!!
When they are good they are great, the vib should have gone way in 95, lower car, spring changes, I have a "vib" car, have done bushings etc, under warranty and a lot after. Michelins are junk on these cars, Bridgestones, higher pressure and road force balancing. Dont chnge the 'bose" untill it quits, the AC might give you some issues, locking and closing pump always an issue. I have tried to get rid of my 92, and as we speak re-doing the front leather, my wife just loves it. We got rid of the SL ,ML, and this magnificent expensive beast is still with us, the E wagon is wonderfull
When they are good they are great, the vib should have gone way in 95, lower car, spring changes, I have a "vib" car, have done bushings etc, under warranty and a lot after. Michelins are junk on these cars, Bridgestones, higher pressure and road force balancing. Dont chnge the 'bose" untill it quits, the AC might give you some issues, locking and closing pump always an issue. I have tried to get rid of my 92, and as we speak re-doing the front leather, my wife just loves it. We got rid of the Sl ,ML, and this magnificent expensive beast is still with us
you know.. after replacing the head unit with a new alpine, I noticed most of the cracking sounds were gone.... but I would still hear a bump sound everytime I would touch the window buttons in the front... anyone have an idea what this could mean? Might change some of the wiring to find out if the right channel is disconnected or that the amp is dead...
still deciding whether rebuilding an amp is better or have a used amp... knowing the age of the amp is the usual cause of the problem from what I have read...
you know.. after replacing the head unit with a new alpine, I noticed most of the cracking sounds were gone.... but I would still hear a bump sound everytime I would touch the window buttons in the front... anyone have an idea what this could mean? Might change some of the wiring to find out if the right channel is disconnected or that the amp is dead...
still deciding whether rebuilding an amp is better or have a used amp... knowing the age of the amp is the usual cause of the problem from what I have read...
Yea it was but the shop that did it and if you remember caused the problems picked up some of the tab, I did not have to pay for the man hours required to fit a new stereo (which I made sure included running the speaker wires) all in all I was out of pocket about 400-450 bucks.
60,000 is quite low miles for these cars I think Bayhas has over 200,000 miles on his 92 300SE so these cars just keep on going, mechanicly they seem to be strong its just the electrics in them that are a real problem.
.
I would personally keep it for the following 10 reasons:
1-it's a W140
2-it's a W140
3-it's a W140
4-a memory from dad
5-low mileage
6-your dad had it since new
7-you know the entire history of the car
8-will not cost you anything to keep it
9-if you are in to a new car, it will make a nice 2nd car
10-it's a W140!
yea, bayhas made some very good points. I agree with all 10 of those points, but I would like to express my thoughts on reason #6 (Your dad had it since new)
There is nothing like having a car since new, especially a W140. Don't get me wrong, used W140's are great, but having it new is just something that beats used anyday.
I had my '95 S500 since new, and every day was heaven! It was kept perfect, it was mine since day 1, and it was like having a second home.
My 95 S500 got totalled, and I bought my 96. My 96 is great, but I wish I knew what the previous owner did to it, how he cared for it, etc.
You really should keep the car edstorm. I am begging you dude.
hey guys, thanks for the advice... I have grew up around mercedes and I really do believe on the brand and the quality that they stand for...my dad's first mercedes was a new sel 1978 I think 4-door and he also had a new sl 1978. Those cars were still working till 1996 and I find that amazing. My dad loves mercedes and i share that same love since my first car was the E320 wagon from 95 which still runs like a dream... I was amazed that a car that was 5+ years could run so well....
i am thinking this S420 will do the same for me and it won't be the letting me down... It'll be fun to drive as well... I don't think having them both will be such a big financial strain... I hope I can make it feel like new
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