Should I keep my 95 S420 W140? - Benzworld.org

edstorm · 07-03-2006, 03:52 PM

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.

NZ Benz · 07-03-2006, 04:00 PM

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.

560DBleu · 07-04-2006, 06:02 AM

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!

aristotled · 07-04-2006, 06:56 AM

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 hope that helps.

Brett San Diego · 07-04-2006, 04:15 PM

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.

Brett

ulflei · 07-04-2006, 07:29 PM

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.

dantefr · 07-04-2006, 08:14 PM

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!

chuckg · 07-04-2006, 08:19 PM

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.

edstorm · 07-05-2006, 10:29 AM

hey guys, thanks for the advice...

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.

Brett San Diego · 07-05-2006, 10:38 AM

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.

Brett