Who went back to W140 again?

[Tbilisi79]

Hello. Its been a while.
I am wondering, how many of you sold your previous W140 and down the line went back to another one again.
The reason I am asking is, I am constantly looking around for a good deal on a nice S500. I look mostly online and don't see too many good cars. Most of them are in 120K mile range and have no previous owner history. Most are at a dealers garage. Now I don't mind a 120K miles, but I rather buy a car with that sort of mileage from an owner who loved the car and has history of repairs that go along with it.
I recently sold my 98 Lexus LS400, thinking I would buy a 2002-LS430. Week after I sold that car I came across a 1973 Lincoln Mark IV in very good condition and I had to have it, to keep my 92 Mark VII company. Those two I love dearly, but lets face it, Mark IV is not a practical car at 7MPG, plus it too nice for daily use and my Mark VII I want to last my whole life and use it for sunny drives, adventurous road trips and such.

So now I am in a market for a 3rd car. 2000-2003 BMW M5 is on a list, so is a LS430. Still I keep an eye out for a nice S500. Something about that car that just makes me smile every time. I remember how proud and happy my 500SEL made me feel. Now that I think about it, I can fix the vacuum doors, repair the Bose AMP, change the Throttle body if needed, rear accumulators... The only things I fear on W140 is the AC Evaporator and the tranny.
Way I am look at it, I rather spend a few grand a year (if needed) on W140 repair than waste it on car payments of a depreciating car.
I don't need a car for daily commute, but I do need a car for long trips, drives, dates, night outs and formal events.

Anyone out there who sold their W140 and went back to one again? Reasons? Regrets?

Dave

[carjoy]

Good to hear your voice again even if you have not yet quite returned to the fold.

[bayhas]

good to see old friends...

[Tbilisi79]

My hat is off to those who still own and service these cars from back in the day.

[Stryker-1999 S600]

I did EXACTLY what your title suggests:

I had a beautiful 1995 S600 Sedan that was perfect, but sold it when the extended warranty expired. I noticed that the fix to the A/C system had cost the dealer something like $5,000 (which was covered under the warranty), so that spooked me to sell the car at the end of the warranty period.

What a mistake.

I purchased a new 220-body (S-55) and was VERY disappointed. Electrical failures, body defects, just one headache after another. It was quite apparent to me that the 220 body was a far lesser car than the 140. My belief, now in retrospect, was that MB 'cheapened' the 220, as mandated by their merger with Chrysler.

So, when I had the chance to pick up another beautiful S600 Sedan, I took it and haven't been disappointed. The 140 is a far superior car to the 220. By a mile, insofar as build quality goes. So it doesn't have a digital cell phone, I replaced the analog with a bluetooth unit that works even better. Sure, some of the gee-whiz electronics are good-in concept. But they break often, to say nothing of the fact that most elements you don't even use.

Suffice to say, I'm thrilled to be back with a 140 Sedan.

My personal belief is that if you want to replicate the 140 at some point, the equivalent isn't the modern S-class (has anyone seen the new 2010 221-body yet??), but the Maybach.