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Equus or W140?

9K views 68 replies 21 participants last post by  ronw123w124 
#1 ·
Gang,

Yes I know these are totally different price points. Here's the deal. I am looking for an elegant yet understated daily driver to spare the miles off my Jag XKR that I've modded the crap out of. The modding means is mega loud and just a beast. So I want the exact opposite out of my sedan. I want to marvel at the quiet, soft ride, etc when in the sedan - and then just love the raw feel of the XKR or whatever I replace it with.

That said I love the big presence of an Equus and the fat that it isn't the cliche' big 3 - MB, BMW, Lexus. 10 year warranty to boot. Used for about $35k. At the other end of the spectrum is the W140 which I have always loved and know it was way over-engineered in its day. Here are my questions:

1) What do you love most about your W140? The least?

2) What else have you owned that you can contrast it to?

3) I had a 95 SL500 for like 3 months. The steering of that recirculating ball joint was boring for even a GT. Although it won't feel so bad in my refined daily car, is the W140 the same rack?

4) Has it broken the bank in maintenance?

5) Which engine is best? I know I would want the SWB. The 320 seems like it would feel very very slow - but I suppose it would get great mileage. The 420 and 500 seem interchangeable.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!
 
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#50 ·
Another vote for the Phaeton here. A W12 with the 4 seat package is a truly great car, and possibly the most under rated car ever. In the UK the V10 diesel version can still be found used for about the same as a half decent w140, and has some crazy performance figures for a diesel. It's also possibly the most discreet and well engineered cars ever built.

Are Hyundai offering the 10 year warranty in the US? if that was transferrable to subsequent owners, it does make their cars very tempting as daily drivers when they get to 3 years old. They usually depreciate horribly (Partially due to heavy discounting from the dealership), so a 3 year old will be cheap as chips and with 7 years of warranty left, that has to be a great deal?
 
#51 · (Edited)
I did not know we have vw Phaeton in U.S ,dude this car look amazing the black one is really catch my eyes and its look has some weight too .,
The interior is elegant but this wood trim color ummm i don't know .

now you asked what we drove before ,,,
i was 15 years old so i got my dad black AMG W124 E500 real AMG with a recaro seats everything amg in it the car 4 years old that time so oil and brakes change only anyway i loved the car as it was piece of art .

moved later when i was 20 years old to w126 300SE i did like it a lot till i tried the w140 and here i'm stuck with it and i don't think about changing it till i get rich to buy very low mileage 99 w140 s500 LWB its my dream and i will keep riding it till my 10 years son knows how great is this car and then i will give it to him:D

maintenance , honestly for the last 2 years nothing but new tires and oil change and brake rotors A/C problem that i fixed yesterday mine is 177k and i'm planing to put 500k at least by that time i think i will be financially stable to spend $20k for very low mileage 99 S500 , i can not imagine my self driving other than the safest car in the world .

but if i have money now i would buy the vw Phaeton as 2nd car its look like a vw Touareg lowered from the roof ,, i like it .

good luck Sir:thumbsup:
 
#55 ·
Guys, anything wrong with a 92 400SE? I really like the SWB cars and to my understanding there are no S500 SWB correct?

So besides the lined woodgrain is there something about the pre-420 I should shy away from?
 
#56 ·
The early W140 model years 92 and 93 are very good. My only pet peeve is the beta Bose sound system in those cars. The amp was different and the tuner was separate from the headunit. The source was 2 channels with a fader control on the center console. Somewhat complicated and expensive to refurbish and replace as wiring harness is needed. More info can be found at:

MBCluster.com Mercedes W140 Instrument Cluster Repair Homepage

94-99 models had updated Bose. 94 model year V8 is my favorite for many reasons. Hope the above info helps.
 
#59 ·
I personally feel the S420 is ridiculously underpowered for such a large car, but that's just me. Even the 500 isn't that great on power, but at least its serviceable. It really depends on if you're used to having driven powerful cars I guess.

As a side note I did see an Equus at the Super Bowl party I was at yesterday. The owner bought it used for around $40k with all the dealer expenses- it did look like a solid car, but in the end of the day you're driving a Korean car that wants to be a German luxury sedan, and it just seems overpriced for what it is. People were saying the same thing at the party; a nice but ridiculously overpriced Hyundai.
 
#65 ·
The W140 are gorgeous cars. They can be expensive to maintain however considering the number of cars you have owned, and the car you currently own, you shouldn't have an issue with this.

The S420 is fine powerwise, it kicks down well and overtakes happily. Went to Sydney and Back to Melbourne with 5 people and a boot full with the air con on the entire trip. It sat at 110kmh the entire time happily and returned 11.2lt/100km. For a car of its age, with the comfort it delivered, the space and quietness, I think its an exceptional automobile.

We do not get the Equus in Australia, but if it does come, I'd be very keen to drive it. I admire Hyundai and the work they have done to come so far; The Genesis will be coming soon so I'll definitely get a drive in that.

The W124 is an excellent alternative, especially in 500E form. If I were in your shoes, I'd go for one of those over a W140 for the added reliability, and the extra 'speciality' of a 500E. Its also a quicker car ;)

Other alternatives, yes the Phaeton and even something from Lexus, maybe a GS300, or an LS400? The Lexus are very nice cars to be in, however they lack the charisma that I find in the Mercs. My friend has one, and after driving in it all day, and being in it all day I find it very comfortable, well equipped and rides nicely. However, I return to the W124 or W140 and immediately I notice, firmer seats however more supportive especially lumbar support, more engaging turn in and the automatics are better in the mercs. And finallly, there's just that character that's missing from the Lexus offerings.

Dare I say, even the Phaeton lacks character sadly. But if that doesn't bother you, the phaeton would be a fantastic car too.

Good luck.
 
#68 ·
The W124 is an excellent alternative, especially in 500E form. If I were in your shoes, I'd go for one of those over a W140 for the added reliability, and the extra 'speciality' of a 500E. Its also a quicker car ;)
I'm going to have to disagree with this statement. 500E's are incredibly more expensive than clean W140's- and are not much quicker than the 600's.


Just from my own personal experience: On the same week I got my 600SEL, I went to go see a 500E. I had been close to buying one the previous year, but the owner decided to keep the car so I was out of luck. Anyways, I won't go into the specific prices, but I got my 600 for half the price on what the 500E would have cost me. Also, the 600 was far better equipped, had far lower mileage, and did not have any paint issues (the 500 had a few clear coat issues). I thought it was a no brainier for me- the 600 it was.

That being said, the 500E's are absolutely terrific cars. Very rare, but the Porsche collaboration can definitely be felt. This thing really does hug the road, and you can take corners at far higher speeds than you'd believe a boxy German sedan could do. I really love everything about these cars, but I simply feel their value has gone to quite ridiculous levels for clean ones. Still, I hope to own one eventually- I still sort of regret not being able to get the one I saw last year.
 
#69 ·
We don't have the Equus here, I'd imagine that nobody would be buying it anyway. What we do have here is the Genesis sedan although there's only a handful of them here, they are priced like the C class and 3 series over here and almost everybody here would go for either of the two or go for a Lexus ES350 instead. For most Filipinos, they feel that the Toyota Camry is a more luxurious and simply a better car than the Genesis which costs about half as much as a Genesis. ( Camrys are sort of a status symbol over here).

Another flop that we had about 20 years ago was the Honda Legend (Acura for you guys in the US). The most stupid thing about it is that it was priced more expensive than the BMW 5 series and the W124 E class of that time. I think they sold about 20 cars on a 2 or 3 year model run.
 
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