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Danny's 2003 S500 Thread

6K views 50 replies 11 participants last post by  dannyzabolotny 
#1 ·
I just put down a deposit today on this awesome 2003 S500. It has a clean title with 93,000 miles. Black exterior with a black interior. It's decently equipped, with heated seats, power rear sunshade, soft-close doors, and a self-opening trunk.

I tested out a few other S500's and an S55 prior to checking this one out, and it seems like all the others that I saw had all sorts of issues and cosmetic defects. It's crazy how bad the ones at the dealers looked, despite being over $10k in their prices.

This one is nearly flawless, with no dings or dents on any of the panels. The paint is in superb condition, the interior leather is soft and supple with no tears, and the engine compartment looks very clean. The engine runs so quietly that you can barely hear it when its idling. The car drives very well too. The Airmatic suspension works as it should, with no sagging.

I pick it up sometime early next week, and I honestly can't wait to drive it everywhere.
 

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#5 ·
Thanks!

Very nice.



What were the findings in the pre-purchase inspection? Any service records?



Lots of ticking time bombs in these cars if you're not careful.



Dan
I didn't do a PPI, nor are there any service records. I don't mind, because the price was pretty good and I'm fine with repairing anything that comes up. I bought four BMW's in the past year with no inspections or service records, and I handled it all just fine. I'm mechanically savvy enough to handle any engine or suspension work that comes my way, and I have two good friends that are electrical engineers so I'm covered on that front as well. I actually rebuilt three BMW V8's last year, so this car should be a walk in the park since I haven't really heard of these V8's self-destructing in the same way as the BMW V8's of the early 2000's.

I also have two other running cars so my life isn't going to rely on this particular car running 100% of the time.

I'm also going to buy the service manuals and the STAR diagnostic tool as well, so that I can fully service this car without ever paying anybody to do so. I did a similar thing with my BMWs by having INPA for diagnostics.

Congratulations! Beautiful car.

I do have one very serious suggestion...

Do not start spending big money on "upgrades" and "improvements"! If you are tempted to do, take the money that you would have spent and set it aside for the inevitable "surprises" that will pop up over the next six months. Just enjoy the car, and learn what you have. Read the owner's manual all the way thru, which will take hours - but you will be amazed at what the car will do that you never suspected.

I fully intend to study the owner's manual cover to cover, as the controls of this car are radically different from the four BMWs I've had in the past.

I certainly don't plan on doing any kind of mods or upgrades to this car for a long time, since my main focus is to keep it mechanically sound. I didn't ever do any mods to my BMWs either, because keeping them in running condition was the top priority. I do plan to set aside a few thousand just in case something goes terribly wrong.

From reading threads around here, I've deduced that the most common problems with these cars are: crank position sensors, thermostats/temp sensors, Airmatic strut/pump/relay failure, shifter sticking in park, battery drain issues, and various electrical gremlins. Any more that I should be aware of?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#4 ·
Congratulations! Beautiful car.

I do have one very serious suggestion...

Do not start spending big money on "upgrades" and "improvements"! If you are tempted to do, take the money that you would have spent and set it aside for the inevitable "surprises" that will pop up over the next six months. Just enjoy the car, and learn what you have. Read the owner's manual all the way thru, which will take hours - but you will be amazed at what the car will do that you never suspected.
 
#7 ·
Yeah it had to be a black interior, tan interiors do not age well. I only ever wear jeans, so a tan interior S500 would look awful after a month of daily driving. I tested out a tan S500 with 76k miles, and it wasn't nearly as nice as this one. Brown steering wheels look gross to me as well.
 
#8 ·
You should have two manuals - the Owner's Handbook, and the Command Handbook. Lots of reading!

Unless you already have a source for the STAR system, you might want to contact Eva Lee - I bought my C3 STAR system from them, and was happy with the equipment, software and support. I suggest buying the C3 system, with the software on a Dell D630 hard drive. Buy a D630 from eBay (there are hundreds on there now, coming off of lease), getting 4 GB of RAM and a 4.2 or 4.4 GHz dual process. The IBM video is the most reliable. You don't need Bluetooth or cell connection, don't need a hard drive.

Eva's email is ellen_808@qq.com

I have no financial or other connection with this vendor, other than as a satisfied customer.
 
#10 ·
Thanks! I've lurked for a little bit before I bought my car, to get an idea of what I might be getting myself into. I've already been reading up on quite a few things, and I can't wait to get my hands dirty with this car. Once I buy it, I'll probably do a full service on it, with new oil, new power steering fluid, new transmission fluid + filter, new air filters, new cabin air filters, new spark plugs, etc. It's right around that 100k mark where all that stuff should be serviced anyways.

I see you're a Mercedes-BMW double-dipper too, haha. I'm probably going to be keeping my 1995 750il around as a backup car, and because it's cool to have a V12 car sitting in my garage.

As for this car, I'm still waiting on the seller to get the title now that he finished paying the car off. Gotta make sure any liens on it are released as well. The seller seems like an honest guy, he just put the car up for sale too early. Hopefully the title gets in by Friday, if not early next week. The seller felt bad about it so he refunded my deposit. So we'll just wait and see what happens. Worst comes to worst, I take my money and buy a different W220. Though I'm really hoping everything works out with this one, this is by far the nicest once I've seen for a sale in a long time.
 
#15 ·
Oh for sure. Even the cheapest cars that I've bought for like $500 have been totally rust free. The only downside of being in Phoenix is that the sun completely destroys the paint on a lot of cars. Though it seems like the S-classes have better paint than most cars, all of the S500's I've seen have pretty good paint, even after sitting outside.

This S500 was owned by an older man prior to being bought by the seller, that might explain why it's in such good condition.
 
#18 ·
Replace that Airmatic Relay right away. I thought I had the new one in my car (a 2004), as it looked like the replaced part. It failed 3 weeks later on the way to work. I didn't notice until I got to work, airmatic pump would pump and pump, but not rise. Had to replace it. :-(

G.
 
#19 ·
Thanks for the tip! I'm putting together a shopping cart at Autohaus right now, so I've added that relay to it. I'm also going to replace the engine air filters, the cabin air filters, and I was thinking about doing the spark plugs too. I'm not 100% sure which spark plugs to use, because I remember when I had a BMW I was always told that Bosch spark plugs were the devil. Any recommendations? I don't care too much about the price.

I'm also planning on doing an oil change next weekend, because I have no idea when the last oil change was done and what kind of oil was used. I'm going to buy a Mercedes oil filter kit (only $15!) and use Mobil 1 0W40, as that's what is recommended for these European V8's. I'll probably buy an oil filter wrench too, so that I won't have any trouble getting access to the oil filter.

Should I also consider servicing the transmission and power steering fluid? I don't think the transmission fluid has been changed, the little red locking tab and cap are still on the transmission fluid filler pipe.
 
#24 ·
My transmission is shifting pretty smoothly and I don't see any leaks, so I guess I'll just leave it alone for now. I do love that guy's YouTube channel though, I've already learned a bunch of stuff by watching his videos.

I washed and waxed the S500 today, and it just looks wonderful. I conditioned the seats with Zaino leather conditioner, and waxed it with Zaino Z6 and Z-AIO. I'm going to do a more professional photoshoot around sunset when the lighting is better, but here are a few quick cell phone pics for now:







It's like a mirror! There are rock chips and scratches if you look closely, but the paint is in pretty good shape otherwise. Eventually I'll get a professional paint correction to make the paint nicer and get rid of any little swirls. My priority now is to get the windows tinted as soon as possible, since it's starting to get warm again in Phoenix.
 
#25 ·
Good thinking on the trans. Leave smooth shifting well enough alone.

Got a link to RVAE34's thread? Somehow I've missed that excitement on the other board. Must feel nice to spend a little 'bonding' time with it back on the weekend. I always enjoy the beginning of ownership, fun even vacuuming it and washing all the little nooks most PO's ignore.

My question is about the leather quality. Is it the 'painted on' leather that get with most E39s, C/CLK classes of that era, or a nicer leather that is dyed? I noticed a huge difference in leather quality between my SLK55 and our other now gone CLK320 and my 540I. I think it's Nappa? So soft, it really is a much nicer experience. And soft touch surfaces, they laughably take soft touch plastic to a ridiculous point, I can push in very far on the soft touch surfaces it's almost like an engineer said "You wanted soft touch huh? How about THIS!" -- just curious your observations on what seems higher quality than with your other car experiences.
 
#26 ·
The leather in this S500 is insanely soft. Even before conditioning it felt really supple and comfortable. Driving in this car is just like sitting on a really comfortable couch that gets to 100mph with just a light touch. I'm not sure how the leather is dyed, but I haven't really seen the leather get all that bad in these old W220's, even in the totally trashed ones. My 2003 E39 540i M-Sport had leather that was as stiff as cardboard, so these S500 seats are a massive improvement. The soft touch plastics feel wonderful too, and there's fabric and carpeting everywhere to reduce noise. I love all of these little interior details, they really make the car a joy to be in. The S-classes definitely got the nicest leather, especially with the S500's and S600's.

The initial honeymoon period of owning a car is always wonderful indeed, but that doesn't mean I stop liking a car after I've had it for a while. With my 540i I always made sure to keep it waxed and clean, inside and out, even after the initial honeymoon period was over.

Here's RVAE34's thread on the other MB forum: New member. Still searching for an AMG - MBWorld.org Forums
 
#28 ·
I tried out a few W220's with ventilated seats, but I couldn't find any cars with ventilated seats in good condition anywhere in my area, and I didn't want to deal with buying a car in another state 500 miles away. I'm not too worried about that though, because I can always retrofit them pretty easily. I figured it would just be best to buy a car with the most solid mechanical foundation, and then retrofit the nicer stuff later on.

Maybe in a few months I'll find somebody parting out an S600 and scoop up the entire interior to swap over. It's relatively easy to swap the interiors in these cars, especially if I'm not doing a color change.
 
#29 ·
Took some good pictures with my DSLR around sunset, the car looks amazing now. I can't wait to get AMG wheels and some tint on this car. This is going to be a pretty image-heavy post, so you've been warned:

































One thing I do wonder about is why the W220 forums aren't more active... I've checked the W220 sections on various other MB forums, and it seems like they're all a little dead. Are these cars just not that popular with people anymore? I know the BMW forums are always super duper active, especially the E38 and E39 forums.
 
#30 ·
W220 forums are pretty active compared to the w215 forums !

These cars aren't popular with the young forum demographic or tuner crowd , so it's mostly just a small percentage of people asking for repair help then never coming back

Plus these cars have far fewer problems . There's like 8 common failure items and everything else is bulletproof

Once you've changed your cps, accelerator pedal, transmission plug , airmatic, door control module , control arms /ball joints , and cleaned your reed valve there's usually nothing else to talk about !
 
#31 ·
I did get a lot of "old man" remarks thrown my way when I told people I bought an S-class. I must be the only 23 year old that's excited to own one.

I guess it's a good thing that there's not too much to complain about, eh? With the E38 and E39 BMWs pretty much any part can go bad at any time, so I guess that's why those forums are busier. That and all the ricey tuners seem to love stancing those BMW's.
 
#32 · (Edited)
This car is really a hidden gem because with the airmatic suspension you can stance these cars and get the VIP look for under $100 , and with a far better ride than any other stanced car

They can be lowered using star diagnostic or lowering links , or spend less than a dollar and they can be lowered using washers on the height sensors
 
#33 ·
That is a pretty cool thing for sure, but I don't think I'll be lowering the car anytime soon. It's at that perfect height where it's easy to get into the car, it's easy to drive the car into driveways, and I don't have to worry about parking curbs. My 540i M-Sport had a relatively low stock suspension, and I scraped the front bumper on everything if I wasn't super careful. I just don't want to think about that anymore.
 
#34 ·
So I'm putting together a shopping cart at Autohaus for a bit of maintenance next weekend, and I'm debating whether to change the fuel filter or not. The car has 93k miles, but I have no idea if the fuel filter has ever been changed. It's a cheap enough part that I might change it just to be sure. I also put a crank position sensor in the cart, because it's cheap and easy to replace for peace of mind.

Since I bought this car with no service records, I figure I should just go through and replace most of the maintenance items. It's all relatively cheap compared to my old BMW 540i. For example, 16 Bosch spark plugs are like $44, whereas 8 NGK spark plugs for my 540i were like $80 (BMW V8's don't like Bosch).

Here's my list so far:
- Cabin air filters (Meyle) x 2
- Engine air filters (Mann) x 2
- Fuel filter (Bosch)
- Spark plugs (Bosch) x 16
- Oil change (Mobil 1 0W40)
- New oil filter (Genuine Mercedes kit)
- Crank position sensor (OEM)
- Airmatic relay (Hella)

Anything else I should tackle? All the fluid levels look pretty good from what I've seen. The car has no error lights of any kind, just a reminder that maintenance is due in 3,000 miles.
 
#37 ·
I've never actually tested to see if my horn works... unlike NYC (where I'm from), I never have to use my horn here in Phoenix.

Nice looking 540i you have there! Have you ever had to do the chain guides on a 540i? Now that's a whole load of fun. I love the way the 540i looks on the outside, but I feel like they have a really outdated interior. My 2003 S500 interior feels a decade newer than my 2003 540i interior.
 
#38 ·
Yeah one of my horns was very weak and the other one wasn't even working hence I changed them both.
No chain guides on the 540 but I went a little too crazy with all the Dinan moods and getting it Dinan Certified. Dumped a lot of money into it. Put a Dual Race Eisenmann exhaust as well. Also mine came without NAV so I did a full install of a Factory NAV where I ran everything along the oem wiring for the radio. Needless to say the amount of work and the cost :crying But I would be lying if I told you that I do not miss it :smile



 
#39 ·
Now that I've had the car for about two weeks, I wanted to give some thoughts on the car, as well as show what I've done with it in that time.

Driving it to work every day has just been an absolute joy. Stop and go traffic doesn't bother me as much as it used to, especially when I have the music on. A lot of people complain about the stock BOSE system, but I think it sounds pretty darn good, and that's through the supposedly inferior aux-in port in the glovebox. I'm sure it'll sound even better once I install an actual iPod connection. I also like driving without any music on, because of how quiet and peaceful the ride is, even at 80mph. The engine pulls strongly and still returns surprisingly good gas mileage for a 5L engine. I calculated my gas mileage the last time I gassed up and I got close to 20mpg in mixed driving, which includes me driving like an idiot sometimes. The S500 handles surprisingly well for a car of this size, it really don't feel as big as it is. Last night I had some fun with the Airmatic set to the stiffest setting, I got the tail to slide out a few times during some rather spirited driving, which was just great fun. Don't get me wrong, this is no track car, but it makes me happy to know that it can still handle very well should I ever need it to.

Everyone that's been in the car has commented on how nice it is, and I've had the car full of people a few times with great success. The S500 doesn't feel any worse when fully loaded, and it still pulls strongly. Having usable cupholders in the front and back is quite wonderful as well, as that's something that my BMWs sorely lacked.

The climate control works perfectly, and I haven't really needed to touch it after I set it to 72° on auto. The charcoal filter is a nice addition that really makes my commutes a lot more pleasant, since I don't have to smell exhaust fumes from poorly tuned diesel trucks.

Earlier this week I was browsing Craigslist like I usually do, and I spotted some interesting-looking wheels that were for sale. I got in touch with the seller and I ended up driving down 30 miles to Casa Grande to pick them up. I drove a few miles on dirt roads to get to the seller's house, as he was in a rather remote part of town. I'm happy to report that the S500 handled that extremely well with the Airmatic suspension raised up. Upon arriving at the seller's house, I looked over the wheels and found that they were genuine 18" Lorinser LM5 wheels. These wheels cost thousands when new, and I scooped them up with good tires for only $300. Zing. They're quite curb rashed and have some peeling clear coat, but for the price I don't mind it at all. I can always refinish them later on. The wheels came with 7mm hub-centric spacers bolted onto them, so they line up quite nicely with my S500's body. I'm liking the look, they certainly make my S500 look a little more aggressive. The 275 rears and 245 fronts also make the car gripper in turns, and I don't spin my wheels when going WOT from a standstill anymore.







Initially, the wheels made a clicking noise when I put them on. They weren't rubbing from what I could tell, so I figured that perhaps the lug bolts were not the right length with these new wheels. I took the S500 to Wheel Specialists in Tempe, and had them look at the wheels. They determined that the stock lug bolts were too long, and they were hitting the parking brake assembly a bit, causing the clicking sound. $50 later, I had some nice new lug bolts and no more clicking noises. My S500 felt a little out of place in their parking lot though... So many nice cars in one place.



I also got some tint installed on Wednesday. I had it done at Star Windshield in Chandler, and they did a pretty good job. I chose 35% all around, for a uniform (and legal) look. I've already noticed a pretty big difference after having the car sit in the sun during the day.



Excuse the dirt, I have to wash my car this weekend. I've put about a thousand miles on it in the past two weeks.

Last night I popped the hood into service mode and did a really thorough inspection of the engine. The hood service mode is incredibly easy to engage with the S500, whereas my BMWs required tools to do that. Overall, the engine is incredibly clean. The valve covers look tidy, the serpentine belt is pretty new, the transmission bell housing is completely clean, and the whole engine compartment is just incredibly clean. I wasn't wearing gloves when I poked around the engine compartment, and I didn't even get my hands dirty. The air filter/engine cover is brilliantly designed and comes off super easily. Seriously, Mercedes really knocked it out of the park with this engine compartment, everything is so user-friendly and easy to access. I replaced the Airmatic relay with a Hella one, as the Airmatic relay was still original. Since the original relay worked just fine, I put it in the trunk tool compartment as a spare. Tomorrow morning I'm going to replace the crankshaft position sensor, as the engine was too hot to do so last night.









Overall, it's been a great experience so far. Next week I'm going to some more comprehensive maintenance, like air filters, cabin filters, oil change, and fuel filter change.
 
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