[tunde02]

Hello All,

I'm buying my first S class. It's a 2000 s500 with parktronic,distronic, ventilated seats. 59K miles. Asking is $30K. The vehicle is in good condition. The MB dealer checked out. A few things need to be done. The gear knob is loose, drivers side wood panelling is broken, needs to be replaced. Pls advice if this is a good buy and also if I would be able to replace the broken door panel.

Thanks

 

[Skylaw]

The car seems pretty loaded, with those options. You can probably buy the wood paneling through the dealer, but getting an exact color match may be difficult. Since it is on the door, however, the difference may be less noticeable than if it were in the dashboard area. Several parts may have to be ordered to get a reasonable match - be sure the dealer will exchange non-matching parts.

It's tough to judge the market without knowing your location, but if the car is in good shape you're somewhat in the ballpark. You can check the Kelley Blue Book ( http://www.kbb.com/ ) or Edmunds ( http://www.edmunds.com/?mktcat=GenAuto&kw=cars&mktid=ga313173 ) for your area for retail prices (as well as a number of other web-based car buying sites). Generic information on Kelley's site indicates $30K is an average price for a car in "good" condition.

A lot has been written on this and other forums concerning the 2000 S500. Because repairs can be expensive, you may want to consider a 3rd party warranty if the car isn't Starmarked (used car warranty by Mercedes).

You might start by looking at the information on the following links, especially the first one - but don't skip the rest:
http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=139427&highlight=Airmatic
http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=138366
http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=124317
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220-s-class/1260981-carfax-reports.html?highlight=Carfax
http://www.carbuyingtips.com/warranty.htm

I don't make any particular recommendations concerning the warranty company with the awful looking web page, but it does give you some considerations in buying 3rd party warrantees generally - a starting point.

I suggest that you check out the maintenance history of the car through an authorized MB dealer, and get a CARFAX report on it (for accidents, etc).

Good luck!

 

[tunde02]

Buying S500

Thanks for the input. I had the MB dealer check the car out. It looks good!! I negotiated down to $28K from $30K. Do you have any suggestions as to a GOOD warranty company?

Thanks

 

[Skylaw]

Search the forums with the term "warranty" and again with "warrantee." Some folks have written of their experiences. Also check MB World.

 

[Salarzae]

Advise Needed

I'm also planning to buy an S500 '2001 but am confused as I've seen LS430 and am being lured toward it. Can someone tell me if the S500 can be a match in reliability to LS?

I'm disappointed, as to the fact that my E320 (w210) caught fire on 16th September 2007, for no apparent reason.

 

[die s-klasse]

i bought mine for 35K with 3 years waranty. don't have parktronic and distronic but everything else. year '02 33k miles.
so i think you should negotiate some more to bring it down.
especially with the gas prices like this you might bring it easier down.
good luck.

 

[gqmagic]

Have them adjust the price to whatever the warranty costs. MY 2000 was/is known for $$$ issues

 

[Skylaw]

I'm also planning to buy an S500 '2001 but am confused as I've seen LS430 and am being lured toward it. Can someone tell me if the S500 can be a match in reliability to LS?

I'm disappointed, as to the fact that my E320 (w210) caught fire on 16th September 2007, for no apparent reason.

Browse the Lexus forums. Many folks assume the Lexus to be perfect when they have problems with their Benzes, despite the Lexus' boring appearance and driving. They're good cars, but they break too. Just like Mercedes. And they're expensive to fix (just as my Infiniti was).

However, if reliability and maintenance costs are a concern, as they are for most folks, you might try to get an '03 or later S-Class. I wouldn't classify the '00-'02 as "bad" cars (some do) - but the reliability record improved especially after the '03 facelift and continued each year until the W221 (S550) topped the JD Power Initial Quality survey in the luxury class for '07 - beating Lexus.

And don't forget - keep your comparisons similar. No sense comparing an '01 to later cars from other manufacturers. I doubt the '01 Lexus is quite the same as its '07 counterpart, either. For either purchase you'd probably want an extended warranty.

 

[My04230k]

Hello All,

I'm buying my first S class. It's a 2000 s500 with parktronic,distronic, ventilated seats. 59K miles. Asking is $30K. The vehicle is in good condition. The MB dealer checked out. A few things need to be done. The gear knob is loose, drivers side wood panelling is broken, needs to be replaced. Pls advice if this is a good buy and also if I would be able to replace the broken door panel.

Thanks

That car is about 5K too much..distronic, and ventilated seats are nice options but have no resale value. Don't be tempted to pay a higher price for that. the going rate for those cars is 23 to 26K. Do yourself a favor and research before you purchase. you'd hate to be upside down on a nearly 8 year car. Especially a known problem child.