That is surely a very good price if the car checks out. Very nice cars, I have an 05 4Matic , haven't had it long previously had an 01 430 and the 05 is a far better car in many ways. Paid 13,700 for my 05 two months ago with 82k and thought I got a good deal.
Good luck

 

This guy is at the gym every morning and I talk to him periodically. I don't think he'd lie to me. Especially since I see him all the time.

I've admired his car in the parking lot. Mercedes envy. LOL.

My wife will let me buy another car but she says that she will get another dog. 3 dogs plus in the wife in a queen size bed will be tight.

 

Take that car.

You can sell a car every time - but a dog?

 

The KBB private sale price for that car (considering no options besides 4Matic) is $13,649 for a car in "good" condition in the Jupiter area. We leave it to you to check the rating parameters for condition on the site - a car in "excellent" condition would go for up to $1K more. Addition of some optional equipment (such as already having an OE Bluetooth installation) would add to the price.

I have an '05 S500 4Matic and love it - but my car just turned over 56K miles. Because the acquaintance is selling the car well below the private sale market, definitely follow up on your plan have a pre-purchase inspection done by a qualified MB tech. With a price that low, personally, I would offer to pay for the PPI myself (probably around $125) - no need to offend him by asking him to put more $$ into the sale. I would also get the VIN and run a Carfax on it. His dealer should be able to provide the car's maintenance history. However, these things could save you a LOT in the future if the car does have problems.

With those things done, be wary around the police. They might think you stole it, at that price!

With that mileage it will be tough to get good aftermarket warranty. I'd plan on setting several thousand dollars aside for unplanned maintenance. Also, you will soon be coming into some mileage-related service such as changing the tranny fluid and filter, and replacing brake fluid and coolant. His price may already be reduced in consideration of that.

Again, I love the S500 4matic. Though we don't encounter ice and snow in Florida, the road feel is wonderful; and the control in the water accumulations that occur during our tropical downpours is great.

 

Thanks. I asked him today about driving it and he said he would bring it to the gym on Monday. I also mentioned that I thought he could trade it in and they would give him about $10k plus he would save the sales tax of 6% on the trade. He said "we will see."

The wife did seem interested as she wants to drive it too.

He said the only thing wrong that he is aware of is there are cracks in the driver's seat. Not ripped just cracks. I've purchase crack filler before and I could dye the seats if not too bad. He said recovering the driver's seat was about $500 with labor.

The SL I purchased in October seemed fine but I've put another $6k in it, including $2k on the top. So I figure there will be some maintenance. I want to look at his maintenance records.

Definitely get an inspection.

 

Jump on it. I'd go for it in a minute if it checks out on a PPI. If someone came along and offered me an acceptable price for my '04 S55 I'd steal it from you. I had an '03 S500 4Matic and other than the annoying Nav. system (CD's instead of DVD) I loved the car. It wasn't expensive to maintain and provided highway driving unmatched by any other car I've owned.

 

I was talking to a guy on ebay about his 04 s55. He wanted $16k with about 115,000 miles. I was considering that one too. How big a difference is there between the two cars?

 

Check the buying info toward the last section of the W220 S-Class Encyclopedia, in the stickies. Big differences in engine, suspension and electronics.

The engine, of course, is larger and has more power. The suspension is ABC instead of Airmatic (ABC was an option on the S500/430, standard on the S55). The phone system is of a bit older design than '05 and later, but if the car has never had a Bluetooth phone, it is the easiest and least expensive model to install Bluetooth. The COMAND system is the same as the '05.

The Encyclopedia discusses the differences in ABC and Airmatic. Posts 4 & 5 of the How-To Guide for Cell Phones in the Audio & Telematics forum stickies discusses the differences in the phone systems.

Folks generally love the S55 - but with the mileage and the engine power, I would be concerned that it may have been "driven hard" by prior owners, to a greater extent than the 4Matic. The PPI should tell you, but that could be hard to arrange in an ebay transaction - plus, you may not be able to drive it easily.

 

Mine is here in Naples. While it's a Canadian car I understand it's not difficult to bring into the USA. If you're interested email me at bob@blinkophthalmics.com. As Skylaw said there is a lot of difference between the 2 cars. One is a great driver whereas the S55 is a rocket.

 

I test drove it this morning. I thought he said it was a 2005 but turns out it's a 2003. That explains the price difference.

The driver's seat bottom needs to be replaced or fixed. It's cracked. I could use dye and crack repair.

$10k for a 2003 with 93k miles isn't as good a deal. I might just wait.

 

When I looked at Edmunds and KBB, it seemed like a private party sale for a 2003 s500 is about $8k in good shape.

 

Big differences in the '03 and an '05. The Encyclopedia discusses them pretty well in the last section. And yes, his price is too high.

 

Thanks Warren. You have a nice write-up.

Here's a bit of a quick and dirty:

The MY'00 - '02 W220 had more maintenance problems than one would expect from the Mercedes brand. The U.S. magazine Consumer Reports rated them quite low - but more recently has brought the rating for those model years up to "average." The '03 and later were more reliable. The '05 and '06 (which are identical cars - when MB didn't produce enough W221s for global introduction as an '06 model, it simply continued production of the '05 for another year, as the '06) were on an upward trend in reliability that continued into the '07 W221, which J.D. Powers found to be the highest rated (best) luxury car on the market for initial quality.

The earlier S600 tended to have engine problems; later ones had fewer. However, V12 maintenance is expensive, and relatively few techs can really work on them successfully. The W220 S-Class Encyclopedia sticky at http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220...tart-here.html has links to the some excellent writeups of the experience of an S600 owner.

Between the S500 and the S430, both have great engines. The earlier S430s were not available with all of the features and options on the S500, but in later years (I think in '03, but I know by '04) all of the options available on the S500 became available on the S430; it would depend on how the car was equipped when ordered.

The electronics busses changed in '04, going from a Mercedes proprietary bus to an industry standard bus. This means that if you wished to do 3rd party retrofits to the audio system, for example, or add a cell phone if the car lacked one, more options are available from '04 on. I would recommend buying an '04 or later model for that reason. There is more detail in the Buying Advice portion of the Encyclopedia sticky. If the car you are interested in does not have a cell phone, you might be interested in reading the first seven posts in the thread at http://www.benzworld.org/forums/audi...ades-plug.html

There are two suspension types. Automatic Body Control (ABC) is an hydraulic, computer-controlled system that provides wonderful ride and handling. When it breaks, it is more expensive to repair than the other system, a pneumatic system called Airmatic. The Airmatic system (which also provides superior ride and handling) probably results in more problems than any other in the car, and used to be extremely expensive to repair. However, MB has improved the design of its seals in later years, so they are a bit less likely to fail (I have never had to replace struts or the pump on my '05). If a prior owner replaced his struts, they may be the better OE, or they could be an excellent strut from Arnott industries, built with the better seals and having an internal air bag with thicker walls than OE - and the sell from 1/2 the price of OE (if new) and ¼ the price (for remanufactured). Both Arnott types have lifetime warranties.

The S600 and S55 both have ABC suspensions, standard. The S500 and S430 had it as an option in most (but not all) model years.

Since you live in snow country, you might want to consider the 4Matic (full-time all wheel drive) drive train. It is marvelous. I have it on my car, and it is even helpful during our tropical downpours. It was great in Maryland's snowstorms as well. It is available on both the S500 and the S430.

Those are the basics; there is more on the comparisons between models and model years in the W220 S-Class Encyclopedia sticky, in the very last section. You might want to take a look at it for more detail.

As far as the W220/W221 comparison: An '05 or '06 W220 will be of the same build quality as the W221. It will be lower priced. Beyond that it is a matter of preference. The S550, as one member has pointed out, has more power than either the S500 or the S430. But I have not found additional power always to be a bonus in snow country; it is often a liability. No one would describe wither W220 as underpowered. The rest is personal preference - I like the exterior styling of the W220 much more than the W221 (in fact, I dislike the exterior styling of the W221); I like the interior of the W221 just a bit better than the W220, but not so much I'd trade.

Like

__________________
Warren

2005 S500 4-Matic
with Gateway 500 iPod integration

1978 450SL restoration project

Formerly: 2000 S500
with Ice>Link iPod integration
Moto V710 phone with MikBox
Upgraded Voice Control

 

I told him today that I wasn't going to buy it. I told him that KBB and Edmunds said that average private party was $7,500. He seemed a little shocked. People are asking $10k all over the internet but obviously getting less.

 

You're doing the right thing to wait. I have a 2004 S500 4Matic bought with 57,000 miles on it and now has 107,000 miles. (Love it but it does need some repairs now and then.) I remember doing a Kelley Blue Book check a while ago and swear it said $7,000 value for my car. So I think that guy is being unreasonable expecting that much for a 2003!

 

It's amazing that a $90,000 car can depreciate so fast. I have an R129 that I purchased 5 months ago and they hold their value much better. Love that car but the repairs can also be high unless you do it yourself.

 

Hi Scott, not sure if you went ahead and purchased the s500. If you did congrats. I have 3 Mercedes and the s500 has to the most relaxing and comfortable riding car. I had one issue with the electronic ignition key switch which is the gateway to the entire operating system of the car. 1000 dollar repair. Other than that the kids call it the traveling couch. Enjoy.

Bruce

 

At the gym today my friend told me that I was right. The cars aren't going for as much as he thought.

Meanwhile, he said he just spent $800 to have it tuned up. I said you are still selling it right? He said yes but he wanted it in good shape.

I told him to go ahead and try to sell in on ebay. I think he can probably get $8k-$9k. I told him not to accept anything less than $8k as I would pay that.

 

I saw this one on CL. I contacted the seller then waited to hear back. She said it was sold the first day.

2000 Mercedes S430- Original Owner/low miles - $6700 (Boca Raton)

2000 Mercedes S430- Original Owner/low miles

2000 S430 Mercedes Sedan. Original owner. Black/Grey interior. Approximately 48,000 original miles ( 76,700 KM) THIS IS A CANADIAN TITLED CAR. Literally only driven to church on Sundays. Runs great, tires and battery less than 2,000 miles old. Has a 'love bump' on trunk. Car has been well maintained and drives like a charm.

When I looked up the fair market value online, it was pretty low and I wanted to negotiate some.

2000 Mercedes-Benz S-Class - What Your Car is Worth
2000 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 4 Dr S430 Sedan
PhotosVideos360
Pricing for
Jupiter, FL

True Market Value®
Trade-in? Dealer Retail
$4,730 $6,544
Sell This Car Shop For This Car
Private Party Sale $5,410
Pricing Details for a 2000 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
S430 4dr Car
Customized True Market Value® Prices

Trade-In Private Party Dealer Retail
National Base Price $3,685 $4,365 $5,499
Optional Equipment $0 $0 $0
Color Adjustment - Black $-12 $-14 $-18
Regional Adjustment - for Zip Code 33478 $13 $15 $19
Mileage Adjustment - 48,000 miles $1,044 $1,044 $1,044
Condition Adjustment - Clean $0 $0 $0
Total $4,730 $5,410 $6,544
Buying a Certified Used VehicleDealer Retail