HELP. Buying a first Mercedes (used) - What to look for, etc

[kyber]

I have been toying with the idea of replacing my Ford Focus Estate with a Mercedes for some time and on passing a S280 N reg for £9,500 with 112,000 on the clock at a local garage, I took it for a a test drive and really liked it.

However, I have no idea how the S Class fits into the overall range, whether the N reg 280 model is actually any good, and whether or not that would be a reasonable price (with FSH).

It has 4 speed auto, climate control, electric seats, heated seats, ABS, leather, elec. sun roof. What else would be normal.

Not a Mercedes dealer so I suppose an RAC or similar inspect is appropriate.

The Mercedes web site is not a lot of help because it seems to have information only about current models.

Any help or advices (pointers to other sites which perhaps have reviews of older models) would be greatly appreciated.

Stuart

(Edited by kyber at 9:53 am on Sep. 22, 2002)

 

[fuzzer]

HELP. Buying a first Mercedes (used)

There is no such car as an S230 , do you mean an S320 or an E230 ?

 

[kyber]

HELP. Buying a first Mercedes (used)

Edited original to replace S230 with S280.

Oops. It is an S280 (I mis-read on my quick look yesterday). I have edited my original posting accordingly. Thanks for advising.

I note though that a number of people are advertising S230 models so assume that they have transposed the figures from S320.

(Edited by kyber at 9:55 am on Sep. 22, 2002)

 

[fuzzer]

HELP. Buying a first Mercedes (used)

S280 is nice , i was torn between the c class i have just now and a similar age s280 . A word of warning .... if you are thinking about an S class , make sure you know they are expencive to fix if somthing goes wrong with them. The best idea if youre thinking about it is to get one of these rac/aa checks done on it to make sure thing are ok . The dealers accept limbs when paying for repairs too.

 

[kyber]

HELP. Buying a first Mercedes (used)

Thanks for the cost of repairs warning. I have booked a thorough RAC check for Tuesday. Did a deal conditional on this not showing up anything significant (or lots of small things that together are significant). Also got the price down to £9100 with 12 months warranty, MOT, 1st service, and new rear tyres. The HPI check part of the RAC inspection said value of car in average condition with than mileage was around £9,300 so I am pleased.

Decided to sell off my old car privately.

 

[Arnie]

HELP. Buying a first Mercedes (used)

The old S-Class was a superbly built car probably better than the new model in terms of build, quality of materials and detail. (Don't want to start a discussion about 'old' Benz vs 'New' Benz here...) However, it was not very successful because of the styling which exagerates its size (as opposed to the new model, which does the oposite), and made it look somewhat ostentatious. However, now that it's the old model, it's not really a problem.

The S280 was, I believe, the base model in terms of engine size. Perhaps a little underpowered for the bulk, but still a very good choice.

 

[kyber]

HELP. Buying a first Mercedes (used)

Thanks for the comments. The RAC examiner said that it was an excellent car and a bargain. He found a few things, only one major, that the garage is now fixing for me. I am looking forward to get my hands on it.

I realise that the 280 is underpowered given the size and weight of the vehicle although TBH when I drove it I found it performed well compared to my much lighter 2.0 ltr Ford Focus.

I hope, and expect, that I shall get on with this car very well and, in the light of more experience, will aspire to a larger engined model in due course.

Stuart