S - Class....worthy of my dosh??

[jayrizzle]

Anybody out there with experience of s class models between 1999-2004 would your reccomend them and are they value for money??? any common problems?? would i be better off with a smaller 3.2 0r 2.8l
s-class compared to larger 4 litre versions (say i had a 3.2.... would this effect performance enough to warrant a larger model??)


riz

 

[Blobcat]

Post 2003 are better and the 320CDI is very nice. All good value at the moment since the new model came out. Ealy ones have had electrical issues and some of the American sites have reported problems with the air suspension. A lot of car for the money.

 

[jayrizzle]

cheers for response. I think when i am in a position to purchase an s class i will be looking for a 2003 model.

 

[M6AJJ]

See previous thread!

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=18580&highlight=Class+Pitfalls

 

[conington]

52 Plate

I recently purchased a 52 plate S500 for "Mondeo" money, no regrets at all. It is a pleasure to drive and I have experienced no problems outside of having to get the boot hinges oiled (it wasn't rising without a push). I did find the Sat Nav to be seriously out of date (it came with a 2001 disk) but purchased the 2006/7 disk for £90 and all works fine.

For a 5 litre economy is, I believe good, and I am getting an average of 21 mpg around town and 33 on a run. I did put in in for its B service early (just to make sure it had no problems) and that cost £430.

I bought this from a car supermarket and the only issue I had was not having someone who knows the "ins and outs" of the car showing me around, there are so many "gadgets / options" that I really didn't understand (and some that I still do not!) and I missed the personal service and ability to ask questions on functionality.

Go for it ...

 

[nialler]

Have a 2000 S320, got it for a pittance, low enough mileage, gearbox slips the odd time going 4-5 in low revs, love it, love it, love it.

Get less mpg than the 500 I only got 18mpg average in the last 7000 miles, 500 euro for new pads and discs last week and she's due sparks and the rest after crimbo.

Considering throwing a recon gearbox in it (about 1500 euro).

Other than that you'll love it.

 

[johnmc]

The other known fault is that the electronic dashboard goes completely blank. Check it out the electrics carefully. The dashboard failure is deemed a safety critical problem and is being investigated by the US automotive safety people due to it being a widespread issue.

If you buy one enjoy it, very, very tempting. Put a couple of grand away for a rainy day.

John

 

[mlc]

Went from a Mondeo to a 2001 sl320, one of my friends didnt notice the change of car!

Agree with what has been said. I moderated my plan of having a 430 or 500 on the grounds of sanity. The 320 petrol is fast enough but fuel economy is not good. I only do 5K a year and that is nearly all around town. I am getting around 15mpg, this compares with 22mpg that I used to get in a 2000cc petrol Mondeo.

Make sure you find one with all the goodies, the difference in price is small. I would suggest that memory seats, command and parking sensors should be condsidered essential.

Would I buy it again, absolutely

Mark.

 

[television]

Try and get Distronic, its worth every penny, the best extra thet I have ever had.

malcolm

 

[mioba]

Try and get Distronic, its worth every penny, the best extra thet I have ever had.

malcolm

i fing distronic a bit of a pain in the arse, especially with all the congestion on the motorways now, someone always jumps in the gap the car creates and that futher puts the breaks on.

 

[NorthDownsMerc]

Had 2 now - a 00 320, and now an 04 500. Best cars ever in my opinion. Still think it looks better than the 06.

Would highly recommend Keyless Go. I know you don't really need it but it still makes me smile everytime I push that button on the gear shift !

Rich

 

[hawk20]

The other known fault is that the electronic dashboard goes completely blank. Check it out the electrics carefully. The dashboard failure is deemed a safety critical problem and is being investigated by the US automotive safety people due to it being a widespread issue.

If you buy one enjoy it, very, very tempting. Put a couple of grand away for a rainy day.

John

That is the US version -and only some of them --see benzworld...(who said that???). The Euro version of the instrument binnacle is different and the UK version is different again. The UK version has not had any undue problems as far as I have been able to find out.

 

[Blobcat]

That is the US version -and only some of them --see benzworld...(who said that???). The Euro version of the instrument binnacle is different and the UK version is different again. The UK version has not had any undue problems as far as I have been able to find out.

Yes it has pre 2003 models along with airmatic, radiator and gearbox issues

 

[Kenneth A P]

I have a S320 (2000yr manufacture) have had some small problems over the last 3 years. But the biggest headache is the command. I had a new arial fitted by mercs a year ago, it worked for a while. Does any one know how to get the unit out of the car.

 

[hawk20]

i fing distronic a bit of a pain in the arse, especially with all the congestion on the motorways now, someone always jumps in the gap the car creates and that futher puts the breaks on.

Yes. This is one of the few things I disagree with television-Malcolm about. To me it would be a waste of money and just another bit of unnecessarily complex kit to go wrong. If you like driving, why pay a machine to do it? And the S is a joy to drive. Just done 2500 miles in France on holiday. Magical.

 

[television]

The whole point on Distronic with me is, that if I am driving down the motorway I always leave a good gap from the car in front, several reasons,one its safer,and two I do not want the front of my car covered in stone chips and muck.
So someone will always fill the gap at some stage, for those of you without Distronic you have to hit resume after you have touched the brake pedal, I do not have to do anything, when it is misty or foggy,my car can see in front, yours cant. I can also set the gap from the car in front with the vairiable control.

Malcolm

 

[mioba]

The whole point on Distronic with me is, that if I am driving down the motorway I always leave a good gap from the car in front, several reasons,one its safer,and two I do not want the front of my car covered in stone chips and muck.
So someone will always fill the gap at some stage, for those of you without Distronic you have to hit resume after you have touched the brake pedal, I do not have to do anything, when it is misty or foggy,my car can see in front, yours cant. I can also set the gap from the car in front with the vairiable control.

Malcolm

dont get me wrong malcolm, its one of thoose luxury items i could be without, teh mototrway is always too busy to utilise its full potential. Good say in scotland, or the german autobahn.

indeed hawk20 comment, an amazing car to drive - truly effortless

 

[television]

Sorry Mioba, you have missed the point completely,and have it the wrong way round When our motor ways are busy it comes into its own. When all of the traffic slows down to 60, then 40, then it all stops and starts, my car just starts again and keeping the same distance,it does not drop out of cruise at any time. You could call it an advanced cruise control. Driving on the E4 in Sweden is the last place that I would need Distronic, as there is no traffic.

My best friend had a S class on appro fitted with Distronic, he rang me to say how good it was, and has ordered it on his new S. The first SL that I drove had it, that made me find a car with it on.

One could go on about comfort seats, if you have never tried them, you might not appreciciate them until you were in a traffic jam on the motorway in a car without Distronic.

Malcolm

 

[OlafMaxwell]

The only concern I am aware of is the air suspension can be very expensive and seems to go wrong quite often. If there are any knocks from the suspension it can be expensive. There are other less expensive knocks so you need someone who knows the cars. Comfort seats a must, 320cdi engine is a gem too and seems to be the most reliable of all. There are very few posts here about problems with this engine.

 

[television]

Hi Olaf, to be truthfull ABC suspension has been with us a long time, its used on many cars across the range. I mainly follow SL threads across the world, the huge amount sold in the states far out numbers the rest of the world. On the basis that people only come on forums when they have problems,in the main part,this shows that there are very few threads on ABC suspension. Sure if it goes wrong it cost money, so does Command when it goes wrong. To ride in a car with it is like no other. If you take away all of the nice touches, there is not much point in buying one.

Malcolm