simon78

Hi,
I am planning to purchase a 98 S500 with only 60,000 miles on it single owner from NJ and the car is Black with Black. very clean .... back seat seems like no one sat on it.

Should i be concern with any mechanical and electronical issues?

I had many 01 and 03 benzes and they had more issues than ... anything else .. but this looks like is a classic looking one.

Any input..

Thanks in advance

Simon

ghost

Of course, have the car checked by MB dealer mechanic or specialist. At least, to know if it needs anything immediate that the owner didnt know about. Air conditioning, transmission, rear suspension, can cost several thousand dollars to fix.

I just purchased an S600...i had it inspected, and to the most part it was mechanically clean. It did have couple of things to be addressed, like the passanger mirror ($700), rear shade ($1150), rear locking ($900). In other cars that is minor, but with MB they cost $$$. Even with these prices, i wasnt concerned much, since these are cosmetic issues, and my main concern was the mechanics (transmission, engine, leaks, aircond..suspesntion..etc) which was in excellent condition.

Usually if you take the car to a dealer, the positive is that they know mercedes mechanics well, the con is that they want you to fix every little thing at their expensive rate.
,
Having said all that, my previous car was a 97 S500, and it was black/black a one owner. These are all positive, specially the one owner, and the color is the best on a benz. And i am assuming everything will turn out ok, but still have it checked, just to know of any future maintenance possible.


good luck

Substance

how much does it cost have such car checked at an MB dealer? and how reliable is the results?

thnx

ghost

Anywhere between $85 to $150 depending on the dealer and location.

It is well worth it, and may end up saving you thounsands in the long run.

Relieable to the most part.

simon78

Thanks for your help.

You are absolutely right about doing a PPI. It will guide you to make the right decision before buying it.

It is well worth spending $150 or less on it .

Thanks. I will keep you posted.

BTW, seems like prices on 1998 and 99 and keeping up with 00 and 01. Any reason for it?

ghost

Well the reason for any decline in any car model, is the introduction of a newer model. The prices of w140 92-99 went down drastically when they introduced the w220.... and now since the s class w221 has been introduced the prices of w140 92-99 are even decreased even further, and of course the prices of w220 went down as well. This also happens with other car models and brands. Look at Jeep grand cherokee...the prices of 93-98 are ridicoulously low now because the newer brand 99-2005 has been out for 6 years and now they introduced 2006 and up....

The reason why the 98-99 s class are close to the price of 00-01..is because the 98-99 i would consider are the hardest to find, and they had resolved most issues by then. Now regarding 00-01... is close to the 98-99 is obviously because they are consecutive years, but also the early years of
w220 00-01 where the early models, and they had several issues, and of course the introduction of the new w221.

Hope that helps

vdubpower

i have a 98 s500, careful with the pneumatic pumps, they suck ****. trunk never closes level and the soft touch doors are pain, otherwise, we still roling