Skullnick

Hi everyone,
I am relatively new to this forum and have always enjoyed this site. I have recently sold my 2001 e320 4matic and have been searching for a new car for the past 3 weeks and yesterday I went to see a private seller with a 99 s320 with only 39000km... I'm from Montreal, Canada (approx 24,200 miles). It has never been winter driven and the cars log book is stamped from the dealer service every 7000km or so, up until last year. The second owner sais he acquired it a year ago from a very old gentleman that could no longer drive... apparently the body was wetsanded & resprayed with a new coat of clear, it had surface scratches pretty much all around. I inspected it real closely and everything seems very straight. It also had one oil change and wheel alignment since the second owner bought it, again keep in mind it was not driven in the winter.

I know the car has extremely low mileage and it really has the appearance of a mint car (in, out, beneath and under the hood) and may be considered a cream puff to many however, I also know that a car that sat around alot can also be a nightmare to own (I speak with experience). I will be taking it to my indie shop this Tuesday for an inspection however, can anyone here chime in on their thoughts on this car. The asking price is $11,900 negociable... it presently needs brake job and could use new tires (it still has the originals). Owning a 2001 e320 for 3 years (and 30K miles) I averaged about 2500$ of maintenance/yr so I know what to expect from these cars. I really like this car and your thoughts & comments are greatly valued.

Thanks for reading!
Nick

CharlyE500

I　ｕｓｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｏｗｎ　ａ　Ｓ３２０　ｔｈｅ　ｃａｒ　ｗａｓ　ｖｅｒｙ　ｓｏｌｉｄ　ｂｕｔ　３２ ０　ｉｓ　ｋｉｎｄａ　ｓｍａｌｌ　　ｆｏｒ　ｔｈｅ　ｃｈａｓｓｉｓ　Ｓｏ　ｉ　ｆｅｌｔ　ｋｉｎｄａ　ｓｌｏｗ　ａｎｄ　ａｓ　ｙｏｕ　ａｌｒｅａｄｙ　ｈａｖｅ　ａ　Ｅ３２ ０　４Ｍａｔｉｃ　ｔｈａｔ　ｈｅｌｐ　ａ　ｌｏｔ　ｉｎ　Ｍｏｎｔｒｅａｌ　ｓｎｏｗ　ｔｉ ｍｅ
Ｍｉｎｅ　Ｓ３２０　ｈａｄ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｉｓｓｕｅ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｔｈｅ　ｈｅａｄ　ｇａｓｑｕｅｔ　ａｎｄ 　ｔｒａｎｎｙ　ｗａｓ　ｎｏｔ　ｔｏｏ　ｇｏｏｄ　Ｒｅｍｅｍｂｅｒ　ｗｈｅｎ　ｙｏｕ　ｂｕｙ　ａ　ｕ ｓｅｄ　ｃａｒ　ｙｏｕ　ｈａｖｅ　ｔｏ　ｐｒｅｐａｒｅ　ｔｏ　ｓｐｅｎｄ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｍｏ ｎｅｙ
Ｔｉｒｅｓ　ｂｒｅａｋｓ　ｆｌｕｓｈ　ｔｒａｎｎｙ　ｏｉｌ　ｅｎｇｉｎｅ　ｏｉｌ. The asking price is kinda high regardless the mileage. Good luck !

oldsinner111

I own a 99 S320 and maint has been just brakes,and oil changes,and this is my second year owning it.See if he will knock off a thousand for brakes and tires.
I do my own maintence and its not hard,Brakes are easy to change.I'm putting patinum plugs in mine (only use autolite single paltinum,the plugs with fine wire will foul in our cars).Or use stock plugs.

Skullnick

I really appreciate your quick responses as my indie tech will be inspecting it tomorrow. Oldsinner111, at what mileage did you get yours at and how much mileage did you rack-up so far? I don't mind putting money into a car I like, especially if its normal wear and tear at the beginning... but I am hoping that this one will last several months before anything substancial comes up. Without looking at the car my mechanic sais I shouldn't offer him more than $10K and to deduct $$ according to what is needed to fix from that price. He states that although the mileage is low, it is an old car and aging fast, which will be worth substancially less with in a couple of years.

At the moment I am trying to do a VIN check to see what package this car came with and the old russian MB site that I use to go to is not functional anymore... The VIN is WDBGA32G6XA406990, if anyone has access to this site I would appreciate running the VIN for me.

Thanks again!
Nick

oldsinner111

I got mine at 120,000. miles,at 155000 now.

Skullnick

...and you didn't have too many headaches with issues? thats impressive! I guess I shouldn't be too concerned with the low mileage that I am looking at, I have a fixed budget of $10K and just have to make sure I can bring the price down to match it. I need to make sure what ever gremlins are lurking get resolved before I take my yearly trip to Florida, I have taken the 1700 mile trip over 13 times now with many different vehicles and the best ride so far has been with an MB... great fuel mileage, safe and very comfortable for the whole family.

Thx,
Nick

oldsinner111

all the bugs were worked out in 98. Just consider flush and refill radiator.

CharlyE500

FYI, I got mine at 150K miles and sold it 163K. Need to do Head gasquet and tranny so..... $4k job thats why i sold it. But the car will run to 250k miles if I spent the $4K !

Skullnick

Well, I decided to run a carfax before taking it to my mechanic and what showed up really pissed me off. Not only was the car in a collison with a building in 2009 but the mileage was backed up from 92000km down to 36000km. What were they thinking that no one was ever going to check its history. The seller claims he bought the car a year ago and had no knowledge of this and was now going to go back to the broker that sold him the car. This was all news to him. I told him he needed to go to the RCMP with a copy of the carfax I gave him and that they would take care of it. In Quebec the laws are quite severe for odometer fraud.

This proves again and again, buyer be ware!... check and double check to make sure dates and mileage coincide with paperwork... and ask the same questions more than once at separate occasions to see if the answers are always consistent

Anyhow, the search begins again...
Thanks for all you input,

deanyel

I bet you read that somewhere. It's been repeated often enough but has never been supported, ever, not once, because it is unsupportable. They worked all the bugs out by 1995, and then apparently bored, started to re-introduce bugs back in. And they took away the good DIY diagnostic system. And gave it a transmission that is one of the most troubled ever. And gave it $200 keys instead of $20 keys. If you're looking for lowest maintenance cost, easiest to work DIYer, 1995 is the sweet spot, although 1996 isn't horrible.

Skullnick

Hmm, now you got me thinking... about two weeks ago I came across a 95 with just under 70K miles but I didn't bother with it because in my mind logic dictated; to look for the latest year manufactured before model changed.

oldsinner111

I always take a year or more to resreach a newer Benz.I try and pick the last year of chassis,as most bugs are gone.I look at forums,car survey.org,to make up my mind.
Spare parts I buy for know service items like coils.From what I gather the 99 still has head gasket issue at around 160,000 miles(thats why I use Seirrra coolant at 100%),ordered a trans dipstick to service transmission,and run sync. fluids.Hopefully I see a higher miles before major work.
I done a few extra things for power,and the nitrous is only for the track.I quit street racing.I spray wet in front of MAF.Feels like rocket assit.One day I will be a used 104 and build it for a turbocharger.