So I did the thing you're not supposed to do, buy the cheap high-milage questionably maintained example you would be told to stay away from (sorta broke as I'm a teenager, deal was too good to pass up)... I love the car but I'm worried that I may be in too deep. I fell in love with the road presence and tank like build quality of my 2 door w140 s600 but It was purchased for basically nothing and came with issues at first it reeked of gas and had a pretty bad misfire (still drove it home 15 miles) it ran like a 5,000lb tank with great brakes a deathly road presence and a chrysler voyager engine, cheap mechanic buddy and 6 new spark plugs later it no longer spewed gasoline scent but the misfire is still there except under full load where it goes like a 747 while on paper attaining essentially the same 0-60 and quarter mile time as my fathers turbo I-4 bmw which is fast but this thing delivers power and torque like a bat on crack and tranquilizers but anyway back to where I need advice it smells like its burning oil but it doesn't smoke I would like to know if its loosing compression or it just needs some sort of seal or something because it still gets up when it isn't misfiring... My mechanic who doesn't do german cars(I know once again a No-No) but is a very skilled mechanic said, he thought a thermostat might fix it, bought the thermostat he hasn't had time to put it in yet but hoping that that fixes it, Probably won't though as this car was a little lax on maintenance other than oil changes batteries starters and such for the last 8 years (wasn't driven all that much) also there is a clunking noise from the rear which I believe is a shock absorber as the car sags a little bit 600 for one shock !!!!!!!!!! but anyway if anyone knows what the burning oil could be please let me know.

 

m120s666, you asked for advice, so here it is from one W140 owner: sell this money pit NOW before it drives you up a tree and deprives you of sleep at night. I know; I have one, and love it, but it is very expensive to maintain and repair. Your car is high mileage? Your costs are going to take you above the clouds.
I'm not kidding, unless you are satisfied with driving around with a clunking rear end (ca. $1,500 to fix), a smoking engine and God knows what else is, or will, go wrong with the car, get rid of it NOW and come back down to earth. I know this sound harsh, my friend, but you asked for advice and there it is. Good luck.
James

 

Thanks James I know you're right and that's all totally valid but I think I may sail into the ****-storm and see how I am out the other end, if worst comes to worst which it very well may I may just have to part it out I could probably make my capital back, I would hate to do that though, it is very high mileage 197,800 but I think I may have three options for the suspension live with the clunk, convert to coilovers which is ****ty but getting rid of that work of art is ****tier, or try and find used ads shocks or whatever they're called, I hope the misfire won't be an extravagant experience that drags on forever because then I can get it registered when the check engine light is off... the oil burning is concerning but I have a tendency to be in denial about things I want to turn out well so I'm just going to hope it works out.

 

Well, hello bro, we are in the same **** don't worry. Same situation but my car is (i guess) in a better condition and also very rare (embassy edition, even with fax in the back beside every option possible).

The problems are not that expensive, u can buy on ebay germany 2 NEW sachs hydraulic dampers (shock absorbers) for 550 euros + shipping.

I guess it's a fair price taking into consideration that u only do it once in 10 (or more) years.

 

Thanks man appreciate the advice

 

First of all CONGRATS on that S600,i just bought a 96 S420 with 200,000 miles and its pretty powerful, so i can only imagine what the S600 feels like,if i were you i would DEFINITELY find a mechanic that just works on foreign cars particularly the Benz,your buddy is probably good at what he does but you really NEED a BENZ specialist,always look on EBAY for your car parts,thats the best site in my opinion,change all the fluids with the BEST stuff,MOBIL synthetic oil,trans fluid,rear fluid,etc,ask the Benz mechanic a ton of questions so you can maintain the BEAST properly for years to come...best of luck with THE BEAST,lol...

 

What yr is your S600???

 

She's a 97 and I just took it to a an independent Benz mechanic for an evaluation I plan to get her registered once the CEL is off, then park it on the street and go about things when the money turns up. I convinced my father to buy a w220 because the lease on 2014 BMW X1 sdrive28i and is up we are returning it today, we just put a little down on a pretty loaded 80k one owner silver 2005 s55 which is so much more potent than any car my father has ever owned the x1 was a fantastic car even if I didn't want to like it, the steering feel was fantastic and that 2.0 I4 is super responsive and makes peak torque (258ftlbs) at 1500 rpm not unlike a w220 biturbo s600. My father wanted me to sell the s600 coupe but I managed to get him to agree to let me keep it. I am very happy about the powerhouse fleet of benzes that will be under our ownership 1.w220 a poor build quality but unfathomably powerful supercharged v8 with heated and cooled front and rear seats, keyless go, lorinser lm5 20" and an $11k designo interior package, 2. a superbly built fully loaded smooth as smooth can be, height of mercedes build quality 2 door black v12 w140 coupe that needs a lot of love but I'm willing to throw some funds when they are available. Congrats on the w140 they are the most undervalued best built mercs ever the last no cost object designed Mercs the w220s are honestly total pieces of **** as far as how the interiors hold up and those weird daimler chrysler era 3 valve engine **** but the s55 is wild enough to look past that. I would own a fleet of w140s v8s v12s and all if I had unlimited storage. theres a really nice deal on a w140 cl600 for sale in Orange county https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/6019608174.html if you've got 2900 this is the most amazing value for money situation!

 

I must say that this is the first time in my life I have ever seen the words "cheap" and "S600" used in the same sentence. I have been driving Mercedes products for about 40 years and the old saying still goes - you may choose among price, quality, and speed of service. Pick any two. I can tell you with an absolute certainty that if price is one of the choices then S600 is not part of the selection criteria.

They are wonderful cars IF they have been well maintained. Absent good maintenance they are a living and enduring nightmare from which you will not awaken until such time as you make a different choice. It turns out that no matter which model of the S Class Mercedes you choose, you will have a quality product assuming it has been properly maintained.

Mine is a 1997 S420 that runs as well as it did the day it came off the showroom floor 20 years ago. It was not cheap to purchase and is not cheap to maintain but is worth every penny in terms of comfort and more importantly, safety. Absent a wreck it will be the last car I own as I am 73 years of age.

 

I'm beginning to like my '01 E430 (82K, owned over four years) a bit over my '95 S500 (94K, owned one year), but I'm keeping both for the time being, giving the S more time for me to get used to it and maybe appreciate it a little more.

The S a great car, but I've had to spend more on parts/repairs than I paid to buy it. It's an absolute beauty inside and out, so I'll keep driving and "evaluating" it, as I do enjoy the drive and ride a lot.
James

 

Depreciation is a ***** ain't it! I spend too long on Craigslist my s600 was smogged and registered last year so it was running without the misfire less than a year ago and the m120 is comprised of 2 m104s arguably Mercedes most reliable engine I'm aware it's going to need some love but I'll give it to her probably going to cost me a few grand to get her solid mechanically then some more to finish everything off but hell the softclose doors are working on both sides!

 

Im guessing your probably 18 or 19 yrs old,ive heard nothing but great things about the 97 S600,hopefully it'll hold up well for you because they are very costly to repair,but whatever you do stick with a BENZ mechanic,get your parts off of EBAY if you ever need parts and you should be ok,best of luck with "THE BEAST"