400SEL

Hello, everyone, I had a midnight blue 400SEL (hence the screen name!) for 13 years and loved it. It got rear ended a couple of years ago and I got a 2014 S550 at the time. I recently bought a midnight blue 1999 S500 to replace the old 400SEL since I loved the W140 body style so much! I just bought it so it has not been delivered yet. I hope to get it in the next few weeks. In the mean time, here are a number of pictures of my soon-to-be ride. I look forward to reengaging with the community once my car is delivered.

fila0220

I saw this one one ebay! it had low low miles. 6k no? Mecum Auction condition for sure.
I'm still on the prowl for a 99 black on black s500
Welcome back!

400SEL

Yes, it’s the same car you saw on eBay with 6K miles. Yes, the black on black is nice. My 2014 S550 is black and looks amazing too.

burgca

Congratulations and welcome back to the W140 family!! The car looks great and hopefully the pictures do it justice.

Mlthoma

That is one stunning car! Congratulations. It is only the second S500 I've seen with ADS. My ratty old S500 had it and it was remarkable. Now I have a very nice S420, but I still miss the driving experience of that ADS system. If your experience goes like mine I think you'll find noticeably more power from the 500 than your 400, although you may may be jaded considerably by the 550.

Mike in ABQ

KNBS550

It's gorgeous. I'm trying to find a low mileage example myself. Congratulations!

asianbond

can i ask what did this car sell for?

asianbond

amazingly beautiful

antose9

Very nice, it cannot look better and the engine compartment like new. I really love those wheels and the grill, that's my next purchase!

400SEL

Thank you burgca! Yes, the car is lovely. It only got delivered on Dec 20th. I got new tires (the old ones looked brand new but had to be replaced). The interior pictures don't do justice to the car. The interior blue looks much lovelier than the pictures. It's almost a royal blue and rare interior I haven't seen, and the wood is amazing. Also, this is difficult to believe - but the car still smells new. Even the Mercedes mechanic that I took it for a multi-point inspection said that and he asked me twice about the mileage because he had never serviced such an old car with so few miles!

400SEL

Thanks Mike! This car has so many things that are uncommon, and I don't know how this car got some of those (because a few are not even listed as options). Among unlisted ones, it's got the S600 grille (which looks a lot more imposing than the typical W140 grille), burlwood steering wheel, burlwood shift gate notch (similar to S600), and burlwood ashtrays in the back, and burlwood rear climate trim. Among the listed options, it has rear window shade, lighted front door sill plates, ADS, ESP (may have been standard perhaps).

And no, I am not jaded because of the S550. In fact, quite the opposite. Let me share my story from yesterday - I was going out of town and I use the S550 for long trips. On my way out of town I had a flat (third time in 2 years!). The high performance tires are a wreck (although covered my warranty). I had to come back home, drop off the S550, and take the S500! I drove 250 miles, and it was the first time I had taken the S500 out. Let me tell you, I can trust the S500 to always work from a mechanical perspective than I do the S550. I absolutely love my fully loaded S550 for the myriad safety and comfort features, but performance on the W140 is reliable. On my old 400SEL, I never had a flat for the entire period of 13 years I had it.

So, I am beginning to believe that on a long trip the S500 may outperform the S550, simply because the S550 doesn't have a spare and the run flat tires need to be replaced before you can continue on your trip.

400SEL

Thank you KNBS550! What model, year, and mileage are you looking for? I wasn't even looking because I have an S550, but when I saw this S500, it was very difficult to pass on it. I felt I could give it a good home, and there are so many W140s that go into homes where people don't take great care of it.

400SEL

Sure, the winning auction was $25.6k on eBay. You can also check out this blog which has a write-up on my car: germancarsforsaleblog.com/1999-mercedes-benz-s500-6101-miles/

400SEL

Thank you asianbond! I totally agree with you - the car is amazing. The W140 can be spotted on the road easier than practically any other Mercedes S class.

400SEL

Thank you antose! Yes, you're right, I don't think I could have found a better W140 in 2017! And not only the engine compartment, but the interior smells just like a new car. Even the mechanic said this on his own. It is surprising that smell has preserved for 20 years (the car rolled out of Sindelfingen March 1998)

The AMG wheels make the car more sporty. And I really like the grille - makes it look clearly more imposing than the standard W140 (non-600) grille.

asianbond

This S500 is my new dream car, even over any newer mercedes models. I love a proper blue leather interior

daddiojiggy

Do you know what the reserve was?I was thinking of selling my '95 s500 for an LS430 but after reading the article i'm reminded of how much i loved driving that car