Looking at buying my first Mercedes, what should I know and what to look for?
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Joined: Nov 2017
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03 impala
Looking at buying my first Mercedes, what should I know and what to look for?
Hello! I'm looking at buying my first Mercedes, but I don't know much about them specifically as far asbestos the models go. I generally work on all my own cars but I heard it's harder to work on a Mercedes? I found a 98-99 (haven't asked the owner yet) s320 with 40k miles on it for sale, the only problem as far as I can see is that someone hit the mirror on the drivers side. I've been trying to find out how reliable these cars are and if I should buy it but I can't seem to find and information about these cars online as for problems/reliability. The owner bought it new and has kept it in the garage most of its life it's, all dealership maintained (I can't afford that so I do my own maintenance/repairs) he's thinking about selling it for around $3000. Can someone tell me if it's a good reliable car or stay away from it, what should i look for? I owned a volvo and everything on that broke from drivetrain to brakes, speedometer to headlights, hood to tailights. I'll never buy those again. I currently own a 03 impala with 79k on it they are cheaper to fix but I've always wanted a Mercedes. Thank you!
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2002
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2014 S550, 1999 S500, 2010 Prius, 1993 400SEL (gone), 1998 Toyota Corolla (gone)
Hello! I'm looking at buying my first Mercedes, but I don't know much about them specifically as far asbestos the models go. I generally work on all my own cars but I heard it's harder to work on a Mercedes? I found a 98-99 (haven't asked the owner yet) s320 with 40k miles on it for sale, the only problem as far as I can see is that someone hit the mirror on the drivers side. I've been trying to find out how reliable these cars are and if I should buy it but I can't seem to find and information about these cars online as for problems/reliability. The owner bought it new and has kept it in the garage most of its life it's, all dealership maintained (I can't afford that so I do my own maintenance/repairs) he's thinking about selling it for around $3000. Can someone tell me if it's a good reliable car or stay away from it, what should i look for? I owned a volvo and everything on that broke from drivetrain to brakes, speedometer to headlights, hood to tailights. I'll never buy those again. I currently own a 03 impala with 79k on it they are cheaper to fix but I've always wanted a Mercedes. Thank you!
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Newbie
Joined: Nov 2017
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03 impala
Thank you for your response! When you say the maintenance is expensive, do you mean just the general maintenance or parts that may break also? And would the parts be comparable to Volvo parts? Those weren't exactly cheap but not outrageous although my Volvo kept falling apart every month. My dream Mercedes is a 84 turbodiesel in green but there isn't one in my area. :/ but one day I'll find one!
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2010
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From: tennessee
s320
between 1992 and 1996 all suffer bad wiring harness,and throttle body wiring too,about $1500 parts alone,but they have thicker leather,but maybe limited to four speed transmissions.If diesel the s class are junk in america,between 1991 and 1995.
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97 S600 coupe/gf 16 C300 Lux. Former: 08 GL450, 83 300D, 97 C230, 08 c300 luxury, 92 500SL, 93 400E
It should be a good car. They are reliable and excellent, but recognize that if you are still maintaining an S-Class. It's not cheap to keep them in great condition all the time. The S-classes from those years are quite cheap to find, but still cost a pretty penny to maintain. So long as you are ready for it, you will have a great experience owning one. I had a 1993 400SEL (bought it when it had 129K miles and drove it to well over 235 or 240K miles) for well over a decade, and just bought a 1999 S500 (with only 6k miles).
Yeah, there's no cheap Benz. For a 140, a post-96 S320 is as close to a reliable, low-maintenance daily driver as you will find. I have an m120 coupe, other end of the spectrum.
Rule of thumb is the most perfect, middle of the road Benz (yours is just north of middle of the road - or would that be east?) will cost you an average of maybe $3k a year at retail dealer prices to maintain. You can adjust that gradient according to self-repair, indie shop usage, etc. That's your baseline. Parts are also becoming much harder to find, quickly, on the 140s, at least parts not common to other models - body, trim, interior, in particular. You will pay through the nose even online, if you need a rare, NOS part.
