DSC2000

I am in the market for a 2000-2001 S430. I've been inlove with the W220 ever since I got to drive my father's 2002 S500. What an amazing car.

I've been wanting to buy one for my self for about a year and half now... and I still have not bought one. There are a couple of things that I would like to discuss with you guys before I make any purchases...

I am looking for a 2000 or a 2001 S430 with around 65,000 - 85,000 miles on it. The reason I can't get anything newer/less miles is because my budget is pretty tight, so I am aiming at around $28,000 - $30,000.

Questions... what do I look for when I go to buy one? I don't want to buy it and have it break down on me the same night when I go out to dinner to celebrate it.

Are there any known issues with the earlier W220's? Do they break down alot? Is that too many miles?

Vader55

Hey DSC2000,

I am very partial to the S500 ...5 liter motor opposed to the S430 ... The S430 does not have the soft napa leather that is standard with S500... Just make sure you find one with all the options (Napa is a special order on the S430) + I like the horsepower of the S500 ... I would personally buy a S500 with more miles on it... I have 80 K on mine and I never have replaced anything but oil,plugs and rotors !! I am so happy with it... All this garbage about quality is a joke to me with MB. If you notice in these forums all this Lexus(junk) and mercedes issues tend to be related to the lower end/class MB. So buy the S500 and enjoy !!

ps. Just my 2 cents no dis-respect to fellow mb boys

DSC2000

What you just said, put a big smile on my face. Thanks man. That is exactly what I am looking for.

I have had a picture of an S-Class with the words "The S-Class. Perfect." under it haging over my bed for the past year, and now as days approach when I will finally own one, I look at it and smile.

MsRandall

People tried to scare me out of a MB and the S class too but it is my dream car and how many people really get their dream car???????? I am one of the lucky ones....Go buy that s500 and be sure to post pictures asap.

DSC2000

Well... all I hear is..

Gauge Cluster Sucks
Air Suspension Sucks
Year 2000 Sucks
Electronics Suck
ECU's Suck

Vader55

Wow, I guess as long as you are getting your info/opinions from actual S500 owners you will get the the good advice you need and deserve...This post will help you.. If you search the forums... you will only find petty issues from some S500 owners...Like( blower motor for airco type stuff) as far as the Air suspension is concerned it is fantastic setup... Stiff or soft.. with a push of a button... Those complaints sound like people who do not own the car.. A couple of other members you should check out are thericker55 and dtxmob..

NJS430

Personally, I prefer the more “Mercedes style” leather in the S430 to the butter soft leather in the S500. Both are great cars and there really isn’t a lot of difference. I would consider both and choose the best one that comes along. I have owned both a 2002 and a 2004 S430. There were a lot of problems in the 2000 – 2002 model that were corrected in the model that went into production in 2003. They may look the same, but I assure you they are very different cars. There were hundreds of changes. You might be better off increasing your budget or waiting just a little longer.

DSC2000

Like... increasing the budget by $25,000? That's a big difference.

NJS430

Then stay away from the MY 2000 and look for a really clean car. I was not unhappy with the MY2002 but I am much much happier with the MY2004. But little things bother me like squeaks and rattles and wood trim that doesn't quite line-up correctly. MY2003+ fixes all of the annoyances. But it is still the same driving experience.

SSL

Or you could spend less money and buy yourself a proper S500 (W140)

DSC2000

Ouch, that's a whole different beast and not exactly what I am looking for...

vraa

Not always the smartest idea.

Always get the newest car you can. You'll thank yourself later.

Vader55

I like what I call... (The princess Diana mobile)140..... But the W220 is the bad boy body style period... The line's are truly awesome.

SSL

Ricky,

DSC is concerned about buying the right W220 and as we know the model had some early gremlins until DC got hold of them and ironed them out in the later model years. Similar things occurred with the W140.

My guess would be that it would be possible to buy the last model year of the W140 `98/`99 for two thirds of DSC`s budget and with significantly less mileage than the 70-80,000 that brings him in range of his W220 dream. For example in the UK I can buy a `98 S500 for £8-9,000 with FMBSH in the 50k miles range. This is about US$ 14,600. The car is barely run in and frankly puts the W220 to shame in tems of build and materials quality!

But this was a tongue in cheek suggestion as I recognise that the W140 is not everyone cup of tea!

How about waiting for a few more months. The W221 will be here soon and that will impact on the resale value of W220`s. Already you can buy S430s in the UK for a quarter of their list price and it`s not going to get better which is good news for used cars buyers. Same in the US surely?

Chris.

vraa

Chris, you are absolutely right.
I was just also saying, although the W140 is by no doubt a better built car, the W220 feels more modern as far as interior styling is concerned and IMO, the main point of the car.

Anyone can argue that the interior of a car doesn't play a big role in it's 'acceptability' but it does, because that's what you touch, feel, see, and smell every time you get in the car.

I strongly agree with you on the W221 one point. If I were in the market for a S-Class right now, I'd wait for the W221 to see how prices will (obviously) plummet.

DSC2000

Very good point... when is the W221 supposed to hit the show rooms?

vraa

I have no idea, but I'm going to place my bet within the next few months because production copies are already being spotted in America.

newton22

Just a tip, you wouldn't want the S430 if you're really into performance etc. I've never driven the S500, so I don't know how much more powerful/faster it is, but I've heard its noticeable quicker than the 430.

And as far reliablity goes, I've had costly problems with mine ('00 S430), not a whole bunch of them, but some.

DSC2000

What kind of problems did you experience? Did you have an extended warranty?

Skylaw

Mine is a '00, and the cars have improved since that first year of production. In addition, I understand from the forums that many things just work more smoothly, and are better thought out from '03 on. Before I bought mine, it had been in the shop frequently, mostly for telematics problems and some recalls.

I have had relatively few mechanical problems, but the airmatic suspension shows up repeatedly in these forums. The mounts for the air struts (they attach the strut to the body, and have an air line and valve going into the center) on my car developed stress cracks (that I noticed 1 month out of warranty). The stress cracks were causing a small air leak already; I replaced them ($500 parts & labor) before they could completely fail, resulting in a $6000 repair job. The new mounts are of a different design, but I don't know if they're any better.

Right now, with 63000 miles, I have lost either the air pump relay or the air pump itself; the car is sitting low in the back, and the pump no longer runs as it should. I just noticed this - it goes to the dealer this week. If it's just the relay I'm looking at several hundred dollars; if the pump, over a thousand; and if it's the rear struts (I don't think it is because the car isn't all the way down), a grand each (plus the pump, etc).

The relay for the airmatic pump is prone to stick "on," leaving the pump running until it burns itself out.

My mechanic also pointed out a split idler pulley for the accessory drive belt - it has 2 parts separated by a rubber bushing (for noise dampening) - when the bushing gives way the pulley separates and usually takes out the oil pan. My car was not part of the recall for this problem, so it should be OK. Check that any car you buy has had any recalls taken care of, or have it done yourself.

The difficulty in updating telematics is somewhat frustrating; probably gets to the level of nit-picking. Things work as they are supposed to, but if you want them to do a bit more (like updating your cell phone, or sometimes even getting one that a company will activate) it becomes a problem. Look at the cell phone, iPod, and voice control writeups (several of them mine) for a fuller view of those. Keep in mind, however, that in each of these modifications I was getting the system to do more than it was designed to (the question is, shouldn't it have been designed for more flexibility? - the cell phone limitations are maddening).

I don't recall if the iPod even existed when my car was built, so it's hard to fault Mercedes for not having a ready integration for my '00 (why so late for others? BMW was on top of it); but many of the cell phone limitations are due to licensing agreements, and were unnecessary even with the technology of the time. That's the really galling part.

The navigation system works fine, but lacks many of the features that my wife has in her '05 Lincoln Town Car. However, if you're satisfied with the stock equipment, these are minor. The technology is 5 years newer in her car - so the comparison is hardly fair.

That said, I love the car. As to driving, it is the embodiment of the fine luxury sedan. I drove a new Audi A8L some time ago, for comparison (I drove Audis for 20 years before buying my S500). I prefer the S500. Wish it was a 4-Matic; and if the right deal comes along, I will trade for one.

Good luck!

kevin tan

If you can't stand the OEM Phone and CD Changer, I suggest you get a Mikbox and the Dension Ice link. I use both on my 02 S class and they work perfectly. Both are easy to install.

newton22

Off the top of my head:

-The common Airmatic suspension failure. Mercedes managed to fix it before the whole thing completely failed. Lucky me.
-Harmonic balancer pulley. The core rubber piece came over and the Mercedes told it to me, the pulley actually drilled a half hole in the oil pan. Whatever the case, I had to replace the pulley and oilpan.
-CD changer failed.
-Transmission sensor failed causing the car to go into "limp home" mode or something.

I think that's about it as far as the major problems go. I didn't have extended warranty. All the problems I stated above appeared when the car went out of warranty and each of the problems costed me at least $900.

But I don't want to discourage you from getting a S. Go for a car that's as new as possible. BTW, my S430 has 27k miles on the clock.

MerzadY_BoY

well no offense but the people that drive s class' and can really afford it don't have problems with money. For $28,000, don't be expecting too much, thats the price of a new honda.

ndabunka

This is a government confiscation site. Bidding for this starts in about a week. Starting bid is around $15K. This is one of the ways you can pick up a decent car at a low price (Probably around $24K). However, you WILL need to have your financing IN HAND in order to make the deal. Also make certain that you do inspect the car BEFORE you BID on it. Although there is no reason it wouldn't run, this is an AS-IS auction. If you can't make the trip to inspect it, then don not bid on it.

http://www.bid4assets.com/auction/in...ctionid=200087

AMGS500

As posted before, the MY2000 is the car to avoid.

On pre-MY2004 (btw including MY2003) you should expect two things to fail:

1) Airmatic pump

2) Instrument Cluster Panel



Unless they were replaced already, these items most likely to fail on pre-MY2004 W220. I had my IC and air pump replaced on MY2001.

Other than that there are no common problems known. Some of the S-Class owners report random issues (I am watching this and a couple of other forums for years).

Also I would STRONGLY recommend to get aftermarket warranty for as long as you can get it (2-3 years probably from companies like warrantydirect.com).

And also stay away from MY2000 model. There were a huge number of changes implemented in MY2001 (like COMAND upgrade, etc.).



The last thing is I prefer S500 because of many standard features that were optional on S430.



Good luck