ParkCityBenz

Hi, Everyone:

I just bought my car today, sight unseen, from Denver, CO. I plan on flying out tomorrow to pick it up but am excited to join this forum.

It's a 2003 S500 4Matic Sport -- pewter w/stone interior and pretty well-loaded.

vraa

Welcome to mbworld!
Got more pictures of your car?

ParkCityBenz

Sure; all I've got right now are the pictures from the dealer, but they're pretty good. I really loved the color combo:

schwarz

congrats on the buy! love the color combo! especially how bright the interior looks! :

SUNILP

Just remember stone is a REAL pain to keep clean. Especially in snowy areas.

ProV1

wow! nice car, must've paid at least 45k.

those seats seem to be perforated big time?? are those optional seats? 02 S430 I'm looking at doesn't have those

02S430

nice, good luck, wats the miliage on that puppy

ParkCityBenz

It has 38K miles. Yes, I paid mid-40s for it. I still haven't seen it but hoping to fly out this afternoon or first thing tomorrow morning.

I'm definitely worried about maintaining the stone interior. The seats are supposed to have the ventilated feature.

The only features I wish it had are: 1) Parktronic; and 2) (which isn't available from the factory that year) Bluetooth support. I drive a lot and Bluetooth would be so nice to have.

Do you guys recommend considering third party options like the Argos? While I'm technical, the thought of ripping my car apart to get at the wiring freaks me out...maybe when the car is a lot older :-).

ProV1

Question - are those 19 inch rims or 18 inch? i'm trying to decide between 18s or 19s, and those rims look just 'right'.

kostas86

Welcome and nice Benz

ParkCityBenz

I'm quite sure they're stock 18"s (for the AMG Sport package).

Skylaw

RRRReally nice car!!

Vader55

Nice looking Benz and welcome to the board.

blazinginder

nice car

sprink49

Beautiful car!!! Welcome ...you will learn a lot here. Love the color!!!

gregwang

Welcome My Friend! That is one clean ride! Love how the wood steering wheel and dash just brings out the elegant and classy looks of the interior! I know you will truly enjoy the S Class if this is your first Benz!

ParkCityBenz

Thanks, everyone.

Well, I flew out to CO yesterday afternoon to pick up the car which was supposed to be ready for me to make the 500+ mile trek back home (over the Wasatch Mountains and into Park City, Utah).

After hours of waiting, it turned out the car needed new front struts (part of the certification process) and after attempts to find the parts at other local dealers, it was determined that they'd have to fly in new struts from Germany that won't show up until Tuesday...SO, I spent the night in Denver and took a flight back this morning very disappointed and quite aggravated.

They're going to pay to have the car shipped to me; however, I've already paid for a car that I haven't even driven and now can't take deliver of for quite some time. I'll keep you guys posted. After this whole experience is over, I'll tell you my honest opinion about this experience with this dealer -- right now, they seem to be doing their best to rectify the situation.

gregwang

Wow! I am sorry to hear that my Friend...You think the Dealer would have thoroughly checked and repaired or replaced anything necessary and then certify this car before they put it on the showroom floor...

If this happened to me my Lawyer would make sure the Dealer compensate me in the form of a refund of some of the money I paid towards this car in addition to the free shipping of the car to me and reimbursing me for the airfare...Because there is no excuse for this Dealer to not certify this car before they advertised that is is a pre-owned certified MBZ! This really sucks! But I know once you get the car delivered to you and you finally get to drive it and enjoy this beauty it will off set all these mishaps... Good luck!

Jayhawk

In spite of difficulties, that really is a pretty ride!! Can't believe a dealer would let you fly out w/out being absolutely, positively, 100% certain the car was ready to go! It wasn't Westminster (aka Glauser) was it? Maybe the new management is cutting corners...

ParkCityBenz

Thanks for the sympathy, guys.

It was Glauser/Westminster but I'm giving them a fair chance as they did offer to pay to ship it to me and to reimburse me for the return trip. The salesman was very apologetic but I'm going to wait and see how it all gets handled as I don't have the car yet. Somehow, it still feels like it doesn't make up for my taking a day off of work (along with my brother-in-law who came with me to help me with the return drive) and paying for the car. I'll update everyone as soon as it's all said and done. If this hadn't happened, this would've been a first-class experience. So, again, I want to give them the benefit of the doubt because everything else in the transaction went so smoothly and professionally.

One thing I'll say about the dealership: WOW. It's absolutely gorgeous and is truly filled with all manner of Benzes. There was an incredibly gorgeous black on black 2007 S600 Sport fully-loaded at a whopping $152K. There was also a Maybach in the service area -- I'd never seen a Maybach in real life before. The pictures don't do them or their heft justice. It was a truly beautiful and gigantic machine.

Here in Utah, we only have two dealerships neither of which comes anywhere near the caliber or size of Glauser.

Jayhawk

I can't wait to see how this turns out. They watch these posts so I am sure they will do everything they can, so that you will give us a good report. I would ask them to deliver your car in a "closed truck" ($750 NC) so it will arrive clean and freshly detailed, rather than an "open truck" ($350 NC). I think they have lowered to price of that B on B S600 to $149,000!! A real "steal!"

Skylaw

PatkCityBenz,

I just had the front struts replaced on mine, with only 20,500 miles. Left front strut appeard to have a very slow leak (had to stand overnight to notice it much). Fortunately, my dealer had some.

The disappointing thing is, the strut replacement didn't solve the problem. Ride, which had gotten slightly harsh, is improved - but the left front is still down about 1-1/2 inches overnight.

The good part for you is, you'll have brand new struts and less to worry about; a gorgeous car; by delivering it and absorbing the cost the dealer will have pretty much made you whole, except for the day off work and inconvenience for your brother (which would still have happened even if you'd had the satisfaction of getting the car then). Jayhawk makes a point about getting the car nice 'n shiny, but if that doesn't happen an inexpensive hand wash will get you there.

And while I have new struts, I'll get the chance to see if the MB dealer in Tampa can resolve the problem, since our final move there happens at the end of this week.

ParkCityBenz

Skylaw,

Thanks for the input. Again, I do believe they're doing everything in good conscience to make it up to me -- perhaps it's human nature but it's just so anti-climactic when one buys a car, flies out to pick it up, pays for the car, and then has to leave it there unable to drive it for some time. As I told the salesman, I still plan on buying cars from him again as he was very professional and, as far as I can tell, very honest. I'm reserving final judgment until I've actually received and driven the car.

It's amazing, actually, that your struts went out on such a new car with low miles (yours only has 20K miles on an '05?). Is this a persistent problem that I should expect with an S500? I think that is my biggest fear about the purchase; I've been reading about the reliability issues on the W220 on these forums :-(.

I will say that I was immediately smitten when I test drove a W220 S430 4Matic here in Utah for the first time about a month ago. It was an '03 with 50K miles on it (still for sale, actually) and in phenomenal shape. I simply couldn't believe the smooth ride, quite operation, and excellent performance. It felt quite a bit more spirited and refined than our ML with the same engine (not sure which car weighs more; I bet they're quite similar).

I also considered the newer Audi A8Ls (I'm also a big Audi fan) but I just love the shape of the W220 and consider it a timeless design. I think this will be the first of many S-classes -- IF the car can just stay healthy and not cost too much in maintenance and service (i.e., beyond the ordinary). I've been driving Toyota SUVs for the last few years and haven't had any issues whatsoever; after all, they're quite simple compared to these German beasts. However, there is something to be said for driving and not worrying about fault lights coming on or dropping your car off at the dealer, etc. Let's see if I'm fortunate to have picked up a healthy specimen.

sprink49

I think the latin phrase for your experience is "Coitus Interuptus".

Skylaw

[QUOTE=ParkCityBenz;1767354]Skylaw,
It's amazing, actually, that your struts went out on such a new car with low miles (yours only has 20K miles on an '05?). Is this a persistent problem that I should expect with an S500? I think that is my biggest fear about the purchase; I've been reading about the reliability issues on the W220 on these forums :-(.
QUOTE]

Although the struts were replaced, it was obviously not the problem. There may be a leak elsewhere, or perhaps the height sensor is bad. Apparently it's not the airmatic pump or relay, because the car does come to normal height after being started.