boochi101

All,

I am thinking of purchasing a 2006 MB S430 which has about 90,000 miles. The price quoted is about $19000.

Is it worth to go for it? a S430 with 90K miles needs not of repairs an can also have several components fail in near future?

What scheduled maintainance is required for this vehicle with 90-100K?

Any experience with such high mileage S430 is appreciated.

TIA.

tusabes

price is too high.

but 90k miles is nothing to be scared of. I bought my s430 with double that mileage

boochi101

What is a good price to start with and what is a typical HIGH/LOW for this kind of vehicle??

Thanks.

Blk04cobra1

I actually think the price is about right for a 90k mile 2006. Is it through a dealer or private seller? I would highly recommend having a local dealership do a diagnostic check over the car before you purchase. I know our's charges $250 to do a complete check of the car. That way you will know if you're going to need anything (ie, brakes, service, etc).

Fraser

I wouldn't buy it.

Though it is still young in terms of the life cycle I wouldn't own a W220 without a warranty (unless you enjoy throwing money at it and getting your hands dirty) but that's just me. Once you're past the 70,000 range it is difficult to get decent warranties. The 2006 end of the production cycle were certainly more reliable than the 1999 end though.

boochi101

Is this S430 easy to work for small repairs for a DIY guy? I know these MBs are pretty complex and heavy electronics but any DIY chane to save some money? I own a 2006 R500 and could not dare to get near it. I can work freely on my 1999 CAMRY though

Fraser

I'm a useless DIYer, so the warranty money is well spent in my eyes. My father-in-law is a huge DIYer (pulled apart the V8 engine from an R107 by hand a few years ago and put it back together) and he said he'd be hesitant to do work on my 600. He said he'd have had no problems with my old W210 though...

That said there are a few very knowledgeable people on this forum who do their own work on their W220s, even on the more complex systems like ABC. I'd say if you're scared of your R Class you'd be scared of a W220 as well.

tusabes

I agree 100% with Fraser. Get something with lower miles, maybe older, and get a warranty. Better to get a $15k 2004 with 70k miles and spend $3k on a 4-5 year warranty, than to spend $19k on a 2006.

Does factoryplans.com chrysler warranty still cover cars with up to 80k or is it now 70k max?

Fraser

I read it was recently reduced from 80k to 70k. No experience with it myself though.

rayk

I have a 2004 s430 4 matic with 89,000,everything is running perfect

my06clk

I think it an okay deal at 19K. Don't let these guys scare you away from what you want as everybody has their opinion.

90K is not HIGH miles on that car and the 2006 430 is a really nice car. nobody can predict the future as far as failures so you really can't rely on any info from here as really depends on the car and the situation.

I have a 2004 430 and I am DIY'er. THere isn't much about this car that's any different from any newer car maintenance wise except how you do it.I only get under the hood when it's service time so it's been pretty reliable for me.

If you don't know how to work on a car, it should not deter you from buying it. Not everybody is a technician.

Personally I don;t believe in A/M warranties but if you feel that will give you some security, go for it. I have not paid anywhere near what most of these policies costs in maintaining my car the last 3 1/2 years so it doesn't make sense to me. But that's me.

Skylaw

Run the car through the kbb, NADA, and other common guides; run it "clean" and see what comes up.

Without having your zip code, this may not be too accurate - but kbb lists your car at about $22,600 in "excellent" condition with 90,000 miles. The dealer would have allowed $12,600 to $14,800 in trade, in "fair"or "good" condition (very rare for them to rate the car "excellent" taking it in trade, but that's almost always how they will try to sell it). As you can see, the dealer still has a pretty good amount to play with after listing it at $19K.

If they don't want to come down in price, be sure it has new, quality tires and has had all required service performed. "B" service is around $350, and there are likely additional recommended services at 90,000 mies. You're coming up on spark plug replacement and many folks strongly recommend changing the tranny fluid. You also likely have brake and cooling system flush & fill coming up. See if you can negotiate those in the price, if they stay around $19K.

Follow Blk04Cobra1's recommendation about having a dealer go over the car with a diagnostic check. Pull up a CarFax report as well - it will tell you of major accidents, suspicious title transfers (too many auction houses is not a good sign; VIN problems is a REALLY bad sign). If you're buying from an MB dealership, they should be able to provide copies of maintenance records.

rondocap

I have a 2001 S55 with 124k miles, and it runs perfectly - but has been very thoroughly maintained, and problems fixed when they pop up.

If you can get a good warranty, definitely do it - these cars have some items that are fairly expensive, such as the suspension, and even stuff like ball joints and motor mounts.

brianw430

I sold my '01 S55 and it had over 100,000 miles and never gave me a problem...ran perfectly. With that being said, I would get an aftermarket warranty as they are less expensive than the "wear/consumable" items you are going ot be faced with replacing. As with rondocap, the front suspension can run upwards of $3,000 for all parts and labor. Also, I believe it is the tie rods that come as a complete assmebly (don't quote meon that one) but something with the front suspension comes only as one piece and it is costly and is a consumable item. I know my aftermarket warranty, even with fighting with them to pay for everything, more than paid for itself with normal items covered.

I agree 90,000 is nothing for the car, but as has already been said, you are on the front end of relpacing a lot of maintenance items very soon. A good warranty will cover alot of those parts. Good luck in your search, take your time as these are great cars, but a cheap one will cost you dearly!

PlatinumEdition

i have a 2002 s500 with 70k miles for sale, pm me if interested you wont find a w220 thats been babied like this one, comes with HRE wheels as well

tusabes

have some pics? I might want to buy the HREs