I am 23 years old, a college student, and not mechanically inclined. I do have a job that pays me about $550 every two weeks. I was going to buy a W203 but MY 2001-2004 aren't as reliable and 2005-2007 are too expensive. I am looking at getting a 2003 S430 because they are astonishingly cheap now. I want your opinions, based on your owners perspectives and experiences, to tell me if buying one of these would stupid on my part.
Some information to help you help me:

1. I have a moderately heavy foot, which means I like to pull away from other cars from a stop but I do not like to drag race or red line the throttle. I also would like to be able to pass slower traffic on the highway with ease.(I travel from 70mph to 85mph pretty consistently) For those of you with a similar driving style, what kind of fuel economy can I expect? (BTW, I STFF for this but no one listed their driving style.) From what I have read, this engine is fairly efficient and I should easily expect at least 430 miles per tank with a mostly highway-mile commute. Let me know if I am wrong.

2. I love in northern Utah so winters are terrible IMO. I do drive up hills to get to school everyday. Will I be fine with a set of dedicated snow tires or will I be better off with 4Matic?

3. I can't afford to have a car that likes to frequent the mechanic shop. It consumes time and money both of which I have little to spare. I can do simple things like oil changes. I do have an independent shop within 50 miles that I hear great things about. The owner is actually from Germany and he and his staff are all certified to work on all German brands. What can I expect to fail on this MY? What items need servicing and at what intervals to keep the car running at its best?(W203 forum is great for finding this) And how much will a good set of All-Season tires run me for stock non-staggered wheels?

That's all I can think of now. I read that the 2000-2002 MY cars have the majority of the problems and that these problems were mostly worked out in the 2003 MY refresh. Some say this happened in 2004 MY. Which is it really?

If you want further info, post a request for it. I did STFF for this information but the responses weren't specific enough to satisfy. Please help. Winter is coming and I need to find a dependable replacement for my old BMW which doesn't have a prayer in the snow.

 

the bottom line is no, this is not the car for you.

They have some issues that are expensive to repair, and many repairs will need the STAR diagnostics computer.

You are a college student, there is no reason to have a big boat like an S430.

I'd recommend you focus on something like an E46 330i.

 

If you have no money to repair, this isnt the car for you.

Remember they are cheap precisely because repairs are SO expensive. These are $100k cars, and still carry the exact same repair bills that come with $100k cars....

even though you can buy them very cheap now, the repair costs are that of a flagship luxury car.

 

So how much annual costs are we talking here? I do have money to repair things but I can't do it frequently.

 

That doesn't even matter at this point.
From what you've typed, just get an econo-box. Why live beyond your means??

It's not even the repair, but also the maintenance. Two different things.

 

conservatively minimum budget $1-2k per year.

realistically $2-3k per year or more.

 

I was going to say $2,500 per year

Dear Mr. College Student,

DO NOT BUY AN S-CLASS MERCEDES.

Buy a Toyota or Honda, or any other brand that has a realistic chance of needing zero repairs, and that has huge networks of both dealers and independent mechanics that can provide services at costs that a college student can afford. At $550 every two weeks, an S-Class ABC problem could easily cost you several months' wages. STAY AWAY!

 

I'm 21 and in college. I love my S 500. I am, however very inclined when it comes to working on European cars. I have/had Turbocharged Volvos that I've blown up built, raced, etc.

I bought mine from the original owners with 79k on the odo last year. (2001 S500) and have had mostly good luck from it. Only real issues would be busted windshield ($1200, drunk friend threw phone through it) Air strut fail, ($500 and about 45 minutes of my time replacing it) and thrust arms on the front ($300 for a set or something, can't remember).

I've put nearly 40k on the car in the past year, and I like hauling ***, so it sees lots of WOT. My average fuel economy stays at about 19.5mpg. That's with lots of city driving.

 

Im 23. the first car i bought myself was a 95 vr6 passat w/ black leather heated seats, 70k miles for $1200. Only maintenance for me was to replace fuel pump. it lasted long enough for me to work for a year an afford an c32. My advice would be to get a cheap beater and save some money for a while. Before you know it youll be able to get something much nicer. ( especially with Used AMG prices dropping like crazy)

 

Run, do not walk, but RUN away from the W220s!

You've done well to avoid considering the '00-'02s and whilst they are an awful lot of car for the money you could f... yourself over with one middle of the road repair bill.

+1

If you want to get into reasonably recent Benzs then consider a pre-facelift W210 (as they don't have all the electronic wizardry that caused problems on the later ones). Decent old school MB build quality with v. reasonable repair costs.

 

As everyone has mentioned, not a car for you at the moment. I am 29 and a proud owner of 04 S500, at 21 i was fortunate enough to afford almost new 230K coupe and i must say (looking back) it was the right choice. Something like an E or S class at that time would have killed me. I was a Full time student with Full time job, and even if i was able to afford repairs i would have not been able to afford the down time.
C class of those years are not that bad, I owned 2002 230K Coupe, then 2001 C320 and must say nothing major ever happened. I can't really remember anything braking at all.
Plus, a 430 will hardly let you pull away from cars. Civic SI has about same acceleration as S430 (0-60 that is). A C320 has the same acceleration as S430 if not faster.
Plus, if you go to S class now you will never appreciate it as much as getting there through other models (my opinion)

 

That's the only reason I'm toolin' around in an S55 these days. That, and the Fidelity extended warranty.

 

My trusty S500 has done me well,i use it as a dailey driver,the only issues i have had are as follows

- Both rear window regulators
- Sunvisor light flap
- stereo & stacker


- Other then that its been really reliable,in saying that mines a update model,i have had some of the early ones come thru the shop & repair bills can get really high as the km's get high or a vehicle thats been poorley serviced and run into the ground

regards sonny

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Hate to break it to you but that's not a W220 S500.

 

I know,i realised that once i posted ,though thanks for pointing it out


regards sonny

 

I still appreciate your input Sonny. I considered getting a W140 like yours, I love the classic styling and proportions. I also considered a W202 as it reminded me of the S-class. I changed my mind on the W202 because it lacked features like side curtain airbags and a tilting steering wheel. I don't know if the 1999 W140s have these or not...does yours? I think I would really like one if it was as reliable as yours. When you say you have an updated model, do you mean like the 98-99 MY? What kind of MPG do you get?

P.S. - the car in the pic is stunning! Nothing has quite the presence as a dark colored S-class, especially black IMO.

 

Hi there,


It doesnt have side air bags,but it does have tilt steering & much more,i have always liked this shape,i looked so hard to find a s600,but to find one with low km's is very hard & in good condition.i found this one with books 90000km's,i dont know in miles,but it does 600 to 650km's to tank round town,i havent had it on the freeway yet,it has plenty of poke,though i am yet to tune it and biuld a exhaust for it,though i dont want to alter the shear smoothness and tone of the exhaust so i have to plan it carefully,i have more pics if you want to see

regards sonny

 

Yeh, I'd love to see more pictures. Too bad it doesn't have curtain airbags, I often drive with other people so I want them to be safe in a side impact. Being in austrailia, you probably don't worry about snow but I do for about 5 months of the year. The W140 would have to do real well on slick roads to justify buying one.

 

These are all the pics i have of the S500,at the time this car was miles ahead,i still personally reckon they look great on the road,very comfortable to drive & very smooth.

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Beautiful! I noticed that your grill is different (better looking) than we have hear in the U.S., is it stock? And does your car have an option package? The gauge cluster has a wood inlay which I haven't seen before and your rear lights seem to have a "smoked" look to them.

 

WHOA.. i just saw $550 every TWO weeks. No offense to you or anyone.. but that wouldnt even be enough spending money, let alone money to save or repairs.

Skip this car and wait. Especially if your gonna pay for everything with no help form parents. with the price of car, taxes, reg, insurance, maintenace at $225 a week is insane


just keep saving, saving, saving.

 

that $550 will be going to gas alone. especially with your semi led foot

 

I spy S600 wheels.

A very nice W140 I guess they're a bit different in Australia, didn't realise they came with the V8 badges on the C pillar....

I still laugh a bit when I think about the W140 as when my father was looking at his '98 W210 the dealer also had a new W140 S280 they were trying to get rid of. The W220 was pretty close to arriving so they were pretty desparate, I almost dread to think how slow the car would be with that V6 trying to haul around that beast

 

I,ll list what i added to the car,as i was saying in a earleir post i wanted a s600 and it was hard to find a really low milage and good condition one,as this beauty came along and i snapped it up,things i,ve added,

- Vehicle was ordered with S600 rims from new
- I added the S600 grille as i didnt like the oem S500 one
- I added the S600 woodgrain in the cluster
- I also added the V8 badges on the pillars to give the S600 look
- The smoked tail lights
- W210 LED Mirrors



regards sonny

 

If I had to do it all over again I would have bought a W140 rather than my W220. God those cars look good.