Hey guys, I'm buying someone a car (they're lucky I know), I want to buy them an S430 W220 (I know pretty lucky), now I'm not going to say who buy the point is what should I look for when buying one? I want to get a good price, not too expensive.

1. How much mileage is too much.

2. How to tell wear in critical spots.

3. What electronics to check working or not.

4. What options were available to see if they're there.

I ask you guys because you own these cars and know the little things every car has that is unique to that car model. By the way I'm in Australia so where should I go to get the car inspected? I know a place that does mechanical and all but it's not Mercedes specific. Would a Mercedes dealer help me out by check the car out, I would definitely give the owner an ultimatum to take it or I won't consider it, this isn't no Camry, it needs to be checked THOROUGHLY. Please help guys this person is coming back from travel soon and I need to get a car ASAP.

s430 are pretty robust cars, common problem areas are:
1. shifter stuck in park
2. airmatic problems
3. electronic accelerator pedal
4. clogged AC drains
5. rust in lower doors
6. Transmission mounts/flex disc
7. Ball joints

Most of these are easily inspected by any mechanic.

Thanks, that was the kind of response I wanted. Somethings are things only owners know, they can only find out during long term use.

Well all the ones for sale, the expensive and the cheap are 80-90k miles. I know that it's not all about mileage and it's how the car is serviced and treated but it still can't be ignored. I will tell the mechanic to check. By the way do Mercedes dealers do inspections for used Mercs? I thought maybe they'd know more about it that a place that deals with all cars. I'm worried because even with it's age, parts are not cheap and I don't want things to fail.

The Airmatic scares the **** out of me, the fact that the car is 10-11 years old says it's a failure waiting to happen. My E55 is serviced at the dealer and all and still, I'm always expecting it due to the numbers I've seen fail. I won't do a coilover swap on an S Class not that it can be (not sure) so yes, I am nervous. It would be embarrassing to give a gift that would break in 2 weeks.

yeah pretty much just drive this car slow and avoid all potholes, curbs and nasty speed bumps.. i purchased my 2001 s430 with 95k miles and put about 9k on it so far - purchased august 2010 and car drives like its new

any mechanic can put the car up on a lift and look at the suspension/ball joints/flex disc etc
and spray soapy water on the struts to check for leaks

you can verify yourself if there is any problem with rust, shifter , pedal or clogged drains since they are all apparent if theres a problem

also have it scanned for any trouble codes. this is where you want a mercedes dealer or specialist who has Star Diagnostic System.

Thanks for the advice guys, by the way classyS the person I'm giving it to won't be driving fast or anything just normal daily driving so I think it should be fine.

I tried to get one guy to come to the mechanic with me 2 days ago and he got all defensive, he said he "doesn't have time" I was like this guy is hiding something, if I were getting a civic then maybe but buying a car without extensive inspection is reckless. I've come across alot of owners like this. When I sell a car I allow the person to choose places to get it inspected, at their expense but yes I would give a day to visit any inspection places, you have to be considerate to receive consideration.