Hi guys,

I'm new so please be gentle.

I have read up quite a bit on the S Class and potential issues surrounding a number of things but have a few unanswered questions...

I have today been to look at a 1999 S430 L. Its in ok condition for its ages but is suffering with the rust on rear arches, under rear doors etc. I'm prepared to accept this as I think if I'm right it can be rectified by a decent bodyshop.

There are gadgets galore on this car..heated and cooled seats front and back, massageing ones up front, rear blind, comand, etc etc. On the dash above the Comand unit there are a series of switches, ESP for one. There was one which appears to be 4 wheels with a long line down the middle. What is is and what does it do? Also, another button with what appears to be the rear of the car with a arrow up and down. When clicked some lights came on on the button but I didn't notice anything different?

Is there a guide to buttons and functionality anywhere?

Finally, it has voice recognition, which I tried to use but couldn't get it to work, it just said, pardon? or excuse me? Can't remember which. Then it thought I said someones name and tried to dial it from a phonebook..but when I hit phone on Comand, there was no phone present...not sure how this works so again anything to help me understand would be great. The BOSE sound system sounded excellent though!

Anything else that I should look out for? Everything I tried appeared to work, apart from the confusion above.

I know its old, but I drive a Kia Cee'd as my daily driver, and this is just because I want something a bit different for a bit of fun now and again. I'm happy to spend some money getting it right, but not if its going to cost me ££££££££.

EDIT:- I don't remember noticing any kind of trip computer in the dash. Speedo, Revs, Fuel etc all working, warning lights seemed to be ok, coming on and then off, but no mileage etc. Must be there somewhere as the advert specifies the mileage but where should it have been. Is this the instrument cluster failure people talk about?

Thanks in advance!

Chris