S600Andy

I'm trying to buy a car...

What car? From Who? Do I even need another car?

The options...

1. Do Nothing...You already have a daily driver, a go fast hobby car, and the wife's Prius. Do nothing, save your money...by a copy of Dupont's registy and just continue the endless fantasy cycling of want and desire.

2. Buy a Honda...This gets me out of the yucky feeling of my image related angst related to driving around in a twenty year old beater...but give me absolutely no cool car pleasure, hobby interest, or driving experience. I get hit with the monthly bills for taxes and insurance plus the payment. The new car smell linger, but I won't notice it. I'll continue my vicarious nature via this board and others. five years will go by it will be miserable car existence...How am I? I'm not a Honda guy....

3. Buy a used luxury performance car...This is where it gets interesting...Here are the choices...listed in the order of my current leaning...Excludes

E39 M5 ....

This seemed like a straight bet...Not a huge upside, Good price to performance ratio, but not a lot on the market under fifteen thousand, might wind up buying a beater, legendary issues with respect to time chians, might need performance upgrades, could find a Dinan car where the upgrades are almost free, downside is that you might have hidden issues related to a spirited driving history...Good community, good aftermarket, a lot of DIY sights, but just not a lot of big ticket repairs.

e39 540i...



E60 545...Wife would like this, but I hate the styling of the E60. the n52 engine is unproven longer term. Requires a descent amount of maintenance to keep it leak free...price point under 15 is doable, but no aftermarket and no community...This is close to the Honda decision, no upside in status or driving experience.

E60 M5... This puts the purchase in the 25-30k market...Full maintenance history, relevant upgrades, 550 horse (with a tune + exhaust) , under fifty thousand miles...Insurance higher do to financing, tax bill higher, still no warranty...Engine is sususpect with respect to a talked (maybe not completely verified) , connecting rod bearing issues. The m5 board has many recent posts about this where the rod bearing on newer cars <50k miles have been removed and inspected to show wear patterns. There is also a common problem with respect to replacing throttle actuators...4k job...mpg is crappy + tires + maintenance, plus all other carrying costs, makes this sure fire REGRET...where does this get sold in five years? 15k? Who is the buyer?

Jaguar XJR -- I love the 2005 xjr...timing chains aren't relevant at this year. Might find a low mileage xjr for fifteen. Good dependable, nice ride, descent community, but not your heavy DIYer crowd,,,Aged styling, not the depth in technology and systems. I see the xjr driver putter by, and it's just not me....

Jaguar X-type R & XF supercharged....Not serious contender...Whoever bought one of these cars is either selling it, or wants to sell it...ha ha.

MB analysis forthcoming....

I'm an expert in NOTHING....I just have a little too much time on my hands today...

Welwynnick

Sounds like you've got a downer on everything.

I've owned many of the cars you're shortlisting, and the E39 540i had very few negatives. 550 bhp isn't on the cards though. Maybe 350...

If you think Beemers and Jags have problems, wait till you dig into the S600TT....

Nick

S600Andy

Nick....I wrote that quickly, didn't really proof read...E39 won't get to 550 horse that should be the E60 M5..with a tune and exhaust...

And...I agree TOTALLY the 540i is a solid choice in so many ways...cost, performance, reliability...the negative, and this is subjective, is the status aspect...kind of a kids ride..that said...what I should do is suck up my ego and go out and spend five grand on a 540i, spend a few more dollars on mods and what not, and be rewarded in driving experience, community, etc, etc...

vmystikilv

Find a S500 with airmatic and not ABC with the sport kit and rear seat package

S600Andy

That advice has already been given...I'm drunk on the idea of this s600, incapacitated by it's promise of endless torque and luxury...I simply can not be reasoned with.

I spoke to the current owner today. We are stepping through the PPI. He is a good owner. He bought MB warrantied parts. The PPI came back with bad coils and plugs. He had just replaced them 10-15 thousand miles ago!!! Anyway, I'll be getting the new parts in the car, but the warranties won't transfer...bummer.

S600Andy

So, it is true. I am a man who acts on impulse. I've only been actively looking for an s600 for about two weeks or so. I'm very eager to buy one. I've already found myself on the alter of a deal in this short time span. Case in point...Just about aobut a week ago, in my infinite ignorance, I was negotiating on a deal with a used car outfit out of Chicago. Everyone seemed nice enough on the pre-sale, no big surprise there huh. The car had an unbelievable low number on the clock...16k. Like I said, I'm a walking idiot, I thought...Hey this is practically a new car...WRONG...The car is still ten years old and honestly less miles over a long period might be a big red flag...We'll I made the deal over the phone...Like I said I was eager. Then I got the carfax, and immediately noticed a few trips for service at some shops in the Chicago area. One was a ** Dealer. Well I called the dealer and navigated my way to the $%^&*...You know what? The person remember the car, and they filled me in on some of the details involving the car's conditions...I got myself out of the deal. And at that point I decided I would concentrate my search on the lower end of the price point on these cars. My reasoning was simply that higher mileage cars would have the same problems as lower mileage cars after this many years. The service and repairs would need to be done. I also convinced myself that these cars could last in to the 200k mile range if cared for properly. The evidence was in the some of the salvage cars on the market, and some of the used engines that had well over 150k miles. I talked to some owners who had cars in that range. I own a mazda with over 240k miles on the clock and a toyota with 180k...

Welwynnick

Not sure where you're going with this, but you need to qualify the advice.

The 99-02 S600's are quite different to the 03-06 cars. The early cars had oil/water heat exchangers that eventually leak and need the cylinder heads to be removed to replace them. That's what people will be trying to warn you about in a vague, non-specific way.

The later cars don't have this timebomb (though there are others - the engine has to come out to replace many otherwise ordinary ancilliaries).

Nick

tusabes

Abc is a $3-8000 repair
Coils and intercooler are a $2-5000 repair
Many people buying a sub $25k turbo s600 end up spending $10-20k in repairs soon after purchase

The best s600 is one that still has a few years of transferable extended warranty on it . There are still some that pop up but they are getting harder to find

Welwynnick

I think we need to understand whether the OP will be dependant on an MB dealer for maintenance & repairs, or if he has a good Indy, or if he can do things himself.

The V12TT cars are perhaps the most challenging of all mainstream used-car propositions for any prospective owner, but I wouldn't want to put anyone off unnecessarily.

I don't think mine or Howard's experience has put either of us off, and we've had plenty to deal with.

regards, Nick

S600Andy

Thanks for the inputs...Coils and ABC...I'm trying to buy those repairs in my initial investment...What I'm interested in is other repairs that owners might need to budget for at the 120k mile marker...

Motor mounts? I'm thinking this would need to be done too.

Other suspension repairs? Lower ball joints?

Transmission... A few threads on this, and I've heard conflicting info wrt the five speeds...Is there a control valve that goes out? Fluid and gasket changes at a certain interval?

Any other large to medium size items anyone might want to comment on?

Overal reliability after the 100k mile marker on the v12 bi turbo in general...I'm working on the assumption that I can get close to 200k miles on a well mainted m275 power plant..any thoughts?

Thanks! And1...

Welwynnick

My car is up to 156k miles, and I'm using it as a daily driver. The engine is smooth, quiet and surprisingly economical. It doesn't consume much, maybe a couple of litres of oil in year, and all the exhaust emissions on the annual UK MoT test are very low, which is a good sign of health. As always with large-engined, modern cars, it's the other things that wear out first. Sounds like you have a good idea of what to expect. Here's a check-list:

https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...000-miles.html

Change the engine oil & filters
Change the transmission oil & filter
Change the ABC oil & filter
Change the anti-freeze
Replace the oil seal in the TCU cable connector on the transmission
Inspect all the ABC hoses and replace any wet ones
Clean the mud from behind all the fender liners
Clean the heater inlet and sunroof rainwater drains
Clean & feed the leather

Nick