Hello All,

I have been lurking on here for a while, and just finally joined. I am a recent recipient of a 2000 S500 with approximately 106,000 miles on it. My uncle purchased the car in 2000, in FL, and they delivered it to his house for him. Listening to my aunt, my uncle loved the car and maintained it meticulously. He had a former MB dealer mechanic, who was trained as a master mechanic in Germany, and later went independant that did most of the maintenance. My aunt said that my uncle used to enjoy going to his shop just to talk about the MB cars.

My uncle passed away in November, and my father went out to be with my aunt, his sister. At the time my dad didn't have a car, and had just finished a road trip in his RV around the country. My aunt gave the car to my father, and he drove it back to AZ in December. In February my father was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and he passed away on April 3rd.

My father wanted me to buy the car from my Aunt after my Uncle passed away, but at the time I wasn't looking for a different car. After he was diagnosed with cancer we put my name on the title also, so as to avoid probate court. Well I haven't taken possession of the car, as it is up at my brothers still, I will likely have it this weekend.

My father also loved the car. Everytime I talked to him he commented on how nice of a car it was and how much he enjoyed driving it. I have only driven it about 10 miles, but it is a very nice car.

According to my aunt and father, the car had every option available. I haven't explored it much yet, but I do know it has front and rear heated, cooled massaging seats. It is a quad seat car, instead of the rear bench, and has the AMG wheels on the car. I'm hoping to find all the maintenance records, and possibly the sticker from when my uncle purchased the car.

A little about me, I am a pretty avid DIY'er, do 99% of most of my own cars. I currently drive a 2000 Chevy Tahoe Limited, and before that had a 2005 Cadillac STS. Went to the Tahoe as we needed a bigger car for a growing family.

I am very pleased that the S500 seems to have a fairly avid DIY and knowledgeable community. That was one of my big disappointments with the STS was the community was pretty much all for taking your car to the dealership, which I am not.

Just thought I would introduce myself to the community. I look forward to gaining more knowledge from the community.

I only have the one picture, but when I bring the car to my house I can snap some more.

Thanks,

Matt

 

My condolences on the way you got the car, but I think that your Uncle, Aunt and Dad would all be happy that you are adopting it.

DIY is the only way that I could/would own a Mercedes. I have done essentially all of my own maintenance all my life. If you plan to keep the car long term, you might consider getting one of the clone DAS/STAR systems. Having one makes a huge difference in doing maintenance and repair.

 

Welcome to the forum. So sorry to hear about all of the pain and suffering you and your family have experienced over the past several months.

You are going to love the car. Wally is correct. The more maintenance you can do yourself the better off you are. There are plenty of online sites where you can buy parts that will save lots of money. This forum has a wealth of information and many very helpful people.

When everything on the W220 is working properly it is like taking a trip while sitting in your living room.

 

So sorry to hear about the passing of your father. I recently lost my Grandmother to blood cancer in October. She had been fighting it for 3 years.

DIY is a great way to go. Saves you with time and money once you figure your way around the car. Let us know if you need any parts or have any DIY questions when you start!

-Luccia