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Hello all. New member here. I am new to Mercedes and have usually been more a BMW kinda guy. About 5 months back my 05 Lexus LS430 was stolen and recovered a few weeks ago. The car just doesn’t feel the same so I decided to sell it and bought this bad boy this weekend.
it’s an 05’ fully sorted with 104k miles. It’s been well maintained and has some rare options. Let me know what y’all think and also what everyone thinks she is worth.
values are low on these cars due to coil pack and abc issues , most s600 sell in the $6-12k range . A lot of car for the money but the repair bills are those of a $140,000 exotic car
Welcome, she is a beauty for sure! You're going to hate to have to work on that bad girl with a v12 under hood.
Thanks man, I think so too. Coming from a long term BMW E38 man, and my previous car being a LS430 I’ve got to say idk if I can ever drive a V8 anymore.
Yea I’ve pretty much come to terms with if I want to own this car I am going to have to accept the fact that the motor will have to be pulled one day. Not looking forward to it. I own like 200$ worth of tools so it’s going to be an interesting transition.
Offshore Research Vessel, 2016 Camry, Telluride, 2005 S55 AMG
Alpina7 With you have had an ls430 which are known to be reliable, it can be a night/day difference with these leviathans. The joy you will get out of driving that girls is unlike any other! I will take less reliability over reliability knowing that I always turn to look at my car after she's parked, she has my heart through it all.
I'm happy to see another well cared for w220, as one day they will be a classic. The tools, well don't worry about that too much as that will happen in time.
'06 MB S55 AMG; '04 Audi Allroad 4.2; '05 BMW M3 Conv.; '92 MB 500E
Gorgeous car. That rear seat package is rare as hens teeth. Be sure to cover the ABC maintenance (spheres, fluid and filters) and pay for coil packs (repeatedly), but other than that the cars are a hoot! One of the best guys in the world for these cars is in your backyard. He’s with a dealer but no one better to look after the car if you want it long term. And since you don’t need all wheel drive I see no reason why you wouldn’t keep it.
Alpina7 With you have had an ls430 which are known to be reliable, it can be a night/day difference with these leviathans. The joy you will get out of driving that girls is unlike any other! I will take less reliability over reliability knowing that I always turn to look at my car after she's parked, she has my heart through it all.
I'm happy to see another well cared for w220, as one day they will be a classic. The tools, well don't worry about that too much as that will happen in time.
100% agreed. Thanks for the kind words!
Originally Posted by maw1124
Gorgeous car. That rear seat package is rare as hens teeth. Be sure to cover the ABC maintenance (spheres, fluid and filters) and pay for coil packs (repeatedly), but other than that the cars are a hoot! One of the best guys in the world for these cars is in your backyard. He’s with a dealer but no one better to look after the car if you want it long term. And since you don’t need all wheel drive I see no reason why you wouldn’t keep it.
Cheers,
maw
luckily i bought the car with new front struts, New alternator New sparkplugs and rebuilt coil packs. ETC ETC ETC.... i am so blessed to have found this ride! I'm not sure i know who you're talking about but I'm always looking for a good mechanic since i am new to the Mercedes world. What's the name of the shop / guy?
'06 MB S55 AMG; '04 Audi Allroad 4.2; '05 BMW M3 Conv.; '92 MB 500E
MB Birmingham service manager, goes by Klink. Most of the time he's at the Hoover, AL store. I'm not sure how close they are to you but if it's within an hour it's worth a drive.
MB Birmingham service manager, goes by Klink. Most of the time he's at the Hoover, AL store. I'm not sure how close they are to you but if it's within an hour it's worth a drive.
maw
dude that’s amazing!! I need someone to change the water pump and ABC pump and don’t have a mechanic as of now. Do you know if he does work on the side. DEF don’t like those dealer rates LOL
'06 MB S55 AMG; '04 Audi Allroad 4.2; '05 BMW M3 Conv.; '92 MB 500E
I'm sure he does NOT. I use a dealer for some things, independent for some, shade tree on the side for none. Maybe have him look at the car and go from there. That's the best I have for you.
I'm sure he does NOT. I use a dealer for some things, independent for some, shade tree on the side for none. Maybe have him look at the car and go from there. That's the best I have for you.
maw
haha yea I’m just kidding. I’m def going to do that for sure. Need the car inspected anyways and want to try and get some service records on the car as well
Absolute stunner
Best suggestion I can share is use it regularly for longer trips and it will reward you with reliability.
please post more adventure etc as they happen
Enjoy
Replace the suspension spheres B4 they get hard as they will cause very high pressure surges when flat and hitting bumps. Blew two rear hoses when rears got real low and I took a trip (100 miles) to go to a wedding. Two Hoses cost $400 and labor would have been mega much at Dealer. Hose to pressure accumulator replacement was 8+ hours. Still working on left strut--have to remove strut and drop the entire rear end and supports to get to hose connection to strut. PARTS total for rear end hoses over $2200 at discount. Am changing all rear end hoses because all were exposed to very high transient pressures.
Replace the suspension spheres B4 they get hard as they will cause very high pressure surges when flat and hitting bumps. Blew two rear hoses when rears got real low and I took a trip (100 miles) to go to a wedding. Two Hoses cost $400 and labor would have been mega much at Dealer. Hose to pressure accumulator replacement was 8+ hours. Still working on left strut--have to remove strut and drop the entire rear end and supports to get to hose connection to strut. PARTS total for rear end hoses over $2200 at discount. Am changing all rear end hoses because all were exposed to very high transient pressures.
You can just take the hoses to a hydraulic shop and they'll fix them for you for like $20 each.
The ONLY reason to 'pull the motor' on your '95 S-600 is to change the ABC hoses underneath the engine and transmission. If it has not been done---wrap those hoses with aluminum foil the reduce the RADIANT HEAT they get from the engine/exhaust pipes. That will extend their life tremendously. I am not aware of any other 'gotta pull the engine' issues. The ABC system is very reliable so long as the filter and fluid id replaced every 40-60K miles. Things do not 'wear out' if the oil is kept clean. The seals on the struts do not wear out but will harden, and leak if the oil is not changed. Replacing the ABC accumulators before they go 'flat' is key to keeping the surge pressures from bumps from over-stressing the hoses.
A lot of the 'air/vacuum powered' features will fail over time, both from 'pump failure' or bladder failures. Things like the massaging seats, soft closing doors, height changing rear headrests, and self-leveling headlights are vacuum/pressure controlled and will age-out. Eventually, the repair-restore costs will exceed the remaining value of the car and trading or parting-out the car makes economic sense..
The ONLY reason to 'pull the motor' on your '95 S-600 is to change the ABC hoses underneath the engine and transmission. If it has not been done---wrap those hoses with aluminum foil the reduce the RADIANT HEAT they get from the engine/exhaust pipes. That will extend their life tremendously. I am not aware of any other 'gotta pull the engine' issues. The ABC system is very reliable so long as the filter and fluid id replaced every 40-60K miles. Things do not 'wear out' if the oil is kept clean. The seals on the struts do not wear out but will harden, and leak if the oil is not changed. Replacing the ABC accumulators before they go 'flat' is key to keeping the surge pressures from bumps from over-stressing the hoses.
I found that you can access all the difficult things by supporting the engine and lowering the front subframe. You save a lot of work, and there are only two things to watch out for - the steering rack electrical connectors and the steering fluid return line.
A couple thoughts after a decade+ of S600 ownership...
Ignoring problems causes the problem, and cost, to snowball.
The car likes a strong battery. Use only an AGM.
Use only an MB 229.5 oil. Mobil 1 0W40 or Castrol 0W40 are available at Wal-mart for less than $25/jug. Great oil. There is far more to oil than just viscosity. The specification (229.5) matters more, far more, than viscosity.
Don't buy parts on Amazon or eBay, most of them are counterfeit junk. MBoemparts.com or fcpeuro.com are good sources. My dealer gives me a discount (they know me by name...) of $15-20%. Often, they are the cheapest when shipping is considered.
The intercooler system is poorly designed, air gets in and degrades performance. MB fixed it in the M279 by adding a reservoir. Add the reservoir to keep air out. Genuine MB parts for the retrofit, total cost about $250. You will need a vacuum bleed system (about $80 on Amazon, plus a source of compressed air) to bleed the system when done. Big engine performance in mine when I got the intercooler sorted. I will do the same mod to the SL600 I just got.
You can get at most everything under the engine by dropping the subframe.
Do the engine mounts now if they haven't been done. A collapsed engine mount caused a pulse damper hose failure when the hose got pinched between engine and subframe. Couldn't figure out why I had an accumulator whine - until that hose blew. And that hose was nearly new, which cost me another $400 on top of replacing mounts, serpentine belt, etc.
Flush the ABC fluid regularly. Hydraulic fluid shears more rapidly than engine oil because of that pump design. Fresh fluid matters. Replace the filter, too.
Second the recommendation to do the accumulators. You'll have to drop the right rear exhaust pipe for the rear one.
Use only NGK or MB sparkplugs when you do replace them. Keep on top of plugs. The coils are expensive and worn plugs stress the coils. New coils are about $1,400. Clark at v12icpack.com is half that and will help you out.
The NAG1 gearbox is tough, but treat it to regular fluid changes. Not hard, just a bit messy. Check for leaks at the plug, the fluid there can wick up into your TCU and cause problems.
The PSE Pump in the trunk will shut down leaking circuits if it measures too long a run time to operate that circuit. Find the leak. Don't just reset the pump every time, or you'll wear out the pump.
For tools, you need good quality. I've been down this road, acquire them incrementally and buy only the best. First tool you really need: Your own Star/Xentry diagnostic system. Code readers, even good ones are simply inadequate.
Most parts and repairs on this car are reasonable. Full set of tie rods is under $200 for inner and outer, for example. MB oil filter is less than $15.
Your car looks great! Paint and headlights especially. Much better than mine. Wheels can be fixed up, and these guys have been a good source: wheelcollision.com
Finally - this car is simply amazing. Just took mine on a 2,500 mile road trip through the southeast. Nothing rides like it. Nothing runs like it. The best car I have ever owned. You will LOVE it. I promise.
The rear seat package of reclining, massaging, heated, cooled, etc seats is a rare option. It has pneumatically operated bladders everywhere that will require replacement every 20 years or so. The previous suggestion of getting an SDS system to diagnose and repair systems is essential IMHO. I do my own work and find sometimes the WIS is invaluable in LOCATING the failed part. I am not certain if that model year in the engine has the problems of weak head bolts that can fail but be sure and check and replace them if so. Some engines had issues with the variable valve timing assemblies and need extensive repairs.
The alternative of having a hydraulic shop rework the hoses is not as cheap as it once was. I recently had the two hoses connecting valve body to rear struts reworked---for $70 per. (as opposed to $490 each from XXXX after-market) The MBZ proprietary fitting connection to struts and other end fitting to the valve body are NOT available after-market, requiring welding USA swivels to them. Intermediate hose and pipe sections eliminated with continuous flex hose (double layer steel mesh, 4000psi rated --8000 psi minimum burst) I now have 100% new hoses/pipes and accumulators on the rear ABC system. The original pipe hold-down clamps are mostly eliminated.
thanks everyone for the positive replies. I ended up selling this around 6 months or so ago. Just too many problems. My first year was problem free, but that next year, Main hydro hose blew that was an engine out job. then coil packs, etc. etc. etc... crazy since the car had like 35k+ in service records. Ended up spending 8400$ total in repairs cost in my 2+ years of ownership. i was brutallly sad when i sold this, but im in a white W210 E55 now so cant complain. Def miss that torque though smh.
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