Hello,

New to the forum. I own a 2003 BMW M3 Conv.(15k mi) and my father-in-law recently bought a 2001 S500 (26K mi) $38k. He has had it for 3 months and I have driven it occasionally over that period of time and have really starting to enjoy the car. I am 6' 2" and love big V8 sedans that can haul 5 passengers comfortably - the M3 is basically a 2 seater and when given the option to drive either of the wtwo I chose the S500 I have 2 year old daughter that we haul around in our 93 Acura Legend which is getting old (170k) and probably need to consider replacing soon. I drove her around last week in the S500 and it was great. Cool car with lots of room. My father-in-law thinks I should keep the M3 and buy a minivan, but I really don't want to start another car loan since the the BMW is getting close to being paid off and I can't stomach getting rid of the M3 for a minivan. I've considered comprimising by purchasing a new Acura MDX or Toyota Sequoia, but not crazy about SUVs either. Looked at the Infinity M35, Lexus ES350, Toyota Avalon, but hard to give up what I got for thos vehicles. Basically, I want to replace the M3 with a S500. Ok, finally my question, I know repair costs can vary, but can someone give me an idea approximately how much this vehicle will cost me annually in repairs and maintenance?

Thanks,
Tim

 

I cant tell u maintence costs but i can tell u that the W220 00-06 s-class does have its problems worst years being 00-04. If your a BMW guy i'd go for a 00-02 750il. But thats cause i dont care for the 2003-current 7-series. Also depending on what styles you like a 96-99 W140 wihich is the s-class would suit u very nicely and the can be found with low mileage and in condition. the W140 was made from 92-99 but i recommend the 96-99 cause they were updated in 95. I have a biased toward the 86-91 s-class but i assume u dont want to go that old. But if u did and u found a below 100k 560sel i an sure u would love it.

 

Funny, my father-in-law sold his 87' 560 SEL and 85' 560 SEC to buy the 2001 S500. Both had under 100k on them. He bought the 560SEC a few years after coming from Vietnam and it was really difficult for him to sell it due to sentimental reasons. He loves the pre-2003 7-series too but his longtime SF located MBZ mechanic in told him that they have are extermemely problematic. He test drove a new Lexus LS430 before buying S500 becaue he was worried about reliability, but he loves to drive and he says there is no comaprison between the Japanese cars and German. Just his opinion though. Concidenally I almost bought an used 2001 7-seris beore the M3. Maybe I'll take a look again. Thanks for the reply.

 

i have a 00 s500, had it for over a year now, the only thing i had to replace was the fuel sending unit.
no other problems at all.
regular maintenance stuff i did was
change oil
changed belt
and air filter
and i saved a lot of $$$$ by doing it my self.
so if you are lucky and find a car that was well taken care of, you should not have any major problems.
good luck.