Hi guys, I am thinking of buying a Mercedes S-class as a reminder of Europe when I move to the USA in November.
The first choice is between the W140 and the W220. for the budget that I am looking at it would have to be an early W220 (2000) or a 1998-1999 W140,I would consider a 1997 W140 but theyI think they used an IR key remote an not a radio wave (correct me if i am wrong) and they are worse that useless.I like the shape of either car but my worry is reliability and parts cost.

The W140 are not getting anyyounger and for my budget i am looking at a 80-90K mile example and I wonder about maintenance bills.
The W220 would have to me a high miler (100K+) and I wonder about the reliability of the early W220's are they really as bad as people make them out to be compared to the W140?

Also there is the question of gas mileage, do S-classes really have to use the high grade premium gas that they gauge says they have to and what would the consequences of running either car on lower grades be?

Also with the W140 what is the difference between the S3206 cylinderand S420 V8 in terms of gas mileage and costs of ownership? also if anyone knows the difference between a S420 and a S430 or S500 (both W140 and W220) I would be grateful.

Also would it be expensive to upgrade the Keyless entry system on a 97 W140 from IR to the 98 or later radio wave system?

Thanks
James

 

Sorry James, but the 140 chassis did not come with the FBS3 keys ( electronic keys ) in '98 and '99. The vehicle was being replaced in the 2000 model year so they did not bother upgrading the key system from the FBS2 to the FBS3. The only other vehicles in the Benz line up to also use the FBS2 keys in '98 were the SLK and the ML-class ( which is kind of funny since both those vehicles were brand new models in '98 ).

Tastes are subjective of course but I prefer the W140 chassis to the W220. Both are nice, but the W220 just doesn't feel as solid as the W140 ever did.

As far as gas mileage is concerned, the 6 cylinder is more economical but you can still expect it to eat a lot of gas. A price has to be paid for moving all of that weight around.

 

hey neon thanks for the reply, and the info about the W140 and W220, I hear you on the W140 and W220split. To my mind to W140 was the last real Mercedes before the accountants started to run things, the problem is they are not getting any younger and a good one is hard to find (unless you live in California they seem to have hundreds of the things there).

My question about the keys was not did they upgrade to the electronic key (the stubby plastic thing) but there seems to be two generations of the key what was a "flip" key.

The earlier one having only one singly button with the Mercedes star on it to do both lock and unlock the car. I think this key used an IR beam to communicate with the car, (given away by the black receivers on the door handles and to the left of the rear trunk lock)

The latter ones had more buttons one to lock one to unlock and one I think to unlock the trunk, and I think a red button as a panic button. This one I think used a radio wave system to communicate with the car. This is noticeable by the lack of receivers on the door handles and next to the trunk lock. These keys would not need a line of site connection and would prove more reliable.

what is interesting is thatthis goof was made by the produces of gone in 60 secondswho used flip keys in the movie with a W220 which as you correctly point out has a keyless key (the plasticstub)

Thanks for your help

James

 

GET THE W220 ....hehehe

 

By the way .... have you found out the prices for wear and tear parts for the car that youre looking for ?
such as spark plugs, coils, brake pads front and rear , absorbers, oil filter , fuel filters, xenon bulb lights, engine oils ,air condition filters , air cleaner filters , wind screen wipers,etc etc etc....?

find out and survey these things before you purchase em .. and have you found the garage that can you trust and buy parts from ? lol.. there's a lot of things that you need to look into especially if ure budget if... u can cover em ... cheers !!!

Rockerfella174

 

Hi guys thanks for the advice, I have looked around at parts and with a bit of shopping they don’t seem to cost that much more than those for an e-class or a Volvo.

Can anyone who runs one of these (s320 especially) let me know what they are like? at the moment I am looking at the w210 e-class around 1998/9 with the V6 engin as I think it will be cheaper to run, but my heart loves the W140.

Thanks
James

 

james0013, I have a 99 S420 with 88.5K mi..... I would not trade it in for anything. In the last 10K mi. I had to have a O2 sensor replaced and a P/S pump.... Total for both $850. I also had to replace the wiper blades $35. The self assist door closing system was going on the fritz. I located the pump in the trunk and had to adjust the time-out pressure switch. Other than that the car has been an absolute DREAM. If you are still in the market I would definitely suggest W140...

 

Scooterbenz99thanks for the tips, what kind of gas milage do you get from the 420? when ever I look at figurs from sources they have the 420 as the most economical of the range but when looking at figurs from the usa the 320 is the more frugle.

Also how much work do you do on the car your self? is it an easy car to work on?

Thanks
James

 

I am the original owner of a 1997 S320 (W140) it has 116000 + miles on it and still runs great.
It has been factory serviced per owners manual since day 1.
Maintenance costs are not very bad, under $1000 per year -

it gets 24 mpg highway but would get more if i didn't drive so fast

As far as the key - i hate them but at 135 each i have only bought one replacement

 

i have an S430 which averages between 24 to 27 miles to the gal. Although premium gas is required i have used mid grade on it in a pinch. But I can say Love the car overall.