Im interested in Buying 2000-2003 Mercedes S430, or S500. Can someone tell me which one to get? What are the option diffrences and how much gas one takes. Which is worth buying? and what is to much miles for these cars and is not worth buying. Ido all the repairs on my vehicles myself, what are the prices for parts, comparing to Audi or BMW. I have experiance With Audi's and Bmw's never had a Mercedes i need a opinion from experianced owner of Mercedes. And whatever i need to know about these cars.

Thanx Roman.

 

Roman,

You mentioned you are interested in a 2000-2003 S class. I would reccommend the 2003 w220 bodystyle as the interior layout is much nicer, ie nav screen, buttons, etc and also a big difference are the '02's and below have uglier tail light and the headlamps are the cheesy foggy kind. Check out my '03 S430 I am selling. It's a real beauty. If you are interested you can call. I'm asking $24,900. 310-938-7068

Thanks,

Paul

 

hi i have a 2000 S430 and totaly love it sometimes wish i would have opted for the S500 which is the same bodystyle but a larger engine also some xtras not really noticeble seat vibrator back seat controls stuff like that as far as millege mine has 139k and runs like a champ.

 

go for s500 & do makesure where & which garage/workshop you can able to repair youre needs when needed.

esp the airmatic suspensions.

rockerfella174
brunei darussalam

 

My dad has an 06 mercedes E320 , but he wants to buy and 03 mercedes s500 with 88,000 miles , the car has a CARFAX report and its a one owner vehicle , the car looks like new .Should he buy the s550 ? is the s550 a reliable car ? is the maintenance on the s500 very expensive ? I have read a lot of bad reviews on the 03 mercedes s class , so i'm a little bit scared !! THANKS

 

alright mercedes compared to BMW/Audi. Assuming you're refering to the ones in the same era, the price for parts overall comes about the same. the 2002 BMW is another story which is a bit more than the W220.

2000-2003 can be a good buy all depends on the maintanence of the car. Airmatic is sometimes hailed as the bane of this body style as each shock can run you about one thousand. while I was on vacation in GA for about a month, I looked into this and the w220 in general. 90% the whole shock does not have to be replaced but there are kits that replaces the parts that tend to wear out. The other 10% of the cases they had to just bit it. The S550 is relatively new, but it is said to be very reliable yet I think it's too new to really judge what happens to the major stuff when they start hitting in the 75,000 and 6+ year mark. I dont imagine the S550 being much cheaper nor much expensive than the W220. But one thing I gather is that if you thought the W220 was out of reach of the DIY, then the S550 is a step further away and the dealers are still charging premium. Thing about ownign a mercedes is where you go and how much looking around for parts can save you hundreds or in some cases thousands. And unless you light cigars with 100 dollar bills, you would want to try to avoid having to run to the dealer every tick because they are straight plain rip offs. (ie just the other day they wanted $60 for a rubber fuel hose. Use the part number they gave and use and low and behold found it in 3 mins for $18 and got a filter and other knick knacks for $44 including ship.) When I was in Germany, the parts from their dealerships was reasonable and soemtimes the best best price I could find even with the euro to dollar exchange. So what, this deaership needed $30 in shipping cost for a $18 hose? Yeaaaaa right. rant over.

The W220 is nice all round. 2000-2002 is on the cheaper end now and days and can be a good buy. 2003, was "face lift" time. You can get the 2003 look outter appearance on the 2000-2002 W220 but the interior of the 2003 is a little cleaner. From first glance only thing I noticed was different was just the center console where the Navi at. Wider screen in the 2003-. Maintanence is about the same for all of them, of course the 2000 is older but even soon the 2006 will be where the the 2000 is now. Dont rule out a 2000-2002 as lots of times by this time you have found that many people already replaced the airmatic components thus starting the clock over on those and can be just good as new and for a good price too.

S430 is good. S500 gets you better engine and more knick knacks. S600 is nuts with more stuff. A w220 V8 all have a about the same upkeep price and besides electronics things here and there, you havea pretty sturdy ride. There have been issues going around that at one point in time the W220 wont come out of park but here on this forum you'll see that these people got it under control without you having to sacrifice a leg or two.

What I learned so far in the automotive world, is get a car that makes you happy. test drive a S430, S500, S600, W220, W221, S350, 2000-2002 and 2003-2006 and a 2007-2008 and compare and see what you like, talk to your pockets then meet in the middle.

 

I boufgt an 2004 S430 with less than 50K on it runs fantastic and looks like its Brand new. Keep in mind MB owners typically sevice their vehicles very well so a buying a used one with one owner is a good start.