Hi,

I'm a newbe to this forum. I am in the process of looking for a new (for me) car. I've owned a 250C, a 350 SD, a 500 SL, and a 500 SEL over the years. Haven't had a Merc in 9 years. I would like to get an S500. I don't know what year to get. I've read some horror stories about the maintenance issues with this model. I read in CR that the 2001 had less gripes than others in the last 5 years. Any truth to this? Can anybody comment? I also had a question on the Navigation: Are the later cars equiped with DVD Nav and the earlier ones fixed? Does that mean that if I get a 2001 I cannot upgrade the software in the Nav system? And finally did they all (2001 S500s) come with NAPA leather, or only some?

Oh, one more. Have any of you bought a car through ebay? How risky is it? This is a dumb question. Obviously if you can touch the car and check it out it is better. But the prices seem so much better than through landlocked dealers...

Thanks for the feeedback. Looking forward to telling you all what a great can I will be driving. I've missed my Mercs.

Peter