I know two people with W140's.

1997 S320; over the past two years a few minor problems. But his average is just under $1,000 per year.

1995 S600 reliable to a fualt. One fualty fuel line, and some maintaince.

Buy it, don't be afraid of a good W140.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

No! That is an ORIGINAL airbag. As posted by syljua, that model with the plastic MB star in the middle was the standard fitted airbag for S 500 Grand Editions in the U.S. and to ALL W140s produced from late 1997 up to end of production.

If you buy an steering wheel airbag for a W140 at any Mercedes-Benz dealership now, that is the model they will sell you (unless they have an older type laying around).

Again, that is a fast and simple way to prove a driver's airbag has been replaced on pre-1998 W140.

__________________
A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]

Yes, but the not difficult to find out. Since it is correct that
it should be called a 1998 car, maybe they just thought that
97 on that sign was misleading and would confuse a unknowingly
buyer? (but, just annoy us knowingly ones )

Look at the VIN codes below, it was delibrately deleted (seems common
in US?)

I had a second look at my interiour that also is of option
code 511 "Leather Exclusive" (only in black). Previously
I owned a 1998 without this option, and there, the steering wheel
leather? matched the airbag better, than my current
combo leather/exclusive leather.

My previour S320 was produced in December 1997 and did not
have the plastic star, but my current October 1997 has it, so
I guess it is dependent on model, when it was introduced.

Also, I believe there was a small timeframe where a plain
sliver star was offered (which would be my prefered one )
Or maybe that is the new one?;

http://community.forenshop.net/forums/index.php?mforum=W140&showtopic=3887

Here is the VIN;

__________________
1998 CL500 W140
1984 230E W123

Take another look there. The airbag matches the dash. The wheel is what does not match it does not even match the secondary gray on the center console. The leather on 140 steering wheels is not known for holding up very well. Its probably a replacement wheel and or cover.

I hate how people jump to the conclusion of "accident" without really looking or getting all the facts. And anyway even if it were in an accident it still could be a perfectly good car if it were repaired correctly.

People are afraid of 140's for no real reason. Late model cars 1997 and later have most of the bugs worked out of them. I think its really a shame really because a lot of enthusiasts are scared away from the Ultimate MB for no real reason at all.

Before embarking on a V12 powered car I would locate someone who know's V12's and get a base line of pricing and making sure its within your budget. But the real question is what are you going to do with all of that power? My S320 is plenty powerful with 230hp and with much less service and support overhead.

I have driven some AMG cars and V12 powered MB's and they are wonderful cars but honestly are not everyday transportation. Would you want your full leather interior baking in the hot sun in the parking lot at work? Would you want a 400+hp engine idling in bumper to bumper traffic? How about how much fuel that high performance engine is going to consume when you are not even able to open up the throttle for some high RPM fun. A lot of the buyers of these car's don't really think about these things before buying and end up having a bad experience. Its certainly not fun owning a high performance car you can't stick you foot in from time for fear of loosing control of it or getting your drivers license suspended. I drove some BMW's once and drove an M3 and then a little 323ci. Out of the two I liked the 323ci because I could actually shift through all the gears without being rocketed down the road at 120mph. It was more fun. While the MB experience is different (most MB's are automatics) do you really want to walk on eggshells everyday to work?

I agree with everything you just said.

I am not in the market for this car or any other car.

I simply thought that this was a beautiful example at which to take a gander.

BTW - an M3 is a lousy daily driver. I'd rather drive a 330i with a good portion of the M3s power but a suspension that won't bruise my kidneys on Atlanta surface streets.

Well, so sorry but I was JUST providing my point of view on the subject. You are free to hate it, trash it or play origami with it.

To me, and that's MY humble opinion again, a car with an accident is and will always be DAMAGED GOODS and I will not buy it or even take it if they gave it to me for free (even if it were repaired at the factory!).

__________________
A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]

Unless its brand new every car is damaged goods my dear friend. Someone else has used it, had their kid throw up on it, had their expensive micro purse dog poop on the seat. The fact is stuff happens including accidents that you may or may not be aware of. If you want a brand new Mercedes that no one has befouled there are a lot of Mercedes dealerships that would love to sell you a brand new one that is probably befouled before you even see it. On my last S550 test drive we had to fill up and the dealer put REGULAR gas in it!!!!!!!!

While many people may freak out and become irrational when a car has had body damage it really depends on the level. Cars that have been involved in minor parking lot bumps are just as "wrecked" as the car that rolled over 10 times as far as the insurance company is concerned. And of course then there are the cars that are wrecked by well heeled owners and the damages are never notated as the owner pays out of their own pocket.

Speaking about damaged goods. A big pet peave of mine are aftermarket modifications on cars. I seem to remember seeing an aftermarket Nav system in your coupe and if memory serves me correctly an after market radio. I look for screw holes and bring radio keys with me to look at wiring harnesses for cuts and splices. Your car would be damaged goods in my book if I found mounting holes and the place where you patched in for power.

Yeah. I even drove a 330ci and found it less fun than the 323ci I drove. The 330 is a powerful car and just like the M3 is difficult to unwind without breaking the speed limit in a grand way. The 323 was granted much slower than both cars but a blast to drive because you could actually put your foot in it and hear the engine and shift gears without being into tripple digit speeds. If I were buying a BMW coupe it would be the smallest engine for the fun factor.

Whats worse than the M3 is the CSL. Its an M3 on crack with lots of carbon fibre and plastic body panels and a cardboard trunk liner (IM NOT KIDDING). It comes with racing slicks for tires and a disclaimer about driving the car in the cold because the tires don't grip in cold weather. It has no A/C no radio and is pretty much stripped. A car like that would be fun on a track but that's about it.

Here's a Youtube video on the CSL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8m1hZe5DTw

I saw a brand new S550 on the dealers lot still in the wrapping. Looks like someone dropped the ramps from the truck on the hood, huge dent! Want to bet that the owner never finds out? I'm sure they swapped on a new hood and put it on the lot.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

We fix a LOT of brand new cars before they are ever sold.

__________________
95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

Beautiful car, no doubt. The tires don't look right to me, like the aspect ratio is too high. Do any of you W140 guys know what tires should come with this model?

I hadn't ever seen the in-dash phone hiding under that little panel. That is way cool.

__________________
Jonathan

2011 Mazda2
2000 E320 4Matic Wagon
1994 C280 (retired)

Yep. No insurance company involved = no records = still a brand new car. Its cheaper to pay for the repairs out of pocket than deal with the resale hit from hysterical car buyers who are convinced that the dent in the hood could affect the car's structural integrity or are convinced that there is something wrong with the car. The thing is unless your with a car 24/7 365 there is no way to know what happened to it. I remember a friend in high school who backed his fathers car into a gate at the school. A few of his friends worked in the high school auto body class and dear old dad never knew his precious car ever was damaged.

Hmmmm, Comparing to my S320 your right the tires look a little big. Not sure what the size should be. The 97-99 wheels though are visually a little misleading because of their pattern but those really are a bit big.

The phone may be cool but its utterly useless. I would rather have the two storage bin's than a useless analog cellphone you can't even get activated anymore because the Telecom companies are too cheap to maintain analog towers anymore.

I was going to have my car retrofitted with blue tooth until I had a car for a week with a bluetooth interface. While the little headset is a bit of a pain to keep track of and keep batteries in it really beats having to kill the blue tooth link during a phone call when you want to leave the car and then hand hold the phone the rest of the way. With a regular bluetooth headset you can keep going and no one is the wiser that you were even in the car if you don't tell them.