[mdsaab]

My uncle had a 90's S class in Hong Kong.
The family would lovingly call it "The Tank"
he actually was lexus guy, but decided to buy a merc.
I have had the pleasure of being driven around in it. Is it super comfy or what. I was sitting in the back seat one evening on my way home and i decided to relax my arm near the doorpad. I seemed to have accidently pressed some button and the rear head rest flopped down. I was so nervous i thought i had broken something. Hehehe. But the driver explained some of the features to me the next morning, and i felt relieved to see the headrest back in postion the next morning. Unfortunately a few years down the line, she started giving a lot of trouble and something went wrong with the transmission and handbrake, which was foot operated if i am not mistaken. So he decided to sell her off and was happy with his acura.
Now he is back to using a lexus. And owns not one but two of them. He is happier with the japanese reliability, and is alright with the lower snob value.
*sigh* all in a rich mans world.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by kmirchia

Well sir, no actually. These are the OEM 16" alloys from the 600 itself. If you look at the 1st picture in my post and the one by sidindica you can see these are the same alloys.

Sorry I meant to say, your car has the smaller alloys similar to the 6 cyl cars.

I recall when we were discussing tire choices speedy's S600, that the V12s had larger low profile rubber.

[suhaas307]

That's a great looking W140 and an equally great report! Good work Sid! 5 Stars!

The W140 could leave you wanting more, just after one ride in it. Trust me. It's not just the levels of comfort that the car has to offer, it's the amazing presence that it commands and street cred that it enjoys. It's a wonderful car. It was the yardstick with which every other car was measured and now, a landmark in Mercedes' automobile history, of sorts.

[thedreamcatcher]

Fabulous and lucky that you were able to get the owner and driver to let you test it for all its worth

But, to be honest, one can make out its vintage and it is vintage, by the not so perfect maintenance. The front bumper is in a bad shape and too much gaps. Seats as you stated need to be done. Also, no doubt this car has been a sort of a low rider, but in this case, it seems it has problems with its rear suspension as well, as it is a bit more lower than it should be. And too much rust in the engine bay

But this is an ultimate Gansta car, and was one of the most wanted cars by Rappers. Loved it in the 50 cent movie 'get rich or die trying'

[GTO]

Originally Posted by nandishpal

as i look at the engine i understand that it is a S280 & not a S320,

Such a common ploy. I checked out a supposed S500 once in Bombay; turned out to be an S280. Either retain the original badging or remove them altogether. But for heavens sake, don't lie! Not on a Mercedes.

Originally Posted by kmirchia

Well, not many new pictures at the moment. But i'll try uploading a few that I did click recently.

Kmirchia, can you please share a realistic ownership experience with the rest of us ol' Merc fans? The S600 has some wild tales floating around on the internet. And no, I don't envy Speedy for what he went through (Link to his thread). Thanks!

Now, excuse me while I clear up all the drool on my desk after looking at your car

[kmirchia]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

That's a great looking W140 and an equally great report! Good work Sid! 5 Stars!

The W140 could leave you wanting more, just after one ride in it. Trust me. It's not just the levels of comfort that the car has to offer, it's the amazing presence that it commands and street cred that it enjoys. It's a wonderful car. It was the yardstick with which every other car was measured and now, a landmark in Mercedes' automobile history, of sorts.

So very true about the feeling you get when you step into a W140. It's as if the sea of cars around you just doesn't exist. I don't know if it's the double paned windows or in general how they've soundproofed it, but it's amazing that a 20 year old car has a cabin as silent as or maybe more silent than a new 7 series.
As for street cred, well no new Merc can turn heads like the W140. I've had children and people crowding upto me innumerable times at petrol pumps. Now when was the last time someone in today's Use-and-throw Mercs experienced that. (No offense to anyone, just a personal preference)

Originally Posted by GTO

Such a common ploy. I checked out a supposed S500 once in Bombay; turned out to be an S280. Either retain the original badging or remove them altogether. But for heavens sake, don't lie! Not on a Mercedes.



Kmirchia, can you please share a realistic ownership experience with the rest of us ol' Merc fans? The S600 has some wild tales floating around on the internet. And no, I don't envy Speedy for what he went through (Link to his thread). Thanks!

Now, excuse me while I clear up all the drool on my desk after looking at your car

Hi GTO. I've been lurking around on the forum for too many years now. Sadly I haven't read too many ownership threads during that time. I think I'll read up on a few and post my ownership experience soon.
As for Abhishek sir's car, it was one of the threads I would read over and over again, refreshing it again and again till I went crazy. No doubt she can be a tough car to maintain at times. But for the moment to sum the cost experience and to clear a few wild tales up - If you have about 5-6 lac worth of dough which you're willing to spend on the car, there is absolutely no reason you can't have her running like new year after year.
Oh, and your own garage and set of tools (or maybe a trusted friend's garage) might just be the best investment alongwith such a car.
I know this is rambling, but just an additional thought - A friend has actually just transplanted a 1997 motor into a 1992 car with the new transmission. So that could very well put to rest the uneasiness spreading around over the earlier motors. Although I don't knw who would want to sacrifice those 20 extra horses just to get a little more mileage.

Oh, here's some photographs a friend sent. Now isn't that worth trading your soul for.

[kmirchia]

She might just go tomorrow. :(
Isn't there a way to sell a car with a buy-back agreement??

[ACM]

Sid superb initiative. The W140 is my fav car of all times, I still remember once standing next to one as a kid/teen and just the sound of the engine while idle made we want to have one some day in my life time, this is the kind of feeling one only gets with the W140 S and to a lesser extent with with W124 (which too is a very fine vehicle and easlier to own).

If one is indeed going in for a 15-20 year old car for the nostalgic reasons then I would recommend the W140 more than any other car.

Even today a W140 gives a sense of having arrived. Have later on after that first instance got a chance to experience these beauties on a couple of occations at close quarters and the love has not diminished.

The thud of the door is of course not there in todays autoclosing doors even in the S. the one major problem in interiors with both the W124 and the W140 is the way one ends up having to replace the Music system in time. The missing wood trip on the replacements made for a shoddy look. It would be better to atleast get the new deck painted in the wood finish so that there is a decent match.

A 2.8, 3.2, 5, 6L V6, V8, V12 Merc in 4/5 speed auto form makes for a fuel effeciency of 2-4 kmpl max and one seriously need to own a pump to run these. I guess that explains the low usage of these beasts.

Kmircha - Yours is truly well maintained and droolworthy. You are letting it go? Wow you have a strong heart.

[ravi_xx]

A truly remarkable automobile - the W140. Have driven an S600 for a brief while and it is remarkably easy to drive even on crowded streets like in Pune. Its presence is quite imposing and awe-inspiring even. Would love to have perhaps one in V8 form in my stable at some point of time in the future. Thanks for the update.

[avishar]

@Kmirchia Those pics of the W140 sent by your friend are just insanely good.Even though we have so many gizmo laden,leather covered high tech interiors in the plethora of modern cars these days,those simple boxy,straight line design of the W140 interiors look so attractive!

BTW are those AC vents on the rear passenger footwell area?

Must be sad for you to part with your car.:(

[kmirchia]

Originally Posted by ACM

Sid superb initiative. The W140 is my fav car of all times, I still remember once standing next to one as a kid/teen and just the sound of the engine while idle made we want to have one some day in my life time, this is the kind of feeling one only gets with the W140 S and to a lesser extent with with W124 (which too is a very fine vehicle and easlier to own).

If one is indeed going in for a 15-20 year old car for the nostalgic reasons then I would recommend the W140 more than any other car.

Even today a W140 gives a sense of having arrived. Have later on after that first instance got a chance to experience these beauties on a couple of occations at close quarters and the love has not diminished.

The thud of the door is of course not there in todays autoclosing doors even in the S. the one major problem in interiors with both the W124 and the W140 is the way one ends up having to replace the Music system in time. The missing wood trip on the replacements made for a shoddy look. It would be better to atleast get the new deck painted in the wood finish so that there is a decent match.

A 2.8, 3.2, 5, 6L V6, V8, V12 Merc in 4/5 speed auto form makes for a fuel effeciency of 2-4 kmpl max and one seriously need to own a pump to run these. I guess that explains the low usage of these beasts.

Kmircha - Yours is truly well maintained and droolworthy. You are letting it go? Wow you have a strong heart.

Originally Posted by avishar

@Kmirchia Those pics of the W140 sent by your friend are just insanely good.Even though we have so many gizmo laden,leather covered high tech interiors in the plethora of modern cars these days,those simple boxy,straight line design of the W140 interiors look so attractive!

BTW are those AC vents on the rear passenger footwell area?

Must be sad for you to part with your car.:(

Thank you sirs. It is indeed very difficult to see her go. As soon as the deal was done, I panicked for a while yesterday, this sinking feeling seting in. Took her for a drive for a good hour and that made me even more sad. Talked to a few friends for a while. But alas there was no other alternative. Hope the new owner loves her and enjoys the car even more.
Also sir, as far as the low usage goes, can't say about India but in the US about 80% of the W140's have done upwards of 100,000 miles and many that I've seen myself about 150,000 - 200,000 miles.

And yes those are the AC vents. There are vents on the central tunnel also in which some of the W140 came equipped with a separate heater for the rear passsengers. But cold air comes through the vents in the footwell.

[tvrspeed12]

Looks like i saw this thread a day too late.

I am a diehard fan of the w140, of any flavour. But the s600 is just on a different level.

I cannot tell you how disappointed i am that you have already sold her. If you change your mind, for any reason whatsoever, I would love to bring her to Mumbai. I can imagine myself enjoying and using that car far more than my current S class.

And may I congratulate you for owning and maintaining what is, in my mind, one of the cars that made mercedes great.

If anyone needs me, I will be weeping quietly in the corner.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by kmirchia

And yes those are the AC vents. There are vents on the central tunnel also in which some of the W140 came equipped with a separate heater for the rear passsengers. But cold air comes through the vents in the footwell.

Whats that triangular piece below the driver seat. Footrest for rear passenger? More details on that please?

[kmirchia]

Originally Posted by tvrspeed12

Looks like i saw this thread a day too late.

I am a diehard fan of the w140, of any flavour. But the s600 is just on a different level.

I cannot tell you how disappointed i am that you have already sold her. If you change your mind, for any reason whatsoever, I would love to bring her to Mumbai. I can imagine myself enjoying and using that car far more than my current S class.

And may I congratulate you for owning and maintaining what is, in my mind, one of the cars that made mercedes great.

If anyone needs me, I will be weeping quietly in the corner.

Lovely to see such passion. We should talk sometime, maybe as Mercedes enthusiasts if not about the car that WAS on sale. (Oh, and the advt. in the classifieds has been up for more than a week now.)
So which S class do you currently own?
As long as we're on the topic of W140 vs the W220 and 221, here's an excerpt from the Internet itself, something that I read a long time ago and just couldn't forget; but every word of this is a 100% true and verified.

"Depending on the equipment ordered and model designation, the W140 may sport from 12 up to 22 computers. All of them communicate between each other via a detailed BUS-CAN. The new S-classes basically have one major computer which controls everything. Pretty convenient, but if it fails, your grounded! The W140 is more complicated, due to the technology available at the time.

The computers follow from 3,800 up to 6,000+ paramenters per second. They check the readings, shared the appropiate information with other computers, adjust themselves and if necessary provide assitance to other systems and/or shut down themselves.

All techs swear on sacred ground that the computers on all W140s are extremely reliable, they seldom fail, and if they do, they are easily exchangeable. Unlike computer systems on W220/221s.

Besides telling you that the rear left door 57 days ago raised the window with an stress force of 85% on the motor, stopped with the safe-mode halfway through and then it continued up with a lesser 23% stress, the detailed OBD report can tell you the most amazing things. You just have to know where to look for.

And ALL these detailed information is available for almost every system: engine, transmission, accessories, electrical, radio, etc......

One more example:

The V-12 S 600, due to its high speed capabilities, monitors constantly tire pressure through the ABS/ASR system (not via an air pressure system like modern cars do). If the computers senses that the tires are more than 20% under inflated, they will limit the rev-counter to 3,500 r.p.m., not allowing the car to high speed."

Originally Posted by Mpower

Whats that triangular piece below the driver seat. Footrest for rear passenger? More details on that please?

That triangular piece is what I was referring to as the AC vent. It's not a footrest like we see on the cars today.

[Tapish]

Hi SidIndica,

This is fabulous.

By the way "After I had a word with the owner" . I am surprised he let u check out his car and take it out for a drive too.. You do have some marketing skills man.

Kudos.

Great Review

Originally Posted by sidindica

MERCEDES BENZ S 320
A driver was roaming around it as the two passengers just were visiting my neighbor's dental clinic and I requested the driver for a short drive to which he wholehearted agreed after I had a word with the owner.


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