1997 Mercedes-Benz S500

11 CommentsPosted as: ClearPOST COMMENT July 28th, 2023 at 2:31pm ESTKingKitty (69) 0The market has spoken. This was a project car and the hammer price was just about what I expected. New owner would have spent more than they paid for the car to make it 100%, and that's not including paint or bodywork. Dropping the reserve was a desperation move. The market shows that cars with this many issues, albeit mostly minor ones, can't and won't command significant prices.July 27th, 2023 at 5:49pm EST$3,000 bid placed by @Marin88July 27th, 2023 at 5:44pm ESThktheman (7) Seller 0The reserve has been reduced to help her find a new home ! Good luck to all in the final moments !July 27th, 2023 at 5:19pm ESTpgcolo69 (2) 0What is the reserve?July 27th, 2023 at 5:01pm EST$2,750 bid placed by @StiliamonJuly 27th, 2023 at 4:27pm ESThktheman (7) Seller 0We are about an hour from the close of the auction! To any bidders that may have any questions, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer in time! Good luck to all! Hope she finds a good home! July 27th, 2023 at 3:51pm ESTArmyGuy63 (28) 2If the price stays here, it's a good deal. Anything higher is unfortunate for the potential buyer who might want to repair and upgrade this old gal. If you just want to drive a W140, great but many of us (specifically me) want a sorted car. Paint & Bodywork alone will run well in excess of $7K. Accumulator R&R isn't cheap, nor are a replacement set of wheels & tires. Before you know it, you're into her for $15K or more. GLWTA and to the new owner. What a great thing if the new owner does in fact freshen her up, then shares what has been done and what was spent to get back to her original glory! July 27th, 2023 at 3:42pm EST$2,500 bid placed by @ReallyCheapGeekJuly 26th, 2023 at 3:59pm EST$2,250 bid placed by @sugarcaneshaneJuly 25th, 2023 at 11:36am EST$2,000 bid placed by @RandRJJuly 21st, 2023 at 3:48pm ESThktheman (7) Seller 1@KingKitty It does need TLC to make all the options/features that came factory with the car to work 100% in agreement to that. It takes someone that knows these cars well to make that happen also. However, it is a great entry point for one that wants to enter W140 ownership, with the reserve that is considerably lower in comparison to recent sales of W140s to reflect the repairs that would need to go into it. Not a show room car by any means, and never advertised to be one. Calling it a project car is harsh, but is relative to the person calling it a project-car, depending on how far deep they want to dive into repairs and options they want to address, everyone has different wants/needs. If it does not meet reserve id likely address the rear suspension/accumulator concern you mentioned and keep it as a weekend cruiser, though lord knows I don't need to add another weekend cruiser to the stable. It presents very well, has a straight body, clean interior, ice cold a/c, no accidents, no rust, drives great, has a solid drive-train with a recent pass on the strict California smog check. July 21st, 2023 at 12:51pm ESTKingKitty (69) 1@hktheman Long story short, when you collectively consider all the issues and what needs to be done just to make it mechanically sound (not bodywork), this is pretty much a drivable project car. I'm probably close to being a subject matter expert on W140s, and as these cars age the ability to repair or replace failed components is getting harder and harder. For example, the lumbar bladders haven't been available as service parts for some time - consider that option gone. But - you need the PSE pump to be operable for other "convenience" features, so you've got to know how to bypass these.. Add to that the close assist for the doors - many of those components are NLA, but not common failure items. If the suspension is marginal at this point, replacing rubber bits will set you back an easy $1k or more in parts alone. If you're not capable of working on the suspension yourself, probably triple that to cover the labor. Way too long of a list of issues for me, too bad. Truly a "project car" in my book. GLWA!July 20th, 2023 at 12:42am ESThktheman (7) Seller 0@KingKitty The lumbar support for both sides do not seem to inflate or make any noise when switched anywhere between 1 to 5. As far as the rear suspension feel, I would say that is accurate, either a bottoming out or a drop off type feeling over bumps is the best way to describe it. July 19th, 2023 at 3:47pm ESTKingKitty (69) 2@hktheman Thanks for the response and he honest description, I look forward to your answer(s). As for the rear suspension, does it seem harsh when going over bumps or like it's bottoming out? I ask because that would be an indicator that the hydropneumatic accumulators (often referred to as "spheres") are bad.July 19th, 2023 at 2:17pm ESThktheman (7) Seller 0@KingKitty Thank you for the questions! Ill be more than happy to answer them about the S500. I will copy paste your questions below for clarity. It is my goal to be fully transparent with the condition and items listed as I have been, no surprises. For local bidders; all are welcomed to message me to see the vehicle in person if interested. Other than this being an obvious flip, it's spent a lot of time in the Texas sun to have caused the clear coat to fail on the plastic parts (bumpers/door cladding). -Yes, I purchased it with no intention of keeping it. I have been enjoying the car for two months, it drives and presents well for a 1997 year model S500. The bumpers and door cladding do have clear coat concerns, they are clearly photographed and presented in the photos. Along with the that I have attached photos pin pointing various scratches and or dings around the car. Any chance the original wheels are still around? And how has the "worn out rear suspension" been identified, that is, what exactly has made it apparent that the rear suspension is worn out? -The original wheels are not available, as the previous owner had aftermarket wheels, I