Hey there, I am a new visitor to this site. I m looking to buy 95-97 S coupe or CL. Anyone have a recommendation? I have an 87 380 and can afford normal Benz maintenance but am unsure of what the CL will require. Love them both, slightly partial to the CL. I would apprecitae any help you can give me and any details of ongoing problems with either of the to. Thanks alot!

I also am a huge fan of the 140 coupe body style. the cars drive like a dream and are more comfortable on the inside than almost any other car on the road. as they were around $100K when they were brand new, they can be expensive to fix. Make sure the one you're looking at has had the evaporator replaced. they all leaked basically form the factory and are big money to replace (the whole dash has to come out, 20+ hours). The steering gearbox is known to leak as is the differential. these will be real easy to spot though, so even a laymans undercarriage inspection would tell you if a problem exists. Obviously make sure all the joints on the drag link and tie rods are nice and tight and that the steering shock has not collapsed. the front lower control are bushings will probably need to be done as well. there are a lot of huge problems with these cars, more a bunch of little stuff that adds up. just make sure you buy a good extended warranty, as it will pay for itself. you want to keep the car nice, so don't cheap out on the coverage. I recommend MBP personally, as they have treated my clients and their vehicles very well in the past and always pay on time. start a good relationship with your service advisor at the dealership as well. they can definately make your ownership experience better. an advisor that likes you will go to bat when a claim is questioned by the warranty company and will not try to sell you things you don't need. maybe we should expect this from professionals in this sector, but it is not always delivered. a box of cigars or a bottle of wine is a nice way to insure you car gets a little nicer treatment while in for service. all in all, stay up on you maintenance. the car's will run forever if properly cared for; it just costs a little more to maintain a CL than a civic. also, i would probably go for the 500 engine, as it has the best balance of power and reliability of all those offered. the V12 is amazing but repair cost can become astronomical. if you really love your car though....
whatever, sorry if i've rambled a bit, you are making a great choice with a CL. try and go for the newest model you can afford. '99 was definately the best year, but '97 and up are all pretty god. if you have other specific questions, please feel free to message me or continue the post here.
also, there is a great post on the common ailments of the 140 cars in this forum. check the post out, very informative.

Phaedrus, I've noticed you mention extended warranties in several posts, specifically MBP. Is MBP a particular provider or just the abbreviation of "mechanical breakdown protection?" It's something I hadn't even considered, not knowing such coverage was available for an older car.

BTW, I'm thinking about a W140 sedan. I've been reading many of the S Class threads and thank you for all of your good advice.

Maurice

MBP is the name of the company. They are the best company that I deal with. Every extended warranty company is going to beat up the service consultant a little bit when we try to initiate a claim; they give me the least amount of trouble and cover more items that other companies won't touch. I highly recommend going with their platinum package (the highest level) as it covers incedental damages resulting from failures on items that would not normally be covered. Example, I had a 140 that the master cylinder failed on causing the rear brakes to drag. It wasn't enough to keep the vehicle still and the customer kept driving. The whole assembley overheated, taking out the rotors, pads, parking brake, wheel bearings, etc. All of this got replaced for the customer.

Can you give me more of the name or a website? When I Google MBP I get all kinds of providers because it's a common abbreviation.

Thanks

The number I have for them is 800.325.7484. This is the number I call for claims, although they can probably give you some information or put you in contact with the right people to purchase a service plan from.