The W140 is Still the Best S-Class

"DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!" (daft-ryosuke) 05/21/2019 at 21:15 • Filed to: None

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I have driven the past four generations of S-Class, fairly in depth, and none of the newest ones have even come close to matching the world-class craftsmanship that the W140 possesses.

This 1995 S320 is currently 24 years old, it has 71,000 miles on that silky straight 6, and it still commands presence, striking fear into anyone who is lower than the upper echelons of the middle class. It drives like a cloud and the interior will make the passengers feel as though they’re in a cloud, with rich leather and wood generously adorning the cabin.

It’s crazy to think that this was the car that Mercedes used to one-up the LS400, both are insanely different views of a large luxury sedan. They both have their differences and honestly comparing them is a null thing to do. Alas...

As much as I’d love to add this Benz to my fleet, I already have one 90s luxobarge to save. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t see this particular car grace the Oppo dashboard again.

I truly wish Mercedes could return to these days of bulletproof quality and reliability, but I know these days are long past. I still yearn for one of these, or an R129, but getting the chance to drive both have been honors in themselves. I salute you, W140, for maintaining your ideals even some 30 years later.

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/21/2019 at 21:17

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What third world country are you despot of this week?

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo 05/21/2019 at 21:17

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Rhode Island

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/21/2019 at 21:18

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HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/21/2019 at 21:21

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nice

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/21/2019 at 21:23

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They’re nice, but the R129 is certainly not what I’d associate with reliability, and the bulletproofing is so bad that it actually shoots bullets at your wallet.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 05/21/2019 at 21:29

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Be poor elsewhere.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/21/2019 at 21:43

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:c

Nibby > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/21/2019 at 21:43

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need

fintail > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/21/2019 at 22:19

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Needs a wiring harness or had it done? I suppose this is at the very end of that era, and might be immune.

Late run S600 for me (preferably on monoblocks) , go broke fast or don’t go broke at a ll.

WilliamsSW > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/21/2019 at 22:54

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I’ll always have a special spot for the W116 though. Gimme   a 450SEL 6.9.

And unlimited funds. 

syaieya > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/21/2019 at 23:39

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As nice as 140s are, it’s go big or go home with them.

The 6 cylinders need near as much work as the big 8's and the 12's are far more nimble than anything that big should feel.

And long wheel base is always a plus.

I’m glad they had proper years without transmission and wiring harness flaws later on in life.

Being said though, the previous 126 will carry my nostalgia more

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/22/2019 at 00:43

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No. All of the no. Seriously no. If you think these are reliable and well built it’s probably time to take off the lederhosen and put the doppelbock down. They’re hideous. They’re uncomfortable. They don’t drive well. I mean, yeah they’re clouds, but so is a 70's American car, that doesn’t make it good. The  140 should be ashamed to be called a Mercedes.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > WilliamsSW 05/22/2019 at 00:43

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Yes!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > fintail 05/22/2019 at 00:44

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The only acceptable 140 is a 600 on monoblocks with those really expensive equal length long tube headers. Otherwise they're trash.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 05/22/2019 at 00:54

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Sounds like poor talk to me.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/22/2019 at 01:00

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No. But that's because I own two other Mercedes that aren't 140's. So there's still money in my bank account.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 05/22/2019 at 01:06

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I’m sorry for your loss.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > WilliamsSW 05/22/2019 at 01:17

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I have a 1:18 W116. I call it Der Kommissar. It’s the crown jewel of my collection.

Honestly I’d buy just about any pre-Chrysler Benz that isn’t a W210.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 05/22/2019 at 01:21

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You can try all you want but I refuse to be swayed.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/22/2019 at 01:45

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If you were a part of my family I would have you committed.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 05/22/2019 at 01:54

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If you think this is bad, you’d probably faint at the rest of my craigslist search history

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/22/2019 at 01:59

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Or take bets on  how long it takes you to go broke.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 05/22/2019 at 02:17

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Can’t go broke if you never had money to begin with.

WilliamsSW > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/22/2019 at 08:00

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Nice!

Yeah the W210 is the bottom. Though quite a few Mercedes from around that period weren’t so hot ( 1st gen ML, and the C class stick out).

W210s are $ 1200 beaters around me now. And almost all of them are rusted to shit.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/22/2019 at 08:55

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Oh good! Then no 140 for you! Trust me friend, the grass ain't greener.

fintail > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 05/22/2019 at 09:10

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But so smooth and stately compared to most modern cars. I’d take one over a W220 S600, too, at least a late run post-wiring issue car over an early W220.

But yeah, 140s and V12 cars in general are about emotional appeal rather than logic.

RT > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/22/2019 at 09:13

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The W140 is up there.

But the W126 will always be my personal favourite.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > WilliamsSW 05/22/2019 at 10:20

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Yeah I’ve always pinpointed the beginning of the downward slope at around the time the ML was debuted. After that it was all tricky electronics and rubbish plastics unless you bought a V12 model or an AMG.

After driving the new E-Class, though, I think they’re slowly finding their way again. Then again, the CLA does exist, and that thing is...not nice.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > fintail 05/22/2019 at 10:40

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Stately is all about perception and state of mind. I don’t see them that way. I see them as clapped out piles. And as far as early/late, that goes for any chassis comparisons. I’d rather a late 201 over an early 220 also, but you’ll never hear me rave about those.

Absolutely, without question. The 140 is like a decade of music. Fingernails on a chalkboard to those who didn’t grow up hearing it (seeing them in positions of prominence) .

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > RT 05/22/2019 at 11:49

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Are you a third world dictator too?

fintail > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 05/22/2019 at 13:51

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That’s how I see 220s. 140s are old enough to me now to be kind of modern classics, while later S are just low value money pits, even the AMG variants.  I fear 221s are heading down that road too, I see plenty of dodgy ones already.  Nothing ages as fast as a neglected abused big MB.

Sublime76 > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 05/22/2019 at 14:17

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Eas y to work on. I’ve owned a 94 and a 95 s320. My current daily driver is a 1993 600SEL. The whole business of being hard to work on is a misconception. I’ve replace one harness on a 94 s320. The rest have been replacing 20+ year old suspension bushings. It takes a little longer to do a oil change on the m120 v12, but that’s is. But that’s me. My wife drives a 1982 380SEC Lapis blue. It’s been flawless.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > fintail 05/22/2019 at 15:13

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Yeah totally right. But I don't think I'll ever view 140's as classics. 

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Sublime76 05/22/2019 at 15:17

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I work on them for a living. And much more complicated stuff. Normally I love Benz. But 140's, to me and the vast majority of my colleagues, are POS’s.

That being said, if you love them, more power to you! Even though 126's and 140's do nothing for me, that's still a cool garage to have.

fintail > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 05/22/2019 at 15:22

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The oldest ones are approaching 30 years old now, and the newest are over 20 (calendar years). That with a low survival rate of genuinely nice ones, and old school styling does it for me.

I have read they are actually more rare in Germany than 126s, due to 140s being exported en masse to the wild east at the turn of the century.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > fintail 05/22/2019 at 15:29

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I totally understand why people like them. But I have always thought they were just hideous. Couple that with them being garbage and you'll understand my hatred of them.

Chris Kreschollek > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/22/2019 at 15:37

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What is a straight six?

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > Chris Kreschollek 05/22/2019 at 15:56

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Inline-6 cylinder engine 

Jordan > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/22/2019 at 17:02

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Mercedes still make reliable cars. The difference today is that you have to know which ones are reliable and which ones are not, whereas back then, they were all very reliable.

Side note: the correct color for the W140 is black. There’s no laws against impersonating a dictator or organised crime boss.  

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Chris Kreschollek 05/22/2019 at 17:19

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wait forreal?

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/22/2019 at 17:19

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Love the 140! Although I’d prefer mine had more cylinders and literally any color combo besides grey/grey

fintail > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 05/22/2019 at 17:34

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I’ll ta ke your word for it, I’ve never had to work on them :)

WilliamsSW > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! 05/22/2019 at 21:40

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As far as E classes go, they pretty much got the W211 right, and the W212 was a big step up from that - and a lot more reliable than most people think German cars are.

The CLA , ugh.