I really want a S430 with AWD

"JR1" (type35bugatti)
02/10/2016 at 15:12 • Filed to: Mercedes desires

They are so cheap and so luxurious!

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Then I have to remind myself that the parts are $$$ and the gas mileage is only so so. I guess it is back to looking at more reliable things like the Cadillac STS

DISCUSSION (31)

Land_Yacht_225 > JR1
02/10/2016 at 15:21

You know you can get an S500 with 4Matic right? And as a bonus, an S500 actually has enough torque to, you know, move its hulking 20 ton fat ass under it’s own power.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > JR1
02/10/2016 at 15:21

That was a lot less expensive than i expected.

I’ve been eyeballing some STS’s lately.

Unsure of their reliability though. Have you heard good things or are we just following the logical assumption that, well it’s gotta be better than MB.

TheOnelectronic > Land_Yacht_225
02/10/2016 at 15:26

The S430 had plenty of power. I drove one quite a bit and it never felt particularly slow or sluggish.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > JR1
02/10/2016 at 15:45

S500 has more power without being an AMG

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > JR1
02/10/2016 at 15:58

I’d look for a 2003+ S500 with 4matic. With a S500 you don’t need to worry about V12 coil packs or ABC suspension and you get a decent V8 instead of the boat anchor 4.3l in the S430. The V8s really aren’t that bad reliability wise.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
02/10/2016 at 16:04

If it has a Northstar it might have some reliability issues. Some of them eat head gaskets if I'm correct. Otherwise they are ridiculously smooth engines . It's too bad GM killed them before they could further develop .

Steve in Manhattan > JR1
02/10/2016 at 16:05

And they are wildly complicated ... you’d need a Demuro-grade extended warranty, if you can even get one.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches
02/10/2016 at 16:13

So you’re saying stick with the V6

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
02/10/2016 at 16:21

Yes and no. If the northstar V8 has been fixed(?) so it doesn’t eat head gaskets then go for the 8. But if you’re not sure or if the V8 can’t be fixed(??) then I'd go with the V6

gawdzillla > JR1
02/10/2016 at 16:26

I thought this body style was among the worst in reliability

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches
02/10/2016 at 16:30

HMMMMMMM

the 05-07's V6 had 255 hp and after that the 08-12 had 302 hp

Not too shabby. Especially 300+

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
02/10/2016 at 16:44

By all means, the V6 is a good engine, but the northstar is a great engine, especially in V supercharged guise.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches
02/10/2016 at 16:46

It helps that it faces the correct direction in the STS

JR1 > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
02/10/2016 at 16:48

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cadilla…

I have been doing some heavy research. The problems with the N* seem to be alleviated by the time the STS came out in a longitudinal configuration. The STS guys don’t seem to hold as high a praise for the V6 though.

JR1 > Land_Yacht_225
02/10/2016 at 16:49

Yeah but the gas mileage isn’t great. Stupid complaint I know but when I am trying to get something with better gas mileage than my truck the S500 is just that little bit worse than the S430

JR1 > gawdzillla
02/10/2016 at 16:49

It is I think

JR1 > Steve in Manhattan
02/10/2016 at 16:50

I doubt I will but it is one of those things I want

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > JR1
02/10/2016 at 16:51

FASCINATING

I love the look of the STS

I actually like it more than the CTS. They’re great prices lately too. If I could find an STS4 in my budget the Milan would disappear quickly.

JR1 > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches
02/10/2016 at 16:51

It isn’t so much the engine that would worry me. I would be more worried about the electronics and the suspension if I ever did heavily consider one.

JR1 > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
02/10/2016 at 16:51

Also worse gas mileage

JR1 > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
02/10/2016 at 16:53

There is one in New Haven I have really been eyeing on craigslist. It has everything. AWD, 100k, v8, right wheels, $6700, and it is clean. But alas I won’t be buying anything until this summer.

http://newhaven.craigslist.org/cto/5389044019…

Land_Yacht_225 > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches
02/10/2016 at 17:49

Northstar head gaskets were flawed from the factory in the early years, Concours DeVilles and STS models are the worst.

However, they don’t eat head gaskets per se. They fail once, and then the aftermarket replacements (never go OEM on Northstar head gaskets) will never fail again as I understand it. Whatever the original flaw in production was isn’t an issue anymore.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > JR1
02/10/2016 at 18:28

Fair enough...

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > gawdzillla
02/10/2016 at 19:28

It can be

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > JR1
02/10/2016 at 19:29

If that’s what you’re looking for in an XL-sized German luxury yacht.

But, as you mentioned in your post about the SHO Taurus, everyone wants different things from a car.

Also, I thought the car from this era you wanted was a Thunderbird and not a big black sedan ;)

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > JR1
02/10/2016 at 19:57

An S430 is about as reliable as a modern S-class gets. They tend to have fewer options to go wrong. Even better, the 4matic ones tend to have far fewer suspension issues like ball joints and bushings. I guarantee it will be more reliable than anything with a N* motor too. They’re not nearly as bad with electronics ad the internet sends to think, especially with newer ones. I would go for that ‘06 (the newer the better), pending a diagnosis of the ABS light.

JR1 > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
02/10/2016 at 20:33

I always “want” a big black sedan but I want my 100 year garage to have variety. I am saving the big black sedan for later!

Yeah it's not that I desire good gas mileage but with the commute I am going to have next fall it will be a necessity.

JR1 > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
02/10/2016 at 20:36

Thanks for the tip maybe I will consider it then. Do you have any idea how good the high mpg is on these? My other concern would be parts. But I can look on the forums to see how much parts cost.

And the N* in the 05+ STS seems to be very reliable from the forum I was looking at.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > JR1
02/10/2016 at 22:17

My other cars with the same (or larger displacement, though otherwise pretty much identical) get 21 mpg hwy in the R500, slightly better in my E55, and around 25-26 in the E430.

Parts aren’t bad in my opinion, unless you have bigger components fail. But either way FCP Euro and rockauto are excellent places to get good, cheap parts. My cars with this same engine and trans combo always cost me much less than my N* Cadillac did (‘01 Seville).

Hmm, could be they are much better. But it’s still mid-2000's GM, and the handful I’ve seen come through the shop have had ridiculous oil leaks and interiors falling apart worse than E36 BMW’s. But I’ve only seen a handful at most and they might be terrible representations. But I hope that whatever you decide makes you happy!

JR1 > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
02/10/2016 at 23:26

Hmm I was kinda hoping for a minimum of 25 on the highway for commuting.

Sorry you have a bad experience with the 01. I have heard oil can be a problems but I didn't realize it was that big of an issue. Seriously thanks for the advice!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > JR1
02/11/2016 at 01:33

I wouldn’t bet on getting that kind of mileage unless you hyper-mile or somehow commute downhill both ways.