6th Apr 2012, 06:20

The '99 was not built to the same standards, and much had changed within Mercedes during the period between '93 and '99.

I have owned a '93 400SEL for four years now. I purchased it from the original owner. He loved the car, and it had only 80k miles on it.

It is easily one of the finest cars I've owned, and is only rivaled by another Mercedes - an '87 SDL.

But really, nothing compares to this car. I have put 140k on it in four years. It has taken a beating on the NYC streets, potholes, etc. The suspension responds like a new car.

The paint job holds up beautifully, and I'm always complimented everywhere I go on the car. Even the car wash guys who deal with brand new luxury cars all day, always compliment me on the finish of the paint.

Mechanically, the engineering is second to none. They thought of everything.

The car just goes and goes and goes. Whatever you throw at it, it deals with it.

The only work I put into the car was new bushings in the front, 15 years of NYC streets - that's pretty fair, and I replaced the alternator. Other than that, it's simply brakes and oil, brakes and oil.

For a while, my roommate drove the car while I was traveling. He went 10 months without an oil change. About 30k miles. The car held up perfectly. I'm not advising this, by any means. I'm just saying. The point about these cars is that they were built to truly last, and do so intelligently. They are built like tanks. This car was sadly scratched up when some neighborhood teenagers vandalized it (they were caught and arrested). My neighbor said that she saw two of them jumping up and down on the sunroof and one took a boulder and threw it at the trunk. The sunroof still works perfectly and the boulder barely made a dent. It left a scratch, though, unfortunately.

This car is a tank. I turn the key and know it will start.

If you have a chance to get one of these cars, DO IT! If you have any overheating issues, just take it to Mercedes.

Enjoy!