Mercedes S430

[giant_mtb]

Sadly I didn't have the digital camera but I'm pretty sure most of you know what one looks like.  From the outside and from a distance the car looks pretty huge.  But when I got closer it was maybe 6-8 inches longer than a Buick Le Sabre...not all that huge.  But its presence is deffinitely noticeable.  With the Benz-esque taillights and just the Benz look in general is was easily recognizable amongst all the other cars in the lot.  (I was at church)  The interior looked very nice and very comfortable.  The backseat looked plenty roomy as well.  I liked the side profile of the car the best.  Now I'm willing to bet some old guy (late 60's to early 70's) was the owner and driver of this car because it was in the handicapped spot, so poo on him!  :angry:   The owner had to have driven at least 150 miles to find a Benz around here...He might've gone to Appleton (WI) or Green Bay (WI) because those are the closest Benz dealers that I know of and that's a good 2.5 hour trip!

What's some general infor on this car?  What are your thoughts?  I'm not a big Mercedes fanatic so I know little about them but this one caught my eye... ^_^

[Raza]

The car's got a 4.3L V8 good for 275bhp and can scoot to 60 in a moment under 7 seconds.  It's currently the only Mercedes model still available with that V8, as it has been replaced by the 5.0L V8 in the E, CLK, and ML classes, and is in effect, replaced by the newer, lighter, smaller, and more efficient 268/272bhp 3.5L V6 as seen in the S350, E350, SLK350, and hopefully in the upcoming C350 and CLK350.  It's a great car, and we almost bought one, but the extra power of the S500 was too hard to pass up.  With the Airmatic suspension, with a push of a button it can go from cruiser to GT to rock hard racer.

[giant_mtb]

Wiat, you mean the S430 has air suspension or the S500?

[Raza]

Wiat, you mean the S430 has air suspension or the S500?

Both the S430 and S500 have Airmatic.  The S55 and S600 upgrade to ABC, or Active Body Control.  

[giant_mtb]

Geez...thinking of that S430 being a stiff tourer type car is mind boggling...the thing looks huge and heavy.  Does it actually handle pretty well when the air suspension is adjusted?  What's the ride like with it on regular...smooth as silk?

[ifcar]

One of my neighbors has an S500. Not too rare in the "look how much money I don't have any more" neighborhoods around where I live.  

[giant_mtb]

One of my neighbors has an S500. Not too rare in the "look how much money I don't have any more" neighborhoods around where I live.

I wish there were more Benz, BMW, and other cars like that around here...but it's the U.P. so you see very few...and it hurts.    :P  This was the first Benz I've seen in the area for at least 5 months...the last one was some SUV that I didn't really care for.  And some 60-ish year old teacher at my school has a BMW Z3... <_<   And that's about it! lol

[Raghavan]

One of my neighbors has an S500. Not too rare in the "look how much money I don't have any more" neighborhoods around where I live.

I wish there were more Benz, BMW, and other cars like that around here...but it's the U.P. so you see very few...and it hurts.    :P  This was the first Benz I've seen in the area for at least 5 months...the last one was some SUV that I didn't really care for.  And some 60-ish year old teacher at my school has a BMW Z3... <_<   And that's about it! lol

where do you live???

[giant_mtb]

One of my neighbors has an S500. Not too rare in the "look how much money I don't have any more" neighborhoods around where I live.

I wish there were more Benz, BMW, and other cars like that around here...but it's the U.P. so you see very few...and it hurts.    :P  This was the first Benz I've seen in the area for at least 5 months...the last one was some SUV that I didn't really care for.  And some 60-ish year old teacher at my school has a BMW Z3... <_<   And that's about it! lol

where do you live???

Michigan...way up...

[Raghavan]

One of my neighbors has an S500. Not too rare in the "look how much money I don't have any more" neighborhoods around where I live.

I wish there were more Benz, BMW, and other cars like that around here...but it's the U.P. so you see very few...and it hurts.    :P  This was the first Benz I've seen in the area for at least 5 months...the last one was some SUV that I didn't really care for.  And some 60-ish year old teacher at my school has a BMW Z3... <_<   And that's about it! lol

where do you live???

Michigan...way up...

ahh. i see. is where you live rural or something?

[giant_mtb]

One of my neighbors has an S500. Not too rare in the "look how much money I don't have any more" neighborhoods around where I live.

I wish there were more Benz, BMW, and other cars like that around here...but it's the U.P. so you see very few...and it hurts.    :P  This was the first Benz I've seen in the area for at least 5 months...the last one was some SUV that I didn't really care for.  And some 60-ish year old teacher at my school has a BMW Z3... <_<   And that's about it! lol

where do you live???

Michigan...way up...

ahh. i see. is where you live rural or something?

No...we live in the biggest county in the Upper Peninsula...(most populous)...and just 10 minutes away is the "Queen City of Michigan" which is Marquette with a population of about 25-27 thousand people...so it's not rural, but it's not wealthy.  Therefore we have regular cars like GM, Ford, Buicks, Lincolns, Mazda, Subarus...but nothing like BMW or Benz...They wouldn't sell enough.

[R33 GT-R]

My neighbors befor I moved had a 05 E55 AMG.  Six months before that they had a SL55 AMG.  Six months before that a CL55 AMG.  Six months before that a SL500.  He told me when the car would get close to 6k miles he bought a new one.  I was like yea but it's not even broken in yet, he was a doctor and probably needed the break.  Two streets down from me sits a red 360 Modena and I've also seen an older Countach Lamborghini.  That's really the only exotics I've seen here so far.  

[Raghavan]

My neighbors befor I moved had a 05 E55 AMG.  Six months before that they had a SL55 AMG.  Six months before that a CL55 AMG.  Six months before that a SL500.  He told me when the car would get close to 6k miles he bought a new one.  I was like yea but it's not even broken in yet, he was a doctor and probably needed the break.  Two streets down from me sits a red 360 Modena and I've also seen an older Countach Lamborghini.  That's really the only exotics I've seen here so far.

the ONLY exotics?? jeez... that's a lot of Mercs!

[giant_mtb]

My neighbors befor I moved had a 05 E55 AMG.  Six months before that they had a SL55 AMG.  Six months before that a CL55 AMG.  Six months before that a SL500.  He told me when the car would get close to 6k miles he bought a new one.  I was like yea but it's not even broken in yet, he was a doctor and probably needed the break.  Two streets down from me sits a red 360 Modena and I've also seen an older Countach Lamborghini.  That's really the only exotics I've seen here so far.

I'm quite jealous...the most exotic car you see regularly (maybe 3 times a week) is the Corvette.  Although I did see a Viper once.  The Viper was amazing...we were about a 1/4 mile behind it and it passed some car going uphill and we could hear the exhaust note loud and clear...the Viper passed the car going at least 80 MPH up hill!

[giant_mtb]

My neighbors befor I moved had a 05 E55 AMG.  Six months before that they had a SL55 AMG.  Six months before that a CL55 AMG.  Six months before that a SL500.  He told me when the car would get close to 6k miles he bought a new one.  I was like yea but it's not even broken in yet, he was a doctor and probably needed the break.  Two streets down from me sits a red 360 Modena and I've also seen an older Countach Lamborghini.  That's really the only exotics I've seen here so far.

the ONLY exotics?? jeez... that's a lot of Mercs!

Mercedes isn't an exotic, though.  I think it's considered a luxury or sport brand...both I guess.

[Raghavan]

My neighbors befor I moved had a 05 E55 AMG.  Six months before that they had a SL55 AMG.  Six months before that a CL55 AMG.  Six months before that a SL500.  He told me when the car would get close to 6k miles he bought a new one.  I was like yea but it's not even broken in yet, he was a doctor and probably needed the break.  Two streets down from me sits a red 360 Modena and I've also seen an older Countach Lamborghini.  That's really the only exotics I've seen here so far.

the ONLY exotics?? jeez... that's a lot of Mercs!

Mercedes isn't an exotic, though.  I think it's considered a luxury or sport brand...both I guess.

seeing AMG's are pretty rare you know...

[giant_mtb]

My neighbors befor I moved had a 05 E55 AMG.  Six months before that they had a SL55 AMG.  Six months before that a CL55 AMG.  Six months before that a SL500.  He told me when the car would get close to 6k miles he bought a new one.  I was like yea but it's not even broken in yet, he was a doctor and probably needed the break.  Two streets down from me sits a red 360 Modena and I've also seen an older Countach Lamborghini.  That's really the only exotics I've seen here so far.

the ONLY exotics?? jeez... that's a lot of Mercs!

Mercedes isn't an exotic, though.  I think it's considered a luxury or sport brand...both I guess.

seeing AMG's are pretty rare you know...

Yeah...that's right...but overall Benz is a luxury brand.

[Raghavan]

My neighbors befor I moved had a 05 E55 AMG.  Six months before that they had a SL55 AMG.  Six months before that a CL55 AMG.  Six months before that a SL500.  He told me when the car would get close to 6k miles he bought a new one.  I was like yea but it's not even broken in yet, he was a doctor and probably needed the break.  Two streets down from me sits a red 360 Modena and I've also seen an older Countach Lamborghini.  That's really the only exotics I've seen here so far.

the ONLY exotics?? jeez... that's a lot of Mercs!

Mercedes isn't an exotic, though.  I think it's considered a luxury or sport brand...both I guess.

seeing AMG's are pretty rare you know...

Yeah...that's right...but overall Benz is a luxury brand.

so you don't consider a SLR an exotic?

[R33 GT-R]

I do consider the higher end AMG models somewhat exotic, even though they look the somewhat the same the performance is exotic.  My new neighbor and my wife are the only ones with Mercedes in our short cul-de-sac.    

[giant_mtb]

My neighbors befor I moved had a 05 E55 AMG.  Six months before that they had a SL55 AMG.  Six months before that a CL55 AMG.  Six months before that a SL500.  He told me when the car would get close to 6k miles he bought a new one.  I was like yea but it's not even broken in yet, he was a doctor and probably needed the break.  Two streets down from me sits a red 360 Modena and I've also seen an older Countach Lamborghini.  That's really the only exotics I've seen here so far.

the ONLY exotics?? jeez... that's a lot of Mercs!

Mercedes isn't an exotic, though.  I think it's considered a luxury or sport brand...both I guess.

seeing AMG's are pretty rare you know...

Yeah...that's right...but overall Benz is a luxury brand.

so you don't consider a SLR an exotic?

I never said that...I'm just saying that the Mercedes in general is not viewed as an exotic brand...and that it's viewed generall as luxury.

[Raghavan]

I do consider the higher end AMG models somewhat exotic, even though they look the somewhat the same the performance is exotic.  My new neighbor and my wife are the only ones with Mercedes in our short cul-de-sac.

what's the new neighbor got?

[R33 GT-R]

My neighbors befor I moved had a 05 E55 AMG.? Six months before that they had a SL55 AMG.? Six months before that a CL55 AMG.? Six months before that a SL500.? He told me when the car would get close to 6k miles he bought a new one.? I was like yea but it's not even broken in yet, he was a doctor and probably needed the break.? Two streets down from me sits a red 360 Modena and I've also seen an older Countach Lamborghini.? That's really the only exotics I've seen here so far.

the ONLY exotics?? jeez... that's a lot of Mercs!

Mercedes isn't an exotic, though.  I think it's considered a luxury or sport brand...both I guess.

seeing AMG's are pretty rare you know...

Yeah...that's right...but overall Benz is a luxury brand.

so you don't consider a SLR an exotic?

definitely exotic

[Raghavan]

My neighbors befor I moved had a 05 E55 AMG.  Six months before that they had a SL55 AMG.  Six months before that a CL55 AMG.  Six months before that a SL500.  He told me when the car would get close to 6k miles he bought a new one.  I was like yea but it's not even broken in yet, he was a doctor and probably needed the break.  Two streets down from me sits a red 360 Modena and I've also seen an older Countach Lamborghini.  That's really the only exotics I've seen here so far.

the ONLY exotics?? jeez... that's a lot of Mercs!

Mercedes isn't an exotic, though.  I think it's considered a luxury or sport brand...both I guess.

seeing AMG's are pretty rare you know...

Yeah...that's right...but overall Benz is a luxury brand.

so you don't consider a SLR an exotic?

definitely exotic

well, Chris thought all mercs were luxury cars, so that's why i asked him.

[R33 GT-R]

I do consider the higher end AMG models somewhat exotic, even though they look the somewhat the same the performance is exotic.  My new neighbor and my wife are the only ones with Mercedes in our short cul-de-sac.

what's the new neighbor got?

He has a S430, I don't think he has many options on it though.  Even though it is a Mercedes they are pretty frugal from what I know of them already.

[R33 GT-R]

Probably why they didn't buy the S500.

[giant_mtb]

My neighbors befor I moved had a 05 E55 AMG.  Six months before that they had a SL55 AMG.  Six months before that a CL55 AMG.  Six months before that a SL500.  He told me when the car would get close to 6k miles he bought a new one.  I was like yea but it's not even broken in yet, he was a doctor and probably needed the break.  Two streets down from me sits a red 360 Modena and I've also seen an older Countach Lamborghini.  That's really the only exotics I've seen here so far.

the ONLY exotics?? jeez... that's a lot of Mercs!

Mercedes isn't an exotic, though.  I think it's considered a luxury or sport brand...both I guess.

seeing AMG's are pretty rare you know...

Yeah...that's right...but overall Benz is a luxury brand.

so you don't consider a SLR an exotic?

definitely exotic

well, Chris thought all mercs were luxury cars, so that's why i asked him.

fdjka  I never stated that all Benz's are luxury cars...I said that Mercedes in GENERAL is considered a luxury brand...

[Raghavan]

My neighbors befor I moved had a 05 E55 AMG.  Six months before that they had a SL55 AMG.  Six months before that a CL55 AMG.  Six months before that a SL500.  He told me when the car would get close to 6k miles he bought a new one.  I was like yea but it's not even broken in yet, he was a doctor and probably needed the break.  Two streets down from me sits a red 360 Modena and I've also seen an older Countach Lamborghini.  That's really the only exotics I've seen here so far.

the ONLY exotics?? jeez... that's a lot of Mercs!

Mercedes isn't an exotic, though.  I think it's considered a luxury or sport brand...both I guess.

seeing AMG's are pretty rare you know...

Yeah...that's right...but overall Benz is a luxury brand.

so you don't consider a SLR an exotic?

definitely exotic

well, Chris thought all mercs were luxury cars, so that's why i asked him.

fdjka  I never stated that all Benz's are luxury cars...I said that Mercedes in GENERAL is considered a luxury brand...

close enough.  

[R33 GT-R]

My neighbors befor I moved had a 05 E55 AMG.? Six months before that they had a SL55 AMG.? Six months before that a CL55 AMG.? Six months before that a SL500.? He told me when the car would get close to 6k miles he bought a new one.? I was like yea but it's not even broken in yet, he was a doctor and probably needed the break.? Two streets down from me sits a red 360 Modena and I've also seen an older Countach Lamborghini.? That's really the only exotics I've seen here so far.

the ONLY exotics?? jeez... that's a lot of Mercs!

Mercedes isn't an exotic, though.  I think it's considered a luxury or sport brand...both I guess.

seeing AMG's are pretty rare you know...

Yeah...that's right...but overall Benz is a luxury brand.

so you don't consider a SLR an exotic?

definitely exotic

well, Chris thought all mercs were luxury cars, so that's why i asked him.

Yes, I've lived in an area like that before when I was a kid.  The hottest car around was a 68 Camaro.   :D  

[Raghavan]

R33, are you going to get the RR sport?

[R33 GT-R]

R33, are you going to get the RR sport?

Well they have my deposit, I want to put my hands on it first and drop the rear in the seat.  I really like everything they've put out on it so far and it's a stunning vehicle to me.  If for some reason I don't like it I'll just have to pony up a few more dollars for the RR.