[speeder]

There is quite a difference between pre-'99 S-class Mercedes and a 2000 model. The late w140 cars, ('96-'99), were excellent and with low miles in good condition fetch decent money. (Typically $12k or more). The early w220 cars, (2000-2003), are not desirable and can be bought for beer money. All of the big Mercedes are fairly high maintenance when they get old, the w220 cars have the addition of air-matic suspension and several other complicated electronic systems to take a schit just when you were about to drive to the desert for the weekend.

My advice would be to stick to the later years of either series and wait for a steal on a creampuff car w/ records. The economy was strong when all of these cars were new and they sold/leased many a boatload of them. They are massively plentiful.