i work at a car dealership and unfortunately , we do not go over 10,000 $ range on cars we sell.however , on the mercedes s430, id say don't do it.for a couple thousands more , you can get a newer model and less miles. i had a 2003 mercedes cl500 for about 5 years.it is the coupe of the s class and they have the same engine. as a matter of fact most mercedes of the same generation use the same engines ( ie .the engine in the cl500 is the same in the e500, s500...etc) .i have nothing but the best to say about them. i had virtually no problem and maintenance is the same as any other car. the expensive part about benz is the mercedes dealership.but if you know a good mechanic , then you are probably set. the only thing that s really hard to figure out on mercedes is some weird sensors and the worst is the abc system ( suspension ) on some of them. if you like it, go with an 03 and up . as far as maintenance goes, most of it is the same services(mostly ) repeating themselves. anyways i recommend it, good car, lasts ,reliable and very very comfy