Luxury Car Roulette: Mercedes-Benz S430 vs BMW 750li vs Audi A8L vs VW Phaeton

A quick look in your local craigslist for $5k cars is an experience not too far from dangling in a La-Z-Boy recliner above a hungry sarlacc pit with nothing holding you up but a harbor freight bungie cord that's on fire.  Sure, its a great way to get your adrenaline flowing while being super comfy, but that warm feeling in your gut isn't just the two week old Mexican food leftovers that you probably shouldn't have eaten...it is also the fact that most sub $5k cars for sale or total junk. Salvaged late model Japanese economy cars are everywhere...but there is hope.  And that hope lies in the over priced German luxury tanks that have depreciated into poor man's territory and the only downside is a threat of doom from lurking expensive repairs.  Just don't say it was my idea to drive one of these cars.  They all came as a tip from FuelTruck.  So if your wife needs someone to blame...blame the tipper. Which would you pick?  Mercedes-Benz S430 vs BMW 750li vs Audi A8L vs VW Phaeton

Accelerate Your Face-Off: V12 MB S600 vs W12 Bentley Continental Flying Spur

Another day, another insane DT special edition face-off, where the penalties get called before the puck hits the ice.  Today we've got a couple of heavyweight contenders, ready to accelerate your face into a pile of goo with 12-cylinder turbocharged power -- each with an asking price around $20k.  What do you get?  The 2006 Mercedes-Benz S600 or the crashed 2007 Bentley Continental Flying Spur?

10k:V12 B-Turbo : 2003 Mercedes-Benz S600 W220

Of the two cars with the name S600, one was a '60 Japanese 2-seater with a glorified motorcycle engine and the other was a 2000s Teutonic two-ton monster powered by a twin turbo V12.  Strangely enough, if you find either with close to 200k miles on the odometer, they end up costing about the same...in initial purchase price...true cost of ownership will vary.  Find this 2003 Mercedes-Benz S600 W220 offered for $11,000 in Altoona, PA via craigslist.  Tip from Jon.
 

15k: FAsT clASS: 2003 Mercedes-Benz S55 AMG W220

You've heard us lambast the quality and durability of the Daimler-Chrysler era Mercedes-Benz product time and time again.  It is true, the tradition of building bulletproof 500k mile luxury sedans by Benz ended sometime in the late 1990s, but in return they started producing some seriously fast Q-ships.  Find one with moderate miles, drive it for a few months and sell it before one of the $3000 suspension air bags fail.  Find this 2003 Mercedes-Benz S55 AMG offered for $13,900 or best offer, here on eBay, located in Orange, CA.

10k: President's Day Special: 2002 Mercedes-Benz AMG S55 W220

The Mercedes-Benz W220 generation S-Class was yet another edition of Mercedes' big heavyweight luxury freight train for the wealthy.   For the 2002 model year a new revised look was released, with the sportiest version being the S55 AMG but the most expensive was the V12 S600.  The power ratings for the S55's V8 and S600's V12 were almost identical, but the AMG version offered a sporty ride while the S600 was designed for being chauffeured in the back seat. Find this 2002 Mercedes-Benz AMG S55 (offered in what the seller describes as "president black") for sale in Seattle, WA for $12,500 via craigslist.