My boss had a Mercedes S500 he bought new for around $85K in 2005 (same model year as my LS). He traded up for a 2012 S550 new for a bit over $100K and they gave him only $13K in credit for his car. It was in excellent condition with the only flaws being small paint chips on the front end from bugs and dirt. The a/c went out on it while he was under warranty and they put $3800 worth of parts and labor in it at the dealer. The lights on the dash also started flickering at 45K miles and they fixed it under warranty but God knows the cost of that if he had been a self pay customer.

He is not that into automobiles and just buys S class always as a status symbol but he does acknowledge that they are not well built cars designed to be trouble free and have a 300K miles service life. I guess someone who can afford to pay about $1,000 a month on a car can drive what they want but if it were me I would have bought some kind of Mercedes that will hold or go up in value; a 280SL for example and buy an LS as a daily driver.

The Mercedes did have a better driving transmission than my LS and felt like it was 500 pounds lighter but other than those things the LS is better overall. Driver seat comfort is a little disappointing in the LS. With so much adjustment possible you would think it would be excellent but my 98 SC300 has better seats with a design that dates back to the 1980s when it was being developed. Best car seat I have ever experienced was in a base 1999 Volvo S70. I also drove a 2001 Mercedes E320 base that had outstanding seat comfort and driving position. In the LS you feel like you are seated too high even with the seat at the lowest setting.

 

The 430 is an amazing car. There are definitely things I miss about mine. I traded in my 04 UL with 160k miles for a 16 Outback 3.6 limited. I did not imagine I would choose an Outback but with the Northeast winters and wanting to do some minor off-roading / driving on beaches and outdoor adventures it's fantastic with amazing safety features. I would not mind picking up a 2013+ 460 in the future.

 

You'll find another one. Despite being 10+ years old,
the 1 owner, dealer service examples of these cars continue to show up. Check the want ads daily. When good ones show up (often at dealers), they vanish. I found mine on CarGurus and bought it an hour after it was posted. People called the dealership for days. Good luck.