S550: Leaving 'Em Nicer Than I Found 'Em

It has been one year since I brought the S Class into my life. Which means it's time to let it go, as my "try interesting cars, fully depreciated" experiment isn't meant to be about long-term ownership. Plus, the S550 isn't really ideally suited to city living (it's so big!). After listing the car on Autotrader and craigslist, it wasn't too long before a buyer materialized. But during the course of the purchase, he arranged for a pre-purchase inspection (turns out, there are now mobile providers who come out to inspect the car -- in this case, SafeBuy ). Wouldn't you know it, a code scan turned up a bad oxygen sensor. Further looking around revealed an oil leak that was traced to the front cam cover seals. And while that was all being fixed, it revealed a variety of aging plastic bits (thermostat, coolant lines) that had developed cracks and needed replacing. Oof. Here's what needed doing: Oxygen sensor ($389) Front engine cover gaskets &