Mike5215

I will agree with you that the evidence for my position is anecdotal. It's impossible to extrapolate the car's actual reliability from the frequency of owner complaints on a forum, or even the opinion of a guy at a single dealership service department who has to break bad news to S Class owners day in and day out. Even my personal experience with three S Class over ten years is a limited frame of reference.

So, potential new owners, you've got that to weigh when considering whether to have an S out of warranty, or choose to disregard it entirely because so far ATCPUP says he hasn't had any problems with his 08.

The Tesla interior is a deal breaker for me as well, but if I could get my wife to go for one, then I could keep my S and just drive the Tesla when I felt like it. I think you can get a full air suspension on them and I'm wondering if those don't ride a little more S Class like. With gas so cheap I'm not sure they're worth the price (even with gas not cheap it's a stretch). Not being able to trade in is an issue as well. Did you guys have to sell her current car privately?

Mike5215

Yeah, but that's part of the myth. That when someone reports an expensive repair it's because they did something wrong. That won't happen to me, the rationalization goes, because I'm diligent about maintenance, and the prior owner was as well. Plus look how gorgeous my S Class is! It looks nearly new. How could anything possibly break on it?

There's no scheduled maintenance on motor mounts, which fail regularly, or transmission mounts, which also fail regularly. There's no scheduled or recommended maintenance for coil packs, turbo seals, cam plug seals, cam sensors, COMAND units, Airmatic struts, Airmatic compressors, AC controllers, AC dual valves, ABC valve bodies, seat cushion heaters or any of a thousand other components in an S Class that fail regularly and are expensive to repair. I know that you have a warranty for that stuff, and that's why I strongly suggest having a warranty the entire time you own the car.

The bottom line is, for potential new buyers, if you're shopping for an S but can't get a CPO car because you can't spend over $30k, stop shopping for an S. For all practical purposes it's out of your reach. If you can't swing a monthly payment on a CPO car, why would you think you'll have the extra cash laying around for repairs? If you think a clean looking car with a current maintenance history is protection, it ain't.

Now for guys like ATCPUp who has had a good experience with his high mileage S and it's now paid off, that's a different story. He's decided to keep it with no payments and if he has to spend a couple grand along the way on repairs he's still ahead. I get that. I wouldn't recommend it, but I get it.

mnje350

I think that there is a possibility of owning a truly trouble free car, regardless of brand, but I bet it's rare. I have never owned a completely trouble free car and I have owned Nissan, Toyota, Buick, Jeep, Audi, VW and now MB. I will say the most trouble free has been my 2010 E 350 purchased new. The most troublesome was an 08 CLK 350. Fortunately I had the extended warranty on that. It paid for itself many times over.

I have not had enough experience with the S so the jury is way from being out on that one. Regardless, I would not own one without a warranty. I paid 4500 for 2 years after the CPO warranty expires. That gives me a little more than 3 years of protection for this car. I will find out in the fullness of time as the saying goes.

Mike5215

Last week one of my employees had a flat tire in our parking lot and I offered to take it to get some air for her. It's a prior gen Honda mini van. I'm driving it and it drives great...smooth, no noises. Then I play with the buttons...everything works, and the car was loaded up. Interior was a little dirty but no real visible wear. Then i check the mileage. 250,000 miles. i'm not a Honda guy, or a minivan guy, but for a second there....

Atcpup

No, she has an 04 E320 we bought new and I'm giving it to my daughter to go to college in. I feel like I'm going to jinx myself at any moment, but that E320 has been a really good vehicle too with 140,000 relatively trouble free miles so far. It's funny you mention "keeping the S and driving the Tesla when I feel like it" is exactly my plan And the low gas prices are definitely something to consider, I just don't think crude will stay low for the long term. But I'm really digging the $2.60 for premium at the moment!

hyperion667

my dealer has S class loaners for S class drivers

Quadcammer

realistically if you can do repairs DIY, these cars aren't bad to own. This includes having a STAR/SDS computer. The mechanical aspects are pretty straightforward and the electronic aren't bad with the proper diagnostic tools.

If you don't have a good independent and are stretching to buy the car, then you likely will not be able to afford the dealer repairs.

Additionally, unlike the owners of a lot of other cars, I would say S-class owners are to some degree perfectionists. While some people would ignore a rattle or clunk or warning light, we like to make it right. This also adds to expenses.

Mike5215

Yeah, it would be really helpful if some of these guys who can do their own work on the 221 were on the forum more often for guidance.

I do have a good independent (two in town but one exclusively MB). They aren't much less expensive on labor or parts, and they don't have loaners. Neither of them would work directly with any 3rd party warranty company either, where the dealership did.

cmpcpro

I agree, I didn't want to say anything but it seems like if anyone does their own work on the 221 they aren't on this board often.. seems like a lot of technical questions go unanswered on here.. I was just chalking it up to it being a forum for such a new and expensive car that most are either too rich to care or their cars are warrantied and always being worked on at the dealer.

Jason B

Correct on that. Sometimes I have to tell myself, "Am I the only one that will notice this, and am I being crazy?" For ex, the led ambient lighting that runs under the radio. The one side was a little dim under the curve of the radio. I mentioned it to my service advisor. It really wasn't bad and I was the only one that noticed it. My service advisor is just a cool guy and said, we will order a new one in and if the new one looks better we will replace it. They did. Is it better? A tiny bit. I know from this forum that the radio trim piece pulls out very easiy and isn't a big deal, but the more you pull stuff apart, the more rattles you can tend to get. The only rattle I have is from the change I keep in the driver side armrest when the bass hits. I also had a rattle from the driver seat, and they added some felt on the side and that fixed it.

mnje350

That's what that brand is known for. I used to live near the plant in Marysville, OH. Dont know if the minivan was built there but they all have a fabulous reliabilty record. They just don't grab you by the you know what when you start and drive them.

Atcpup

Sounds similar to the 3rd gen 4runners (96-2002). They still look good and are pretty much bulletproof. I've seen them selling with in excess of 350,000 miles still going strong.

Nuru

Got my car back, but still waiting on the part

Oh well one day they will get the part in - it is still back-ordered.

hyperion667

I've been waiting for rear seatbelt replacement on back order, anyone know if I can upgrade the rear belts to the fancy air bag belts?

MBNUT1

I fixed for you. This is the case for me in spades which is which why I ended up selling my 06 E3504matic. I do think the newer models have a chance at driving perfectly better than that car did.

MBNUT1

Hopefully this will improve with time. There is a guy with a S600 W220 that is off the charts in terms of the what repairs he has posted.

Nuru

+1

mnje350

I just had to add this to the post after driving my neighbors, 2002 Toyota 4 runner. Used it to take my Christmas tree to the recycler. The vehicle has 287,000 miles on the clock and everything works. Power windows, AC, music, EVERYTHING. While the overall condition looks like it is a 12 year old vehicle with all of those miles, there is nothing wrong with the car. Neighbor says that his has had no repairs other than oil, tires and brakes.

These trucks are hard to find and are expensive when you find them. They really hold their value because of the reliabilty. But then they are not like driving an S class. Of course, I would not haul my Christmas tree to the dump in my S class either.

Mike5215

The key to building a reliable car is to ask little of it.

Asian cars (and I've owned a ton of them) are at their core simple, efficient, carefully assembled transportation appliances.

hyperion667

town picks our tree's up from the side of the road are you in a rural area?

vantage78

C class or GLK in my neck of the woods. Took my car in for service (what's up with the W221 bottom seat heater crapping out?) last Friday, got a new, 800 miles, W205 C300 4Matic as a loaner. Off topic, but here are my impressions (yes, I know it's not fair to compare to a W221):

1) Ride - Very bouncy, even in comfort, compared to the W221; spoiled by airmatic and/or a long wheelbase. It does, however, soak up bumps with a solid thunk, perhaps in part to the 17" wheels.

2) Power - Turbo 4 is the little engine that could. Great response and more than adequate pickup; it's no bi-turbo V8, but it's a peppy little one. No wonder Merc is dominating F1 with their turbo tech. Only down side is, the engine note isn't too pleasant, and it's definitely heard in the cabin even at civil throttle levels.

3) Looks - Baby S-class on the exterior (a good thing). On the inside, it has similar accouterments to a W222, even down to the cabin fragrance device. The pano roof, however, looks a bit odd in a car this small.

4) Fit/finish/comfort - Rear seat legroom got increased and it shows. Soft touch plastic, cabin is definitely more upscale than the W204. A lot more noise (road/wind) entering the cabin, but again, not fair to compare to the W221 with it's acoustic glass/increased sound deadening.

5) Toys - Backup camera resolution is amazing; so clear, like watching HD vs SD compared to the W221. Standalone center display is nice and clear too, but the interface is noticeably slower than the W221. Don't get me started on the "trendy" standalone look; horrid. Touch pad is neat, but I prefer the dial. Std. audio sound is insanely bad. Bluetooth audio streaming is perfect. Auto start/stop is impressive; noticeable, but nothing to really get in the way. Collision prevention assist plus standard!

6) Braking/handling - Great pedal response, very direct and not as mushy as the W221. Handling fits the small car, zippy. Steering feel is a bit isolated, but that's probably a given for a MB non-AMG sedan.

lganski

Here all the time I thought the W221 was a higher quality car. I figured they worked out all the issues discovered in the W220. Perhaps you are right in that there are many more DIYers that own the W220. I was thinking about upgrading to a W221 for a bunch of reasons but may delay that move for a while. As far as the C Class there is no comparison to the S Class. I owned two of them before getting my S Class. I tend to put a lot of miles on all of my cars, in excess of 250k, and the key to success is taking care of them. My S Class currently has 258k and is running strong and expect to go well over 300k. I do expect the normal things to ware out like the twirlie things on the front of the motor and brakes. I was reading through the threads to see what year had the least number of problems but you are right, no one is working on their W221.


Perhaps the W221 owners would post what they took their cars in for and let us know what was fixed. That would be very helpful. The key to the success of these forums is sharing. Not just how do I reset my service indicator.

Mike5215

Finally! Someone with mechanical expertise on the forum. I've been having major problems with the twirlie things. Also my steering wheel be-bops are acting wobbly

Mercedes doesn't learn much from the issues plaguing the outgoing model, and even if they do, they add so much cutting edge stuff to the incoming model that the learning curve starts anew.

It's good that you're at 250k and expect to go to 300. Back when I was in my 30's I expected my wife to stay thin and still allow occasional access to the butt, but you know, things change.

Nuru

The part came in on December 29th. The reason it took so long apparently was that my interior is 274A, and since that is a special order color, it took way longer to get the belts made????. So it was installed and all is well. Car had a nice rest LOL!.