bWo

I'm getting closer to buying myself a 2010+ S550 and i just wanted to know if you guys have any tips for what i should look out for. My dad has an 02 S600 and it is a pain in the *** so i'm no stranger to mercedes. Are there any concerns i should look out for? I'd prefer it in white but will settle for black if i have to.

bWo

by 2010+ i mean 2010-2013

wilassasin

Hey good luck with your search, just make sure that you factor in extended warranty cost with the purchase.

DaveW68

If your dad had a 2003+, he'd be a lot happier. Those old NA V12's were trouble.

Mike5215

There are a ton of your basic S550, AMG sport package, Pano roof cars out there. Diamond white is a popular color but it's usually paired with the Savannah (tan) interior, which personally I don't care for but you may be okay with.

Performance wise, the 12+ would be nice (TTV8).

Rare options that would make a car especially attractive would be:

ABC (automatic body control)
Bang & Olfsen Audio
Rear seat package

Good luck!

kompressede

^ I agree, I'll pass on the lighter interior. I have a w211, with a tan interior and it's a pita to keep clean. We'll see, I'm causally looking.
I'm leaning towards a 12' also. (CPO)

bWo

Thanks for the help guys. I agree that the dark interior is much better. I'm actually looking at a black 2010 s550 for about 45k and a white 2013 for 70k

wilassasin

The designo selection packages and regular two tone interior are all worth looking into if you actually want to set your car apart from all the others.

Mike5215

The only Designo interior I really like is the Porcelin (off white seats and upper dash/console, black everywhere else.) Then you get the lightness without dealing with trying to keep a light colored carpet and trim clean. The others are just weird looking too me.

bzliteyear

I'm looking also for 2010+, but seeing a big different in price w/ 2009.
Is there that much different other than exterior cosmetics as the inside looks similar?
Thx in advance.
Patrick

Mike5215

Yeah, the 2010 was a major facelift. A lot of stuff that required a P2 Package or higher in the 07-09 like the massage seats, Parktronic, back up cam, IPod integration, came standard in the P1 on a 2010. It also got paddle shifters, aluminum pedals, tri color ambient lighting, contourable headrests, active seats.

In 2011 the Drivers Assist package became standard, and then in 2012 it got the twin turbo V8 as well. It's possible to find a 2009 with a lot of the stuff that was in the basic 2010, but those were the key upgrades you'd want to look for.

alx

Do not buy an abc car. You can thank me later

Rear seat package and heated steering are the only extras that matter

Mike5215

I live in Florida so no heated wheel needed. ABC may be less desirable from a repair standpoint but it does enhance ride and handling. Keeps the car from bobbing around, pitching and rolling like an AirMatic car. It's very rare to see an S550 with it so it's probably a moot point but I have seen them.

I buy CPO and I'm out before the warranty ends so repair costs vs Airmatic wouldn't matter to me. Rear seat package is very cool, especially combined with the entertainment system.

wilassasin

It's funny you ask but I'll put it in a way that is easy to understand, always buy the newest model you can afford. Many times people who are not that familiar with certain model cars don't notice certain updates visually until they purchase the car then realize, oh sheeeet I f'kd up. Trust me the sclass pre-facelift is a gorgeous car but if you can afford the 10+, buy it and dont look back.

wilassasin

Some designo pics:

Prochambers

The Designo interior is awesome!!!

Mike5215

They look cool because they're so different. Would I ever buy an S with any of those interiors? Probably not.

wilassasin

The one thing I will say about the BMW 7 series is that they had more interior color options light grey, black, oyster, tan, natural brown, blue , black\tan two tone and that's not even including the individual line of colors. Mercedes s class offers more colors as well but they are very very rare to find. Almost seems like Black, Tan and two tone were the only interiors for the 221 because that's all you see. If I had ordered my car I would have definitely ordered a designo color. The w222's will be a bit different as they already show vast differences in interiors.

Nuru

One of the reasons I bought my car is that it had an interior that was rare and very hard to find. My car is black exterior with a dark brown single tone interior.

Wolfman

Blame the dealers. Sometimes I ask myself what goes through their head when they select the color/option packages for cars on their lots.

sfcparker09

Hey if you live in Florida that have good deals at the Benz dealerships. I live in MD and brought a 2009 s550 4matic with p2 package for 36k back in January it only had 30k miles on it. I went to Pompano beach Benz and they shipped to me.

wilassasin

I agree, but honestly I did find the color I wanted because I was looking for black interior either standard or premium leather. After a lil over 2yrs of ownership I'm still pleased with my decision.

Mike5215

Yeah, South Florida with all the Snowbirds usually has a ton of clean low mileage cars. Second would be the west coast around Sarasota. I bought a flawless 2004 S430 in Daytona Beach in 2012 that had 34k original miles for $23k. Nothing ever comes up in Gainesville so I always have to travel to get my cars.