Joe0820

Hi Everyone

Been enjoying the forum for some time now and am in the middle of mercedesbenzs55 saga as I write this (wow). Contemplating 2007-09 S550 and have spent countless hours here educating myself. Would not be a DD, I'm fairly skilled/fearless with a wrench and figure 5k repair fund would be reasonable?

Couple things a could not find any threads referencing. I'm thinking if I buy a well maintained, high mileage example in the 15-16k range what's the worst that could happen? Say engine or trans takes a dump. Isn't this car worth 10k in parts even without one or both of those?

I'm also a bit surprised about the seemingly overwhelming opinion here that warranty coverage is an absolute must with these cars. Insurance companies are not dumb and wouldn't charge less than the average payouts. Wouldn't a well documented car be much more likely to not benefit from having coverage? Especially would love to hear Mike5215's opinion on this as he seems quite knowledgeable and has experience in insurance industry.

Thanks in advance. Back to mercedesbenzs55!

MJ50

moved to W221 forum...

superpop

Odds are you would be fine if you have experience with a wrench. You should buy the one that mercedesbenzs55 has on Craigslist. Car might be worth 10K in parts but the problem is selling parts and storing the carcass, huge PIA to get some of your money back.

Joe0820

Thanks for the reply. I have the space but probably wouldn't part it myself. If I lose say 8-10k selling as a parts car may be worth the risk. Won't change my life. Just drove one and is soooo tempting. Either that or 2010-11 E class (the smart choice, I know).

I'll keep benz55 in mind!

DaveW68

You better budget a lot more than $5k for potential repairs on a high mileage S550. Depending how much you plan to drive it, you'll probably want to budget $5-8k per year on repairs and maintenance, possibly more with a high mileage car. The 5.5L V8 engine, mechanically speaking, is very solid. The biggest problems seem to be the 7 speed tranny, Airmatic, ancillary components, and electrical gremlins as they age. Once you get up over 80k miles, lots of stuff starts to rear it's ugly head.

IMO, it's a lot smarter to spend say $7k more on a low mileage car & purchase a warranty. You'll be a lot of money ahead over 3+ years if you do, plus you'll have higher resale when that time comes.

Drives550

While I'm a believer in the warranty, if one was going to tend to things DIY that would save a lot of money. Parts are still costly, though jury-rigging is sometimes available if one's ok with that.

I'll add to - I think it's true that they may not cost a lot to keep running, but they cost a lot to keep running correctly. $3k of my repair work has been the active contour seats. Another grand or so on tranny/motor mounts addressing vibrations nobody in the family but me noticed. I was also the only one who noticed the seat bladders emptying out.

End of the day, its a question of risk tolerance I think. The $5k would go a long way toward a catastrophic repair (e.g., tranny); much of the rest could by your own labor and parts.

Joe0820

Thanks Dave. Thoroughly enjoyed your contributions to the benz55 thread!
Mileage would only be around 5k a year which is one of the reasons I'm having a hard time with the insurance. I don't disagree with an insured newer model but can't justify that kind of money for a second car as new employer will provide basic DD. On the other hand I am not interested in 8k+ a year in maintenance on a second car. I may be dreaming but I"m hoping to find one with recent suspension replacement and documented regular tranny service. Going to drive an E350 for the first time for comparison.
Thanks again for the opinion.

Joe0820

Warranty just not realistic for me since I've budgeted myself 25K all in for my new toy, including 5K repair fund if I decide on a potential money pit. It's not that I couldn't cover something more catastrophic but yeah, risk tolerance is what it comes down to. So I'm here trying to determine how risky this is going to be. Spent untold hours on this I'm pretty much right on the fence.

DaveW68

If $25k is your max budget including all future repairs & maintenance, then you probably shouldn't be considering a W221 S-class. You'll likely blow through that in under a year. Your $17k car car could easily cost you $40k+ in just a few years with repairs & maintenance. That's why a low mileage car for say $25k with a $4k warranty makes a lot more financial sense.

Drives550

Honestly, i don't think a late model Mercedes is the brand to get into if you hope to keep to a "max" or "out" point on the budget. S or E. My experience with the German cars, they'll find a way to break something.

You *might* get lucky and get a good one. But if *might* be fine isn't enough comfort, I'd look at something else.

Or explore the scenario Dave has laid out.

Joe0820

No doubt you are both right but she is a seductive mistress. What it comes down to is I'm OK spending 20k on the car if *likely* worst case is 5k fund is gone in 6 months, I sell for a loss of a few thousand and move into something more sensible. I'm fine with that kind of risk. Of course there are no guarantees but am I being realistic?

DaveW68

I wouldn't call an S550 "seductive". It's just a big luxo cruiser that was at the cutting edge of technology when introduced. An Aston Martin DB9 is seductive. Or perhaps Steve McQueen's old Ferrari GTB. Or even an old Jaguar E-type. A C2 Corvette might even fit that distinction. But certainly not a big S-class sedan.

It's very possible you'll blow through your budget in 6 months. I guess it all depends on how long you'd like to reasonably keep the car.

I high mileage S-class is a big risk. Even low mileage cars are subject to high repair costs. Case in point:

https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...ms-thread.html

Drives550

I suppose that is statistically a likely result.

But, that reads like you are you going to sell the car after the 6 months is over. Is that the case?

Or, is the plan to keep it until you hit the $5k mark and then try to get rid of it? (bad plan by the way, Murphy's law being what it is, this is when it will need additional work in order to even sell it, pushing your budget out)

Feels like you want to talk yourself into it (trying not to look beyond 6 months; willing to accept a $5k maintenance bill at $3k in depreciation in a 6 month window; looking for "likely" results). My personal opinion is that these are not the circumstances under which this sort of car should be bought.

If you're willing to spend $1150 a month for 6 months of fun, why not go to swap-a-lease or something and pick up the rest of a lease on an AMG or M car or something. More fun and warrantied.

Joe0820

The 5K in 6 months was not *the plan* just an example of my risk tolerance and my idea of worst case scenario. At that point I'd get out while the getting is good. Definitely plan minimum 2 years of ownership but wouldn't hold on if it proves to be a *bad one*. Admittedly they are few and far between but there are a few happy high-milers out there. I hear what you guys are saying and appreciate the input. I know it's a bad idea any way you look at it but was hoping someone would push me over to the *buy it* side of the fence because yes, I do want to talk myself into it. Thanks for the straight answers, I guess it's back to searching for that '66 Eldorado!

Drives550

Or, cut your car budget in half and double your contingency fund... like maybe a w210 E55. Already mostly depreciated out. From what I've read, some maintenance is expensive but they are pretty mechanically hardy. Or, whatever floats your boat, point being if you want to not spend more than $25k on the car and repairs over the mulit-year ownership period, AND you want a German saloon, give yourself more cushion on the repair bill side.

NaslundStarmine

FYI...did some research on warranties and as a part of it consulted a buddy who is a long time Range Rover owner and a big advocate of extended warranties -- here's the info for his guy:

Hal J. Moses
President
Auto Advantage Inc
3494 Overlook Avenue
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
800-933-9190
hm@autowarranties.com

http://www.bbb.org/new-york-city/bus...-hts-ny-64919/

I looked at a couple options from him but made a decision to go the MB ELW route so did not dig into the details too much, but my buddy said he had used the guy at least twice and was happy with him.

Best I can tell is he is a broker and can source a variety of warranties from a variety of providers, and looks like he has been in business a long time.

Do your own due diligence but there's a heads up on a resource option for after-market warranties.

supercooper188

I have been owning Mercedes for the past 27 years and have not had many problems over that period of time. I just purchased a 2012 S550 with a 3 yr. MB ELW and hopefully I won't have the issues that some of you all have had. I have had about 8 E class vehicles, 1 C, 1 CLS and none of them have had a lot of problems. Several of them were driven over 200k miles, and one of them (93 300E) my father-in-law still has and it has 215k miles.

In my opinion a lot of what you read on these boards are from people that have had issues and problems, but you never hear from the thousands of folks that have very few issues.

In 27 years I have replaced 2 compressors (87 190E 2.6) and a (2004 500E), which cost less than $1k to repair. Had one blown cylinder (93 300E) which cost $650 to repair, and had 1 transmission issue (98 E320) after about 145k miles which cost me about $1700 to repair. My most expensive repair was to the SBC unit on my 2004 E500 which cost me about $2800 at the stealership. Just so happen they said the ECU was bad also. Highest bill I have had in 27 years.

I have also had to replace both front and rear air shocks on my 2004 E500, and also replaced the rear air shocks on my 2009 CLS550. The good thing is Arnott has lifetime warranties (i.e., kind of like getting herpes--once you get it you don't have to worry about getting it again) on the shocks and they are not that expensive compared to the stealership. Other than that it has been normal maintenance.

I wouldn't have bought the S55o if I thought I was going to have a lot of issues. Like I said I have never had an S-Class so I may be in for the shock of my life.