Our local dealer picked up our EQS 580 SUV for a PA inspection due the end of September and gave us a 2023 EQS 450 4MATIC SUV loaner. It was interesting driving this model and comparing it to our 580.

A few observations:

• The 450 felt lighter on its feet for some reason, it weights about the same as our 580
• The power was good but our 580 has a lot more punch when passing
• While the smaller center display is good and does the job, it just looked cheaper and more economy class than our 580's Hyperscreen
• The 450 came with a Hepa filtration system which our 580 does not have, we liked that option
• The 450 was Polar White which I thought I would like but after seeing both, I prefer our Obsidian Black metallic 580 (never thought I'd like a black car over a white car)

On another note, one of our back tires had a cut in it and wouldn't pass inspection so rather than buy one new tire, I had them install 4 new all season Pirelli's - cost: $2,300. The original tires were the summer tires and they were wearing very quickly. I would have never ordered it with those tires or staggered had we ordered the car. And we would have optioned the Hepa filtration system. Maybe next time.

 

I have the EQS 450 4Matic SUV and after living with center screen for 10 months I have decided it's acceptable. It's the cockpit screen that cheapens the dashboard design. I think a shroud over the top edge of the cockpit screen like MB uses on some of its ICE cars would go a long way to improving the appearance.

The HEPA filter was included on my 450. I would have not optioned this had I ordered the car. But after seeing how well it handled the Canadian forest fire smoke, I would definitely order it again.

Polar White is a little too close to refrigerator white. I think the Diamond White Metallic on my SUV looks better, but it's not worth the $1750 premium. I would probably get silver on an ordered car. When my grandson was 3-years old he told me all Mercedes cars should be silver.

I am at 20K miles on my non-staggered Goodyear Eagle Touring A/S RunOnFlat 21" tires. Now that I have the 20" tires ready to install, I think I can push the Goodyear tires to 22K miles before Winter arrives. If I had rotated the tires more often I think I could have reached 25K to 28K miles. I hope to find a home for my 21": wheels with a couple of EQS SUV owners who want to convert from staggered to non-staggered wheels. I tried the non-RunFlat 20" tires for a hundred miles and they noticeably improve the ride quality compared to the 21" RunFlat tires.

Between the plummeting values of 1-year old EQS vehicles, the potential chaos around the CCS to NACS migration, and the regular occurrence of Malfunction and Do not Tow messages I am having a bit of buyer's remorse. I am no longer encouraging my family or friends to get an EV. However, I expect to drive the EQS SUV for at least 100K miles with the hopes that MB will get the software bugs under control and that a NACS adapter will make road tripping less stressful. I am planning another Cross-Country trip through the Northern States. It's amazing how many Tesla Superchargers are available in the Dakotas compared to EA locations. A NACS adapter for the installed base of EQS vehicles with CCS ports is desperately needed.

 

You are correct about the dropping values. The dealership has a loaded 2023 EQS SUV (MSRP $145K) that I expressed some interest in, and before any negotiations, they offered $16K off. They just aren't moving them like MB had hoped. The fact is, they are overly expensive and I wonder if the MSRP's will be lowered for the coming model years?

 

You should check the build date of the vehicle (I believe it is on the driver side label) since it may be one that got stuck on the lot. At least speaking for myself if I am getting a >100k car, I will want to make sure it has everything I want and the color I want etc so I will not get something from the inventory if it doesn't have the options I want especially if it is the same price anyway. Some of the configurations available on inventory in Seattle were just weird combinations so I am not surprised they didn't sell for a long time. There were some without heated steering wheel for example or without winter package.

It is when they start offering discounts on custom orders, you know sales are not going well. That wasn't the case in Seattle area in June, the offers I got were the usual 7500$ lease offer and 4.5k partner company offer, but not sure how things are now. I assume with 2024's on the way, the 23's on the lot will start get large discounts now but selection got limited it looks like.

 

Plenty of inventory in central PA:

MB of Lancaster has a 10 EQ's in stock, 8 of which are EQS or EQE SUV's.

MB of Reading has 29 EQ's in stock, 13 of which are EQS or EQE SUV's

EQ's do not appear to be selling as well as MB would have hoped.

 

It will be interesting to see how MB spins the likely year over year drop in unit sales of EQS Sedan/SUV between 2023 and 2024 calendar years.

 

Other than the Taycan, most EV's seem to be sitting at my local dealer lots regardless of make and model. iX's, Mach-E's, etc are all easy to find and should be discounted.

 

Spoke with my salesman in RI the other day. Said I was the last EQS sedan he has sold (that was in early December). Not sure about dealership overall, but he also said the they sold off several SUV’s to other dealers because of lack of interest. I saw one EQ on the lot. Said other than initial interest, no one is looking to buy an electric Mercedes. Said cost was major deterrent.

 

The Taycan 4CT I traded for the EQS SUV last October sat on the lot for six months. Over that time the dealer reduced the asking price by $20K from the price at which it was initially offered. I don't think that Taycans are immune from the downward spiral of used EV prices.

 

Interesting, I know the Cross Turismos are a harder sell. The initial popularity of the Taycan has definitely gone down, but on the west coast at least Taycans are still probably one of the most desirable non Tesla EV’s. But yes, EV depreciation will definitely be real, best to take advantage of the lease deals.

 

I was speaking to the owner of an EQS AMG sedan at the EA station while I was charging my GV60, and asked him how he liked it. He said it was just OK. When pressed, he said it was way too much money for what he got.

 

I have no buyers remorse with our EQS 580 SUV. It is the best vehicle we've ever owned (so far) and we will not be going back to an ICE vehicle. The market will of course dictate MSRP and resale values moving forward. Early adopters are paying the freight as usual but isn't that normally how it goes with new technology? From the first time I learned the MSRP pricing for the EQS SUV, I thought it was over-priced but I wanted an EV built by MB and was willing to pay up. I'm not crying about it now, I knew the waters were going to be deep.

 

Joe, You took the words right out of my mouth! 😊

 

There is a whole thread on Rennlist about dropping Taycan prices.

 

With the Tesla X price cut announced today, I am wondering if MY24 of EQS will have price cuts and chances of the car being more valued then lease buyout is getting pretty much to zero now.

 

Wow, they really dropped the price a bunch. A base model now qualifies for the $7,500 federal tax credit. Current Model X owners are going to take a gut punch on resale value. Looks like the entire EV market needs to adjust and us early adopters may be taking a bath. Regardless, I love our EQS 580 SUV and you couldn't give me two Model X's for it.

 

I wouldn't touch Tesla stock with a 10' pole but I do find their "ecosystem" attractive. Not just the charging network but their FSD software and other products like insurance too. It's kind of like the difference between an Apple and Samsung phone. Elon just got unlucky that the pandemic hit while he was in the middle of building all his "giga"factories. When the supply/demand imbalance rectifies itself the last couple years of inflation have to make prices go back up. They can't let their profit margins continue to shrink forever. This might be the bottom for Tesla EV prices actually if you ask me. I'm waiting for the Model Y refresh though personally.

 

I am not a big fan of them not supporting Android Auto actually. Their FSD software is really the only thing that would make me consider a Tesla but unfortunately Model X's falcon doors (not suitable for our garage) and Musk's recent behaviors negates that. Also EQS does a really good job of handling long drives on most roads automatically, if I need to monitor the car anyway I may as well drive it from time to time not to get so bored and lose attention

I have to give credit where its due for their charger network though. When combined with EA chargers it will actually mean there are chargers every 50 miles or so around us in interstates and many state highways.

 

from what I’ve heard, FSD is false advertising and the system isn’t much more capable or competent then the MB system, though I’ve never used autopilot so I can’t say for sure

 

Few of my friends have FSD and what you heard is false. People sometimes confuse Tesla's autopilot (which is what we have in MB) and their FSD. While "full self driving" statement is absolutely false advertising as you are still required to monitor constantly and Tesla takes no liability, its capabilities under FSD feature far exceed what EQS 580 can do in US. Tesla FSD can take turns based on navigation, stop at traffic light, stop signs so on but it can also fail unexpectedly thus the false advertising part. To be honest I am actually really surprised that MB doesn't handle stop signs in US while our Mazda CX5 can recognize and slow down. With the sensors MB has, I would have expected it to react to stop signs and red traffic lights.

Interestingly when it comes to regulations MB is further ahead because they got level 3 approval in California which Tesla wasn't able to get it looks like. I believe their camera-only based system will be a hinder for future because the regulatory expectation is for self-driving cars to make no costly mistake at all unlike human drivers which is where radar/lidar comes in to picture because they will always let you know if you are about to hit something unlike cameras.