Hey all. We have a 3rd on the way and while my wife's never been particularly in love with her 6 liter Saab SUV (heathen) now she wants a 3rd row.

So I find myself considering the R class... Particularly an R500, for the torque if nothing else. Are these things unredeemable piles of crap that will be broken every other week, or are they not quite as bad as the internet rep might have me believe? Guide me. My E55's been very solid even with 110k on the clock... Only one air strut failure, so I'm thinking a second Merc might be nice but without the GL tax.

Thoughts? Thanks.

 

Crickets in here - this a taboo question or is there no good answer?

 

My wife loves her R500 and won't get rid of it. It will be expensive to maintain if you have to take it to the shop.


There are lots of threads on here about these cars. The R500 appears to be the better vehicle in terms of *issues* compared to the R350 if you are talking early years. The newer models seem to be better, but I don't think they make the R500 past 2007.


Things that you need to check out (R500).
- Get the VIN # and see if it is affected by the sprocket issue. The earlier models had an issue.
- The control body for the transmission WILL fail. If it hasn't been replaced its a $2500 repair out of warranty.
-The air-springs let go like any suspension item. The rears are $400 for the pair and very easy to replace. The fronts are about $650 rebuilt and require more skills. If you ignore the air leak and drive the car to save a few $, it will cost you dearly in a new compressor and control block.
- Rear door latch fails. $400 for the dealer to replace it
- It take 9 Qts of oil!
- The transmission oil service is $300-400 and should be done at about 60K
- The differentials and transfer case need service contrary to the lifetime sticker in the book. The first time you change that oil you know why. The gear oils come to $140 from the dealer. You can opt for parts place oil, but the diff is about $3K to replace and the transfer case is about $4.5K to replace. You have to figure out if saving about $50 is worth it.
- Brakes wear well but are expensive to replace. if you can do it yourself, about $100/wheel. If not you are looking at $1200 for all 4.
- Replacing spark plugs is $500 at the dealer and looks to be a bugger because there is no room
- Lots of people report the leak with the steering reservoir. Its like a $5 part, the dealer will soak you for the repair.


That's the meat of it

 

Thanks Starbound, tons of good information... I'm going to talk to my Mercedes mechanic and get his thoughts and then see about getting my wife a test drive. Thanks for all the detail to look into!

 

Sorry for the double post; if I find an R500 (preferably a 2007 but just from market availability it looks like there are far fewer made in '07 - need to find production numbers to back this up?) does anyone know a source for an extended warranty on these?

None for sale through Carmax who is usually the one to hit up for hilariously trouble-prone cars, but they have their own markup too... If I can find one and drop a Chrysler or other warranty on it that would put my mind at ease.

Last (and unrelated) question: Would you guys go with a GL450 instead? Thanks.

 

I doubt you can find any extended warranty for a 2007. Normally, you need to buy extended warranty before the original factory warranty expired.

If you can afford it, I would go for a newer (2010 or newer) R-class. More reliable and also you can find extended warranty for it. If you really want an older one, it is ok if you have a good independent mechanic.

Between R vs. GL, R drives nicer but doesn't look as nice. If you need more than 4 seats, I would consider GL. Otherwise, R is a good alternative and most likely cheaper too.

 

You're right, the V8 R Class for the USA was killed after 2007.

Despite supernsx's recommendation to go for the GL if carrying over 4 passengers, I prefer the R-Class to the GL in the interior space department. Despite being built on the same platform, the R has more third row legroom than the GL (but the R has a slightly smaller trunk than the GL as a result). The second row seats on the R also have more flexibility in fore-aft and reclining movement when compared to the GL which only can recline to a lesser extent than the R.

I was able to get an extended warranty on my 07 R purchased in 2012, after the factory warranty has expired through Fidelity in Oregon. They've paid out more than the warranty has cost but I don't find the car to be overwhelmingly unreliable. Just small things to wrong here and there.

A note is that the Transmission Valve Body that always breaks is about a $2,700 repair and it is a DEALER ONLY service item. Unfortunately, the independent shop won't be able to help you out with that one.

 

I think they sold an R550 in Canada in 2008.

I bought my 2007 R500 about a year and a half ago with 53k on it. I think the R500 and R63 are the best deals of any Luxo SUV. The 5 Liter has great useable power and the R63 is a real monster. Can anyone confirm how rare the R63 actually is? I think it's being traded at a bargain basement price if you can find one. Critics state the R handles better than any other SUV in class and is by far the most comfortable on long drives.

Since I bought mine I replaced the rear air suspension springs with Arnotts, all four brakes, oil, filters, steering reservoir seal, and survived a nasty accident in the car. If you're at all mechanical, this maintenance is as easy or easier than any other car. I didn't find the parts any more expensive than other large German cars.

Spark plugs, trans and diff fluids are necessary evils applicable to all Merc.s, specifically all 4Matics. No, the R is not unreliable, there just aren't many made, many after market parts, or good documentation about it. So this forum gets more questions between owners.

 

So true, especially if your R has airmatic. I test drove a bunch of newer SUV's to replace my R500 including Cayenne, X5, Q7, X3, ML, GL, etc. and only SUV's I felt are better handling than the R-class are Porsche Macan (what I am getting) and Infiniti QX (use to be FX35/FX50).

 

The R is no different from ANY other euro SUV, be it Touareg, Q7, Cayenne, X5, etc. They are all expensive to fix at the dealer, and generally misunderstood by a good majority of mechanics in terms of replace parts to fix vs actually fixing it and being preventative about it. It is not a Honda, but it is also so much more then that. It is way more vehicle then a Trailblazer and probably more reliable (what the Saab 9-7X is).
Parts are expensive and VERY hard to find-very few things are offered aftermarket, especially the parts that are not shared with the ML/GL.
I have owned my 2008 diesel for 3 years/50k miles, love it and cost me very little to date-rear air bags and one rear shock. The air suspension problems are not unique to the R class, infact all SUVs with air suspension from Lincoln to VW have the same issues, Arnott makes very affordable parts to fix them.
Getting a quality warranty on something this old is unlikely, the terms will not pay out for proper dealership repairs you will certainly go over the covered amount if something serious goes wrong (I remember something around $3k is the limit for most warranties on older vehicles).
If you really want one, take your time and find the "right" one, I looked at dozens in a 500 mile radius, most were scrap metal in my opinion even star certified ones had serious crash damage and neglect showing, leased vehicles are not usually well cared for and it shows vs one that was owned outright. After 8 months of intensive searching I got lucky...
Be sure to research the old brochures posted online and understand all the options available, approx. $25k worth (half the msrp). The Airmatic is worth fixing, it is that good to have some adjustment for shock settings and extra height when needed.

 

108 sold in the US.

 

Thanks for all the input guys. Ended up buying a 2010 GL550 with 3 years of CPO.

 

Smart move and it is a better car than the R500.