Marshall_K

Why did the S-class depreciate so rapidly? I'm seeing hi 30's for CPO - '04's.
started to do some research and ran across this on wikipedia --

The W220 S-Class also became known for a shift in reliability ratings from the S-Class' previously high-ranked position. Consumer Reports classified the W220 model's reliability as "poor," its lowest rating, and declared it one of the "least reliable luxury cars."[4] Build quality, however, was generally considered to be good. For instance, Forbes described the W220 S500 as "built remarkably well." [5] Early W220s were recalled for issues with the trunk spring and the hydraulic fuel line; there were no recalls for the 2005 or 2006 model years. Issues with the W220 electronics systems and other features are considerations in used models.

--
Are these still great cars or what?

my06clk

Surprised?

ALL Cars depreciate a LOT it had nothing to do with how reliable they are.. Fact is, they are many many folks in denial over the truth that not a single vehicle in production anywhere could or should be considered an investment.Mercedes cars included.

Yes these are still some of the greatest cars on earth. That doesn't make them hold any more value than the top of the line car of any other brand.
Take Cadillacs for example. 50% in the first year. At least its taking the S class 2.5 years or so to get to 50% of original value and that's a lot easier to swallow from 80K versus 56K.

Market saturation / supply and demand still takes its toll on these cars..

They are a popular Lease so you have to consider the fact that sooner or later all of those lease returns are going to show back up in the market place as pre-owned.. This is where the trouble starts.. How do you move a second luxury vehicle when the majority of customers that look for second hand vehicles in this country tend to shy away from high end luxury?? YOU make it an attractive purchase by lowering the price and attractive warranty packages.Didn't we learn anything from Wal-Mart?

Then this trend just gets worse and worse as this cycle continues to envelope from year to year.

If you want to point the finger at someone, Banks and leasing companies first, then to yourself the average consumer. Banks make a ton of money from lease return/resales often time financing cars above their true market value twice before the financial life cycle fizzles out. Consumers readily agree pay premium prices for these cars especially Mercedes cars because of gimmicks like CPO, The feeling of achieving some kind of notable social status, and becoming afraid of cars that are priced at their true wholesale value because of their reliability reputation as you mentioned above.

The W220 body has been available in this country since 2000. Thats seven years of brand recycling on the secondary market which is a feat that can't be shared by many brands especially given the fact that 04 - 06 w220's are pretty easy sells at most dealerships, and the latter still can be leased.

The good news is, there has never been a better time to buy a preowned S-Class. but if you are looking for an it to be worth anything near what you paid for it if you pay top retail, well it's time to wake up or else you're going to miss your flight.

Thats my commentary for this Sunday morning... GO BROWNS!!!!

Skylaw

First, I agree with my06clk's observations, except for the Go Browns part.

I'm a little puzzled by the citation you quoted; if there ever was a trunk spring recall, it would have had to be very early on, and hasn't been a problem for years. Perhaps the automatic trunk closer?

Second, there is no such thing as an "hydraulic fuel line." I'm not aware of fuel line problems; most matters dealing with hydraulics would deal with brakes (no problems in the production cars despite an initial design oversight found in pre-production testing of the W220) - or they would deal with the optional Active Body Control system.

The Airmatic system - which is pneumatic, not hydraulic - has been problematic. Electronics problems were indeed worse in early models, but they have improved. Quality has increased annually, as could be expected in any completely new design; especially in the '03 and later versions. The '05 and '06 are quite reliable. Quality continued to increase with the '07 W221, a different design from the W220, culminating it it topping the JD Power Initial Quality Survey in the luxury class for '07 - beating Lexus and all others. However, the reliability of the '05 and '06 W220s is not far from the W221, according to what I read.