This is my first MB a 2003 S600 wow I actually got a lot for the money as far as performance and luxury no other cars compare. The stereotype about these kinds of cars is repeated over and over about the maintenance will be monstrous to deal with well I figured MB isnt in the business of building crap cars so I wont let the maintenance detour me oops!
Well when I cut the a/c on hot air blowed. I took it back and of course they recharged the system only to leak two weeks later. I love that this car has rear power seats wow! you dont see them features in every car but damnitt they dont work neither does the rear cooled seating.

Moving on I didnt feel a need to get down on my knees to examine under car since were in the 2000 era and oil leaks are not common but damn she is a leakin and mobil 1 at that! Last but not least within two weeks of ownership I hear a rattling around 1800-2000 rpm right at the shift points and that doesnt sound good. I figure it must be maybe the torque convertor since this thing puts out near 600ftlbs and I feel the vibration in the gear selector. I took it to the dealer and they said its in the engine of course and that itll be around 6hrs diagnostic time and a new engine will be 30,000 dollars. Well at least they give a free rental maybe I should keep the car in the shop forever. can anyone make sense of this? plus the car has 95000 miles also and a washer resovoir leak.
help please?

 

When you bought it, did you get a pre-purchase inspection?

 

nope didnt know about it.

 

Ouch. These aren't the cars to just buy and ask questions later. especially the 600. Are you savvy at all with cars? Most jobs aren't that hard. I'd plan on going through and doing a full tune up on the engine. Plugs, air filter, fuel filter, and repair any leaks. Take the car to a mechanic and have him hook his machine and pull a vacuum on the AC system. That'll find where the leak is so you can get that solved and in order.


As for the rattling, a torque converter won't really "rattle." Is it shifting okay? Is it slipping any? Is the Check engine light on?

The rattling sounds like a catalytic converter going out. One of my secondary cats started doing the same rattle as you described. I had an exhaust shop just remove the secondary cats and install a straight pipe in place of it. I don't have emissions testing here in my state, and there is no oxygen sensor after those cats. The car knows no different, and it's just as quiet as before with no more rattle.

The dealer is already pulling the "it needs a new engine" line? I find that hard to believe with not even 100k miles on her yet. You need to describe this noise better, or better yet make a video of it and throw it on youtube or something. It could be something on the belt, it could be the AC compressor, it could be a loose heatshield, a bad cat, broken exhaust brackets, etc. Generally engine noise would be described with words like knock, ping, tick, etc.

Getting the engine caught up to where it needs to be won't be a massive task really. You'll be spending most of your time on the suspension. But replacing everything that needs replacing with OE part's will last. You have to keep in mind those parts probably lived a hard life for seven years and nearly 100k. People are always complaining how troublesome airmatic is, but these cars are getting old now. Go buy a new Explorer and bet me money you'll have to be replacing suspension parts before 10 years/100k. The only difference with that is you can keep driving it with worn out parts. An airmatic equipped car....not so much.

And the ride quality is totally worth it. You try find a car that has a better balance of handling and control, combined with utter smoothness for under a MSRP of 150k from 2003. Not going to happen.

Good luck buddy! I hope you can enjoy your w220 as much as I do mine. Hopfully you can get everything sorted out. Two turbochargers and 12 cylinders sound like a symphony at wide open throttle!

 

good post there, with the exception of his car having ABC not airmatic.

 

sounds like the dealer is trying to take you for a ride. sounds like the car still drives fine if you can deal with a little leaking/refilling and minus a few power convenience items...

I would just keep topping off the fluid and drive it till the wheels fall off instead of putting it in the shop every week

 

Ouch...

Rule #1 of buying a W220 always get a PPI (preferably from a dealer with these complex machines) and a warranty whenever possible. If you can't run away very fast.

 

I would agree if it was some stamped off the line rubbish Caddie or something, but this one of the most exclusive and finest cars shy of going with a Maybach or Bentley. I can understand not having the sheer amount of funds to have everything fixed at once though. It can be tough. Hell, I'm 20 and a full time college student. It's always a constant task to budget wisely. I was fortunate to buy a MB dealer inspected and approved car that had been one owner, bought new, and maintained all at that very same dealership. I have still had to do a couple of things in the past year of ownership though. Most notably replacing the right front airmatic strut. A painless job more or less.

The first thing I would attend to is that oil leak. Go buy a pair of those ~$30 12,000 lb capacity car ramps, toss em' in the trunk, and go to the carwash with a pocket full of quarters. Remove that fiberglass front skid plate that's under the engine oil pan. (4 bolts, super easy to remove) and get under there with the wand and blast everything clean. Spray out the engine bay as well. Don't bother using the "tire and engine degrease" setting. It comes out at a low pressure, and I wouldn't want to get that stuff on my paint. Just use the high pressure soap and go to town.

Take care not to spray electronic parts at full blast. Just try to get everything clean under there so you can make a accurate diagnosis of where the oil is leaking from. You never know, it could be as simple as a turbo drain gasket leaking, or a valve cover gasket, for example. Worst case scenario would be if it is the rear crankshaft seal. That would require removal of the transmission to replace. Still not the end of the world though.

Just take it one step at a time man. And like aforementioned, if you're savvy at working on cars, you'll have a amazing feeling inside knowing you repaired/mantain a $130,000+ automobile.

Thanks Oilver! Whoops, forgot the 600 Comes standard with ABC.

 

You guys are the best this forum is way more helpful than with my other cars thanks for the support. I got the car back from the dealer today and yes its making like a knocking sound very light though but only above 1800-2000rpm in park now oh whoa-as-me. bad enough the back seats dont move A/C leaks and oil leaks well Ill keep you guys informed and is it simple to change my own oil cause hell there aint no dipstick any help appreciated p.s. car drives beautiful especially after driving a rental 300.

 

+1 on checking the catalytic converters for the rattle. It's a different car, but my wife's E430 was doing the same thing, and dealer tried the same thing with me, possible new engine yadda yadda. I took it to another dealer in town and the SA immediately says 'I bet it's cats, we had a bad run of them.' They inspected and bingo it was the cats and they replaced them under warranty on emissions, boom, done. NO CHARGE! Mine had the same symptoms, rattling sound almost like a rod knock, but it was actually pieces of catalytic converter that had broken off and were rattling around inside the pipes at low RPM.

I hope that is what's wrong for you as well.

Regards

 

except that his car exceeds the 80k mile warranty, and while not 30k, cats for a 600 are in no way cheap.

 

Well could be. I would still check it out because my SA said this morning that all MBs come with 100,000 miles on cats, he could be wrong, but if so, find one in your area who is as wrong as he is and you're fine

 

The car just died today no warning whatsoever just a lot of noise then it kaput and didnt start back up aw hell naw!

 

Yikes - any oil left in it? Doesn't sound promising that's for sure. Crossing fingers it's something simple.

 

not good... a lot of noise under the hood? bent valves? coolant intermix due to blown head gasket?

nobody on the forum can tell you what the problem is, unfortunately.

not good...

the first thing I do when considering an expensive car is at least a pre-purchase inspection with cylinder compression tests.

good luck.

 

abandon ship

 

Did you get your mercedes fixed?

A guy tried to sell me a 2003 mercedes s600 on ebay around that time (blk/blk) with about 95k miles. I won it for $15k which was a great deal. When I met him in Atlanta (he was from FL), the car was a total POS. The inside stank, and the ABC light was on. I didn't buy the car, and drove all the way back to NC. I just hope that was not the car you got.

Even though the S600 is usually owned by a more affluent crown, someone can still tear them all to hell. Be careful!

 

Is this shiit for real?

If it is make sure it is fully insured and burn the ***** to the ground somewhere remote and report it stolen.

Not the smartest idea, but neither is buying a car without even a glance at the mechanicals, especially considering you admittedly knesit was expensive to maintain.

In would say GL, but you are way beyond that.

 

Yikes, like I have said before, I wouldn't own one of these without a warranty, let alone buy one without a PPI. That being said, there are a few things you can look into? Have a MB dealer run the VIN and see what kind of repair/maintenance history it has. Then you'll get a better idea about the car and if there were things done or NOT done as shown by the service orders. Run a carfax and see what kind of history it shows, any accidents etc. If you purchased it from a dealer, and he purchased it from an auction, the car might have been sold with "announcements" like prior damage history, frame damage, paint work, some are sold with a guarantee that the car is sound and front-line ready and some are sold AS-IS and a red light, meaning the car as significant issues. If a dealer purchased the car "knowing" it had issues and those issues were not disclosed to you, then Federal Laws have been violated, and you should have some recourse, but of course, you'll have to either sue or threaten to sue and see what happens, Might inquire with State or District Attorney and see if they can/will help you once you do some leg work. A new engine is $30K, but I see them on ebay with LOW LOW miles for under $10K and have seen some for under $5K and they all have some kind of guarantee to be in good running condition etc. Good Luck

 

 

Was that a shot? cause it sure seemed like it.
I expected the MAINTENANCE to cost more than normal but not to purchase a vehicle and within two weeks to have a major catastrophe it wasnt the car it was the previous owner or dealer to hold liable so yesterday I retained a lawyer to handle the case and no I didnt buy this car off Ebay and it was maintained by a local Mercedes tri-star dealership.

 

if it was a shot it was well-deserved...

what a great thread.

 

you bought a 7 year old car with 95000 miles. Prepurchase inspection is essential unless you get a full warranty.

Im guessing you bought an as-is sale, so you must accept that anything which goes wrong youll be paying for. A few states have limited return windows for cars purchased from dealers, the lawyer will tell you if they apply to you

let us know what happens

 

it wasnt as is sale and you cannot determine pre-engine failure by an inspection when it starts tapping or knocking its over.

 

And you should be shot right in the face...