spax771

Hello,
I am in the market for a S500L.
How reliable are they?
I have heard all the rumours about build quality going down, but how reliable are the W220s?
I had a E38 BMW 7 series and that was bullet proof, reliable and so very cheap to run.
Thanks
Regards
Frank

Fraser

Welcome to the forum!

Depends on the year, the '00-'02s were notoriously bad but the '03+ cars are generally much more reliable. The later in the model cycle the more reliable.

I suggest the following thread a good place to start if you're unfamiliar with the W220 in general. Lots of great info there!
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...tart-here.html

spax771

Thanks for the message.
I have an 03 car in my sights.
Do you know the main issues and approximate costs to fix?
Thanks
Frank

Fraser

I'm guessing by the 'S500L' designation and location as Buckingham you're in the UK. I've no experience of newer W220 ownership in the UK, just an older '00 and the problems reported on this forum for '00-'02s and '03+ seem to be rather different.

500s have Airmatic as standard and this does seem to be a weakspot for these vehicles. UK prices I don't really know but in the US most Airmatic issues are between a $500 and $2000 fix depending upon the severity of the problem and whether or not you're handy with a spanner and willing to do the work yourself.

spax771

Thanks for the reply. As I work for SPAX (the suspension people that supplied ThrustSSC when it broke the land speed record), replacing shocks or springs will not be an issue. I may need to work out how to extinguish the idiot lights though.

Fraser

, a proud Brit here!

Not sure about the idiot lights, when it comes to the technical stuff I leave that to the dealer, sorry!

spax771

Hello again. I have now seen the car.
It was well looked after until the current owner got it 20 months and 12,000 miles ago. It now has some issues but most worrying are of course the electronic ones:
The battery went flat some weeks ago and on jump starting the engine light went on.
MB dealer traced the fault to a tracker device that they disconnected and reset the fault light.
Engine light is on again now.
ESP malfuntion is quoted as a fault when you turn off.
Card will do it's job fine.
One "key" will open doors, start engine but it turns off straight away.
The other "key" does nothing (but this was after the first one was tried).
Someone has tried to remove the speedo cluster and it has not been replaced properly. Owner claims this must have been MB.
Owner does not know when next service is due. Is there any way of knowing?
Any sound advice would be appreciated.

Fraser

Walk.

The key to getting these cars is to have a good, clean history at the time of purchase. If you're finding these issues and odd (and very basic) questions unanswered what else has been neglected that you'll inherit? The 500s are plentiful enough that you can find another, less worrisome example.

Jud Chapin

I agree. The owner doesn't seem to have definite answers about basic things which is not a good sign. If there is MB warranty remaining, that would be a different story, but I'd want everything right before I'd buy the car. Electronic problems are not something to start out with with such a car.

Quadcammer

I'd say save your money and get an 05/06. They seem to be very solid from what I've seen.

tusabes

how much is it>?

I would pass , you can find an example without all these problems for probably not much more money

220lover

W220s are Tanks. Mercedes really did it right. Of coarse some possible needed repair costs can be costy (eis, airmatic faliure, etc). A well cared for 220 will outlive most other cars by a lot.

spax771

The car's price is OK. It had a winter health check by MB and there is about £2,000 to spend on the car (brakes, tyres and so on).
Air suspension seems perfect, all switches work fine, the car drives well.
It seems to have been a well looked after car, until 12,000 miles ago.