ko123an

I'm looking to purchase a 00-01 S Class for a daily and was wondering how reliable these cars are. Many people have told me not to buy because they will have a lot of problems. I actually did own an 03 E500 that I had to get rid of due to electrical issues but not too sure about the S Class. Can anyone help or share the problems they've had. Oh, and the cars i'm looking at roughly have between 100-125k mileage.

tusabes

Drive mine everyday, 190,000 miles 00 s430

02Drunkenup

Pre-facelifted s classes are notorious for problems, I have had to put down 1-2k for repairs from time to time for various things, rust, air suspension problems, and other small things that I shoulsnt have to worry about for the life of the car. If you're looking at mileage that high it doesn't hurt looking at some 2003 and up models. Also check and compare service records as some tend to be more of a problem than others.

Skylaw

See the W220 S-Class Owners Start Here sticky at the top of this forum; go to post #36, download the pdf, and scroll toward the bottom for assessments of these cars and differences in model years that may be of interest to you.

mobilusa

LIFE IS TOO SHORT NOT TO DRIVE A MERCEDES!

malahhaor

But you don't want to make your life hell by driving a lemon.

ko123an

Thanks for the input guys. I definitely try looking for 03+. Someone threw out to get the 745li instead but I like the S500 better.

malahhaor

Yeah 745 not the best looking BMW. Also electronics on dash and radio are way better designed in Benz. I drove a couple few years ago, not crazy at all. 06 750i is very nice but still has funky dash and radio controls.