jjustme

Hello, I was thinking of changing to a W220 long wheelbase version later this year and wanted to know which ones to keep an eye out for, like when facelifts were done, and what changed.

Mainly I want to know when they became most reliable, I currently have an '03 W211 and it's already had a few issues and even though simply getting an '06+ facelift W211 would be the obvious solution, I want the extra leg space for the rear in the long wheelbase version of the W220.

Also, which engines to go for, which are most reliable etc.
Maybe someone can post a few good looking (worth looking at) examples that are fully loaded.

Thanks!

cmpcpro

The 2000 S430 is the best year and model.





Well.. maybe not.. Anything 03+ is best. 04+ has a much better Navigation/sound system.

tusabes

The later ones are most reliable
The s430 and s500 with airmatic suspension have less costly problems than the s55 and s600 with ABC suspension , or s500 with the abc option

Avoid the 01-02 non turbo s600 unless you are mechanically inclined

jjustme

Thanks and I should have mentioned this earlier but I'm in the UK, I don't know if that makes a lot of difference, but when I was reading up on this, I saw that there were improvements made even in '06, here in the UK however, that's when the W221 went on sale.

I'm probably going to go for S320L CDI or S500L are there any common problems with those in particular.

I was thinking of going for a 2005 one as it's the latest one, but thought if no changes have been made from '04 to '05 then it would give me more options.

srknutson

04 was also the first year for the 7 speed transmission for non 4matic cars in the US which may be for interest. There may be some other minor changes from 04-05 for US that I may not be aware of. I also know that 06-06 W220 cars had the n/c option of the AMG package or 4matic as an option for all US cars.

jjustme

Thanks srknutson.

Thinking of just going for a late '04 or '05 when hopefully most of the niggles have been addressed.

Skylaw

Take a look at the buying advice section of http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220...tart-here.html - there are other differences, especially in the electronics, that may interest you.

In addition, the 7-speed transmission has been having some problems with the conductor plate replacement (if and when necessary), because of failure of a 3rd party component. As I understand it, MB and the supplier are in dispute about resolution; the parts are in short supply, and work (right now) on the 7-speed transmission can only be done at an MB dealership.

The 4Matic (in all model years of the W220) has the 5-speed transmission. While high-mileage 5-speeds may need new conductor plates, the parts are available through MB as well as other sources.

The conductor plate information is a snapshot, and a situation not likely to last long. For more, see http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220...nsmission.html

jjustme

Thanks that is a very detailed and informative post.
I had actually been through it before, but it helped again because I wanted to know how to check if the car had ABC, not many adverts say it has them, now I know how to check for myself, just see if there's an ABC Sport button in the center console