so i am very unfamiliar with these vehicles, i have a w211 that has treated me very well and have been thinking of moving up to a larger sedan

i am looking at a 2003 s600 with 76k miles on it, seller is looking to get $12,500 car looks very well taken care and the car is in great condition cosmetically as well

is there anything i should look specifically? how reliable are these older model w220? what should i be looking at as far as long term maintenance/major issues/etc.

would i be better off looking at a lower level trim as far as long term reliability? the power sounds nice but it is not a must have, this just happens to be a very clean w220 and priced reasonably.

any advice is much appreciated

thanks

Read the sticky

Abc suspension and coil packs are the two biggest s600 problems , both are 4 figure repairs

Long term reliability , find a s500 with airmatic. Either way there are items to pay to fix eventually . However, the s600 approaches acts of loonisy when it comes to some of the repair prices . Unless you have a great mechanic or self wrenching . Coil packs and abc are enough to keep me away. And that's with me knowing how to wrench

i did read a couple threads right after posting this and there seemed to be a laundry list of things with a lot of $$ behind them.

i'm looking for something with long time reliability as it will be a daily driver, i know it's expensive when it comes to repairing pretty much any mercedes but relatively speaking something low maintenance cost.

Your going to need a couple thousand put a side a year for maintenance costs. I've only had my 600 for a couple months now, and I can say that it's worth it so far. I've got the better part of $10k in repairs already. TPMS sensors, plugs, brakes, transmission, control arms, tires, fluids.......

If you want the ultimate driving machine, then jump on the TTV12 boat. If however, you are satisfied with the ordinary, then just go buy an S430 or S500--those seem car enough for most people.

Find and S500 with the AMG body kit.

whoa that sounds like a lot more than i am willing to get into

sounds like i may just look for a lower trim model, in all honesty i'm really just after the aesthetics of the car. i figured for a few grand more i could get a beast, but that maintenance sounds killer.

do all the w220 come with airmatic?

thanks for all the help i would really have been kicking myself if i would have bought into such a needy car

I have a 2005 S600, daily driver now with 116k miles on the clock. In addition to the V12TT thirst for fuel that is expected (14-16mpg mixed for me), I'll second the comment that you need to put several thousand aside for general maintenance and repair. I've put roughly $14k in mine over the last 2 years (starting around 70k miles) for various repair (both coil packs, ABC hose, radiator, duo valve, valve cover gasket, secondary air compressor pump, transmission conductor plate, etc.) and maintenance (multiple sets of tires & brakes, spark plugs, oil changes, tranny flushes). I do some of the work myself, but I also have an indy mechanic that does some of the over-engineered crap that i don't want to mess with. Labor can be stupid (for example: 8-10 shop hours to replace the radiator).
That being said, when she runs, she runs brilliantly, and IMHO is worth every penny. You just can't be squeamish about it financially.

Ooooo , with airmatic . That would be perfect

Yea I'm definitely going to stay away from an s600 lol

Do all the s classes come with airmatic? I'm honestly hoping to stay away from factory air

Not necessarily. When you see an S without airmatic, it will be 'even worse' as it has ABC, lol. So you'll not be able to avoid airmatic which is not a bad feature to enjoy.

You could ref my experience with a 2003 S600 from the two threads in my signature. In my case, I had the car for more than a year putting 10k miles as a daily driver by spending less than 2k for repair but more$ for preventative maintenance, for sure I DIY.

Good luck.

Howard

No, my 2003 S500 Sport has ABC. I bought the car knowing about the ABC history but it has so many other features that I enjoy such as rear seats that are split and recline, distronic, pulse control for rear seats, cable in glove box for my IPOD, heated steering wheel, front heated and air cooled seats and a few other nice little features.

the split rear seats are very nice! looking around though i feel like they are not very common option. do they only come on cars with the abc suspension?

honestly i thinking in terms of modding this beast, i would rip out all the suspension and would go with aftermarket air, so in a sense im just looking for something that will be easiest to deal with when removing and how it runs with all the electronics after something new is in. which sounds like the airmatic is far less complex

i have definitely been swayed away from the s600, i don't doubt it's an amazing car but it's more than i need and more than im willing to spend to maintain

I have to say, at the risk of bad luck, my S600 has been bullet proof.

I have road raced her, yes for real at Beaverun.

So many drag races I have lost track.

Throw in a few autocrosses for good luck, and here is my repair list:

1. Tires, MANY of them
2. Gas, by the tanker
3. Front rotors and pads
4. CPS, under warrenty
5. Some small BS sensor again under warrenty.

THAT'S IT.

God please bless my car after this jink, LOL

All w220 have either airmatic or abc
Airmatic is the cheaper one to repair

All s600 and s55 AMG had abc standard
Some s500 had abc as an option

yea i've started to look for a facelift w220 430 or 500 honestly doesn't matter as i already said im really just after the aesthetics of the car

LOL!! You've got guts to put that out there! If I had said that, my car would have spontaneously burst into flames in my garage and burnt the house down just out of spite.

Now it's my turn to tempt angering the car gods...for the OP, I will say if you're thinking of the S500, while not exactly the same, my E500 (2004 w/ ~65000 miles engine, airmatic, & 4matic same as found in the S500) has been relatively flawless and much less expensive to maintain (CPS sensor @ ~$150 installed, blower relay and motor @ $300 DIY, 1 set of sparkplugs - 16 plugs for the V8 in the 500 vs 24 plugs for the V12 engine in the 600 @ $100 DIY, 2 sets of tires @ $700/set, usual oil changes and one trans flush). Brakes probably will be done in a month to the tune of $800 for rotors/pads at all corners. But That's it.

...Now I'm waiting for the E500 to burst into flames and take out the S600 AND the house now. What was I thinking?

Well. I bought my 2003 S600 about a year ago, with 67,000 miles on it. It now has 81,000 miles.

The Good: This car propels you into the horizon as if you are on rails with a jet engine duct taped to your ***.

The Bad: So far I replaced / repaired: 24 plugs, tires, brakes and rotors, theft alarm siren, Trans mount, fuel filter, 2 Coil packs, ABC pump, 2 ABC related hydraulic lines, a few sensors, Light / Rain sensor...

The coil packs and ABC stuff I had done at the dealer to the tune of $10,000.

The rest is no big deal. Coil Packs and ABC are the big ticket items.

I could have done coil packs/ plugs in my shop, just lacked the time.

No way to do the ABC system yourself. Required STAR computer and software and 13 hours according to the book. (WIS).

If you buy a S600, go for one that has had the Coil Packs and ABC pump replaced.

Like mine. Which is for sale. (Divorce sucks).

Jim

I have had mine for 6 months now, very solid car with maintenance issuesjust like any other high mileage car. Were I am from we have a saying"You've got to pay to play" words that I live by. If you have doneyour research you know that the car brand new was 140K so repairs are not gonnabe in the Honda Civic range. Some may beg to differ but with the S600 your justnot getting a fast salon you are buying a four door super car. The numbers thatI seen Renntech and Klemman pull from these monsters are utterly ridiculousfrom a car that seats four comfortably. Just know that $12.5 is a steal for acar of this magnitude. Of course the initial shock of repairs will overwhelm somebut preventive maintenance is the key to keeping the S6 running at its peakperformance. This car is not for everyone but those that are owners knowexactly what they are gonna receive everyday they go to start her up.