I finally finished researching and poking around to get all the details right for this article about the '07 S-Class for my website. I've already got pages up for the W220 generation, so it's nice to have this one done. I'm suspecting that the S450 (if it shows at all) and S63 models won't arrive until the '08 model year.

Have a peruse, I strived to be fair and even-handed. I do find the car to be an impressive piece of engineering, although I'm still withholding judgment on M-B's efforts to improve quality control.

I want to thank people here who've answered questions so far. I'm sure I'll have more for '08 and '09, lol. This is a great community with a lot of helpful people who are genuinely enthused about the marque and eager to share that enthusiasm with new-comers. If only M-B hired people like that.

I will say that M-B needs to do a LOT of work in educating its dealer network. I'm still not sure about some options (primarily the 321 AMG Pkg. and the 224 Four Place Seating Pkg.) and whether they're available on the S600. I asked a half-dozen different dealers and got several different responses. One said that the S600 had the AMG Package as standard, and couldn't have the 4-Seater at all, while another told me that the 4-Seater package was standard and the AMG Sport package optional. Anybody even glancing at an S600 can see that it doesn't have either package as standard. A lot of dealers don't even bother to answer questions, of course, no matter how politely put. One of my local dealers employs people who seem to think they're selling Bugattis from their haughtiness, which is a bit off-putting, too. I'd have to say that that dealer alone is enough to make me reconsider buying an M-B product, even if I weren't a college student and had the means. And no, I'm not a 19-y.o. snot-nosed kid who shows up in holey jeans and a wife-beater to bug their sales people. I recognize they're businesspeople first and foremost, but politeness never hurt anybody, so far as I can tell.

MBUSA themselves aren't all that helpful, either. The information on their site is incomplete (they didn't even mention the Designo models until last month, and they don't list all options, either, even in the Build Your Own framework). And God help you if you ask them a question. I realize I'm just a freelance web editor indulging in a hobby and hoping to create something detailed enough that it becomes a feather in my resume, but M-B needs to get a clue. I ask a question about an engine, and get told to contact a dealer service department, who of course has no clue as to the answer, or they don't answer at all.

I just have to contrast this with Toyota. Yes, I drive a Camry, and I love it to death. I love the company, too. I asked them a picky technical question about the new Hybrid Camry just the other day, and had a very friendly answer in less than 48 hours, and a 'please don't hesitate to ask us anything else' sort of post-script. This has been my experience with a number of times writing or calling Toyota. It's quite refreshing, and from what I've heard, Lexus operates the same way. I'm sure there are crummy Lexus dealers, too, but I think that in the luxury segment, customer service (and helpfulness to people who might become customers in a few years) should always be Job One.

Anway, this is turning into a missive, so I'll halt. It's just frustrating when you're trying to do something accurate, and you want to it be right and fair by everyone, and nobody can even give you straight answers. Sigh. Makes me glad for these forums.

The link is:

http://www.carsinamerica.net/mercedes-benz/07mbzsss.htm

I think (pending learning more about the 224/321 options on the S600) that it's free of errors, but by all means PM me if I'm wrong. And yes, I know that the second picture of the S65 is a European model. I'd love a similar-looking shot of a US-spec one, if anybody has one! Thanks for looking, and any comments/helpful critiques welcome! Flames will of course be used for cooking s'mores.

 

Nicely written. Thank you!

 

Could not agree more about how the dealership affects car buying. My uncle had an A6 and my cousin has an A4 and both of them got rid of the car, not because they didn't like them, but because the only Audi dealership we have is horrible. The same is said about our local MB dealership. They need to realize that they are an important part of the car buying experience. Some of us shop on 5th avenue, besdies the fact that their boutiques have the nicest clothing, because the service you get from the salesmen.

 

Again, I can't agree more about the dealership attitudes, MB really needs to have some kinda of a standard in service. Our MB dealer definitely thinks they're selling the cure for cancer, everytime I drop my car off for service, I always take a look at the new car they have on the floor but all teh salemen throw me dirty looks as if I'm gonna shoplift one.

As for your webpage, definitely very informative and could be quite useful, but the lay-out is a little cluttered, maybe you can divide them into sections instead all on one page? just a thought. if you have the time, you can also compile a list of good dealers in you area since you've talked to so many.
Also, BMW also has a night-vision system, dont they? and I believe a member here has a four-seater in a S600 european model.

 

I do see what you mean about a lot of content on one page, although I didn't feel it was cluttered; I tried to separate things and focus on readability. I will admit the notes section is rather long, which is typical for the first model year -- there's just more to describe. In subsequent years, that turns into a much shorter paragraph, so that might help. I don't want to break it into multiple pages, though, because it's already going to come to over 3,000 pages from the last decade alone. Personally, I always want the available information on one page, instead of clicking 3 or 4 times to find what I'm looking for about a particular model. I'll think about putting something at the top, though, that would let you internally link by skipping down to features or options, etc. Maybe that would help?

The dealer list might be a good idea, but I'm slightly leery about it. I don't want to be accused of defamation or slander or something, even if I feel I"m being right and honest. I believe there are already sites that let people discuss dealer experiences. Occassionally, I mention dealer experiences in columns or commentaries, or special thank yous in the appropriate section (I've not put all of the columns up yet).

Yes, BMW does have an NVS, but I believe the one on the S-Class came out first, so M-B is the third to try. I made a slight change to the page, though.

As to the S600 4-Seater you mentioned, that's something I'm still trying to sort out. MBUSA.com says nothing about the option being available for the S600 (not that that means anything), and at least one dealer I've talked to said that it's exclusive to the S65 AMG. So that one is still possibly up for revision. And of course, there are plenty of options available in Europe that M-B doesn't bother with in the States, like the RSE and the granite trim, which I'd say is the biggest loss.

 

Sigh. Site's down AGAIN. It seems like it has more downtime than uptime. Now, it's hosted free, but still pretty frustrating.

 

I am sorry about your bad experiences with your local dealer and sales people. If you want to post your questions, I will do my best to get you the answers you are looking for. Also feel free to give me a call.

Thanks,

 

Site's back up! And I fixed a couple more goofs of mine on the page. Does anybody else have opiinions on whether it looks too cluttered?

Thanks, Vadim, for offering to help.

I've been trying to find out:

#1) If the US S600 can have the AMG Sport Package added. My local dealer told me the S600 had it as standard, which is clearly nonsense. Another told me it's not possible. A third dealer had an S600 in stock with the Sport Package, but it was a demonstrator, and had most (about $12k worth) of the S600 standard equipment missing. So I'm confused.

#2) I also wondered if the US S600 could get the 221 Four Place Seating Package (I know it has the 325 Rear Seat Package as standard). The S65 can have it, for $875, but I haven't been able to determine if the S600 can or not. It's kind of odd if it can't: the W220 S600 certainly could, and rivals like the Audi A8 and Bentley Conti Flying Spur can, so why not the S600, when it already has everything else standard?

#3) I've also been trying to find out the turbocharger boost pressure on the E320 turbodiesels, both the '06 and '07 models. Nobody seems to know this. M-B told me to try talking to dealers, who told me to ask service departments, who told me they had no clue.

Any ideas, anybody?

 

the links on your page are dead just letting you know

 

Thanks, but to which links are you referring? I've cleared out a bunch lately, and I know there are some left, but you can be more specific?

 

Let me see if I can clear it up for you:

1. Officialy you can not add AMG sport package to S600. It sounds to me like your dealer pulled some strings or factory made a mistake.

Netstar - Configurator does not even show any packages as options. Again, I would imagine a big dealer, like us could pull some strings. I can not promise anything, but it could happen.

This one is a toughy. Diesels are not sold in California, so none of my techs are trained on them nor have any training info. Let me dig around. Also try some deisel forums or tech forum on here.

Thanks,