2007 s550 4matic. bought new 2y ago. 18,000 miles now. flawless execution except for a failed airmatic compressor; fuse replaced and all is well. thought about trading it for an 09 cl550 4matic and got a trade in figure of $57,500 (msrp is/was $97,125). conclusion: brilliant car for a first year model. makes me smile everytime i turned it on. the only downside is the crazy dep'n ($40,000 in two years????) on these cars. good thing i love it! i passed on the 09 cl class. heh-heh.

 

According to the VMI, most of the problems on mine started right about 18500 miles... might be time to trade haha!

 

Have had a 2008 S550 for 12 months now and not one problem... will definitely purchase another S-Class in 2012 or 2013.

 

Got my '08 S550 4matic sport a year ago in April.10,000 miles later no issuses.One of the best sedans i have owned.Better half loves it.Will get another in 2 years.

 

I've had mine 28 months and now it has 32000 miles (bought in Nov. 2006) and the only problem mentioning was an idler pulley went bad at around 17000 miles. The only other problem I seem to have , and it occurs every month, is a payment on the darn thing.

Love this car, no doubt.

 

I have a customer that has one, 110000 miles on it, all routine maintanence, and the only thing out of the norm, the fuel pump failed at 108k. The guy got it new, and it was one of the first we sold. The 221 is a wonderful change from our 2003 E class intro.

Nick

 

Mine is thirteen months and has done 21,400 miles.

Since i picked it up from the factory Jan 2008 i have had just the one problem, the gearbox was chasing a little which was rectified by the computer. First Service 20,800.

It is also a working car, so it's done all sorts of different miles.

I have had S-Class going back to the 450SEL 1979 and this is the best MB i have driven.

 

update : 25.000 miles so far, still like new

 

13,000 miles in my 2008 S600. No significant problems to report at all. WIll keep for 100,000 miles plus!

Chris

 

14,800 Km approx., on my S550 2007. Only routine maintenance . No mechanical nor electronical problems so far.
Only wish I had replaced my S430 with an S550 4-Matic instead of S550 RWD with ABC suspension. S430 4Matic with air suspension I had before rode smoother than present S550 with ABC. ( My ordering error.)
Front seats not as hoped due to downgrading of seat option as ordered. (MB's stubbornly un-recognized error, not mine!)
Otherwise, very satisfied with S550.

 

20,000 miles and perfect...like new. '08 purchased August 2007. Have had a few rattles that have been fixed but that always seems to be the case. The best thing about taking it in the shop is getting it back. When you do, you are reminded when you sit in it how roomy and comfortable it is. Like no other.

 

I have 18,000 Miles on my 07 S550, and have had not a single issue. I have ABC..

04S430 Based on your comments about ride quality , I am assuming that you have 19" wheels? The S430 came with 18", so you can always drop down to 18's if you want the same ride quality.

Airmatic is standard on the S550... (I just checked my S class brochure). What I did not realize is that Airmatic is not available on the S600 and S63. Pretty much if you have the ability to raise your car which all S550's seem to have, you have an airmatic suspension.

 

The 2004 S430 4-Matic I had came with 18" wheels and Airmatic suspension. My present S550 was ordered with the ABC suspension option which is unavailable with Airmatic. Same suspension as the S600.
( The ABC suspension option is no longer available on the S550 in Canada. As I understand it, all S550 build for the Canadian market now come as 4Matics, equipped with Airmatic suspensions.)
The S550 with ABC corners much better than my previous car, but in exchange, seems to ride a bit harder. As for me, being able to drive aggressively is not important; I am not overly conscerned when arriving a few minutes late!

 

ABC and AirMatic are not mutually exclusive. i.e ABC is a hydraulic piston in the shock tower that is actuated on road conditions to conter the effects of body roll. Airmatic is an AirShock that can optionally adjust the height of the suspension. AirMatic is standard on all S550's except 4Matic. If your car can be raised and lowered, that's the AirMatic suspension at work.

ABC does not make sense on a 4 wheel drive car, because by definition you need 4Matic for harsh road" conditions, that would be next to impossible for the ABC to counteract. If you want to visually see ABC in action take a look at Top gears test of the SL65 at the following link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dfff...eature=related

right around the 4:29 mark where the ABC is fighting to keep the car level, also when the Stig takes the SL65 around the track you can see the car wobbling (that's ABC trying to counteract). This would be the effect of having ABC on a 4Matic on harsh snow covered roads, you'd pretty much have to turn it off...

I am surprised to hear that in Canada they only ship the 4Matic... Frankly Canada (Ontario) uses so much Salt on the road in Winter, that I would never think to drive my nice car in the winter..

 

Thanks for the technical information regarding ABC vs Airmatic. Just had a look at MB's Canada web site, and it appears that 4Matics are still the only S550's available here.
Agree with you about the salt and snow. (Not to mention flying rocks after sanding the roads.) For about five months of the year, we do not use our car for those very reasons! Our small 4WD SUV takes over then.