jateshk

I am in the market for a 07 550 with about 71k miles. There are two i am thinking. Both silver, one has the amg and the other doesn't. I will probably go with the amg.

What should i be looking for? It it has regular maintenance. What else?

Are these cars reliable over 100k miles?

I am getting both for about $25,000 range.

steveb9771

Verify transmission was serviced at about 39,000 miles. This is critical. I assume the AMG is an appearance package and NOT the AMG engine.
Look at the options each vehicle has. Keyless Go (push button start) is nice to have.

Mike5215

They are not considered reliable. There are a lot of complex systems in an S that aren't commonly found in less expensive cars, and as the cars push the 100k mark they start to fail. Repairs are expensive. The non-AMG engines are considered bullet proof with regular maintenance. I replaced a tranny at 103k on a prior S so I can't vouch for the transmission's reliability. The rest of the car is a crap shoot. (The S550 AMG car is a base S550 with an AMG sport appearance package. Staggered 19" or 20" wheels, front and rear bumper and side skirts. It's entirely cosmetic, but they do look great. I believe 07 was the only year that also got an actual "AMG" emblem on the trunk.)

Don't be fooled by the inexpensive price of an older used S class...they depreciate as heavily as they do because they're unreliable and repairs are costly. However, you can limit the risk by being diligent about researching the history of the car. Start with a CarFax, and also have an MB dealer pull the internal history. Ideally you want a car that continued to be serviced by MB after the factory warranty expired. The more major repairs the car has had the better your odds. I would not touch a car that's internal history ends with the factory warranty, unless it's picked up again by a reputable indy shop and the records from that shop exist.

Finally, you need to budget for either a good aftermarket warranty, or set aside roughly $5,000 a year for unanticipated repairs. Alternately, see if your budget will allow for a slightly newer CPO car.

wilassasin

These cars are not reliable, at least not in terms of low or less maintenance anyway. If you're looking for reliable definitely look elsewhere such as Lexus. These cars demand a warranty for the most part and most people get rid of them after warranty is up due to the high maintenance costs. Don't get me wrong they don't stay in the shop they are well built German cars that are very high quality.

Whatever you decide get a good long warranty and should be fine.

Chucky300

Where are u getting it from?

Got any pics?

platt-deutsch

I have one. I love it.. No problems and I bought it with 40K and now has 120K. I have changed the Trany fluid twice.. New disks and rotors.. Did all the work myself.. Easy to work on. I do have Warrantee but never used it.

natcahd

Chucky...2014 looks good. Distinctively different!

Hd

Atcpup

Thanks for that info. I was going to chime in earlier but if you do a search on S550 reliability most folks will be pleasantly surprised. I found several comments with mileage above 100k with similar results as yours. I'm almost to 80k and have had very few problems and plan on keeping mine well over 100k. I do, however, think if I was in the market for a used S550 I would start with looking at 2008 and newer. 2007's had some tranny and balance shaft sprocket issues.

jwxspoon

I have an 08 with 103,000 miles. Don't drive it much because I have a pickup for work but I do love the car, and my family truly loves the car as well.

Expensive to maintain. I dropped about $6000 in repairs the first year I was out of warranty; then I bought an aftermarket warranty through USAA which paid for itself within a few months.

When everything is right the car is beautiful and smooth and powerful for such a heavy car. It's very sensitive to alignment and vibration issues with regard to motor mounts, transmission mounts and even slightly dented rims.

Not much you can do with the car electronically as it is all one central AV/Computer system with fiber optic throughout. The car is quirky when it comes to hands free cellular and iphone/ipod connection. Streaming BT is not really practical for this car; I hear there may be some intricate workarounds but nothing that has impressed me enough to pursue it.

Don't pay extra for night vision as I have found it to be high on the cool factor and very low on the utility factor.

Hope this helps.

Jeff

Jason B

Cool Jeff. Can I ask what the aftermarket warranty cost? How old was the car and how many miles were on it when you bought it?

Mike5215

All true, and while I would normally agree that Nightview (forward looking infrared) is a pointless gimmick, there was an instance here that caught my attention. Late one night on a stretch of I 75 near here a sudden convergence of dense fog and smoke from a nearby brushfire in a low "bowl shaped" depression caused visibility to drop to zero.

Drivers, suddenly deprived of any visual cues to their speed, responded by stopping where they stood, a normal reaction. Several semi trucks and cars came to a complete stop. Then several clusters of vehicles moving at full highway speed smashed into them. By the time it was over, 10 people died and several were seriously injured.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/2...9486#gsc.tab=0

The drivers who had stopped stated that visibility was so low they could not see the full length of their hood, and had no idea where to go to get off the road safely. Emergency responders reported the visibility so poor they had to use the sounds of the screams to locate victims.

Granted, a rare occurrence, and who knows how well Nightview Assist would have performed, but it may have given you enough visibility to thread your way through the stopped pack of cars while every other driver was blind.

jwxspoon

The USAA warranty was about $3600 if I recall correctly. Covered the car for the next 24000 miles or two years. Pricey, but I had already been burned for a couple of minor repairs that were very expensive. Right after I got the warranty the slight vibration I had under acceleration got much worse. Ended up getting all new motor mounts, transmission mounts, some assorted steering linkages, etc. for no cost to me. Still have another 10K miles left on the warranty.

Mike, the only time I use the night vision is as you say, on a deserted stretch of road where there are no lights at all. Living in South Carolina I am slightly paranoid about hitting a deer and the night vision is good for that. But for real utility it's only a couple of times a year. I'd rather have the adaptive cruise control, personally.

jw

Mike5215

Yeah, I wouldn't pay extra for it but it does occasionally come in handy. Mostly for impressing the chicks. That USAA warranty is very reasonably priced BTW. As you've discovered, it's easy to spend a couple of thousand per visit for "little" stuff.