sclasslove

So now, you are basically saying that it's not going to happen? Well, you sure will look silly when I am driving around in an S-Class. There is nothing wrong with having a positive look on things, I will tell you again that I AM interested in purchasing an S-Class within the next few years. If you respond with sarcasm or inappropriate humor again, it will not be worth my time to respond to you. For the other people who have responded kindly with no rudeness or sarcasm, thank you!

Mike5215

Wait a minute. Are you saying I'm NOT going to be banging Kate Upton? Then how do you explain THIS, Jeep Boy??!

DaveW68

^^^

Mike5215

That letter is total bullsh*t. "World Class Actress"? As if.

marthyh

Comparing your gp to an S is like comparing Ducks to Bananas: makes no sense,except they have both 5 roundly formed items controlling the movement of the vehicule.

Yes you can diy a lot of maintenance,which is relatively easy for a W221 S500 or a S550.But when the **** hits the fan you need to have acces to a Xentry(M-B Diagnose system) and or a specialized Mercedes techie.
The stealers are (all) crooks and will take as much of your money with the least possible effort, especially because you're the big boy now,driving their top model and that they will proudly show you with any repair bill.

Generally the S-Klasse ist sehr very well engineered and lasts you a long time if properly taken care of(30+ years or 1MegaKms is not unheared of for an S).
Yes things will break over time and yes even for a diy-er etc can be expensive and or sometimes too complex to fix in your driveway.

mnje350

Sclasslove,

Don't take too much offence at the humor tossed around on this forum. There is a ton of good experience and lots to be learned from the senior members, or should I say fanatic members of the forum. Some times it comes at the expense of being able to laugh at the situation or comments tossed around.

That all being said, I would not own any of these cars without an extended warranty. I just repaired a rear view camera on a '10 E350, don't think it's any different than the camera on my S, at a cost of $3400 under extended warranty. Things like this break on these cars and parts are NOT cheap. I am sure that aftermarket stuff is around but I don't have the time to look for it and I am not inclined to replace this kind of stuff myself. I also had air bladders replaced in the driver's seat. Also not a cheap repair. Suffice it to say, these repairs were in low milage, < 45k, extremely well maintained cars. Everything that has been said about owning a car with a sticker price, in some cases well North of $100k, is true when it comes to fixing something that breaks on these cars. These cars are easy to fall in love with. But like any love affair, they can get expensive.

Jason B

What he said.

Nuru

Wait a minute, you are saying it cost how much to repair a rear view camera?

Also can you describe the repairs?

PaulE550

Yes, I would also like to know what exactly this repair entailed. It had to be way more than just the rear view camera itself.

mnje350

So the rear view camera on my E350 failed or should I say intermittent operation. This is the second time I had the car in for intermittent operation on the RV camera. The first time they replaced thte control module and performed a software update. That seemed to have solved the problem for a few months. Until last week. This time the camera failed completely so back to the dealer it went. A few hours later they called and said that the repair was complete. I asked how they fixed the problem this time and was told that the camera was replaced. The said that supprisingly they had one in stock. When I asked what that would have cost without the warranty the service adviser said about $3400. I did not challenge him since there was no out of pocket cost. I was just glad that I had the warranty. I can't imagine that the removal and replacement was that involved. I am sure that the cost was purely driven by the cost of the spare part.

Nuru

That repair cost seems to be a quite high, but when going to the dealer, the mark-up is going to be incredible. Plus that includes multiple trips for the repair service, so that seems understandable based on the time they probably charged you for the time spent for "diagnosing the issue", and the replace/repair of the LRUs. involved.

PaulE550

Well the price of the actual camera, from MB stock, is $100 for the S class. Lets say they double the price for "handling" (taking it off the shelf) at a dealership. So for the sake of argument the cost is now $200. That would mean they would have theoretically charged you $3,200 for labor to replace a part that would take maybe 20 minutes to do. Hell of a profit margin.

Now if you had said they had to not only had to replace the camera itself, but all the electronics in the car associated with it, then maybe that would have been a justifiable price. Lots more labor and time involved. After all, they would have been taking apart a good portion of your front dash to get at the internal wiring into the command unit.

mnje350

Like I said, I did not challenge the cost the Service Advisor said since there was no out of pocket cost. I don't know what they tested before they determined that the camera should be replaced either. Perhaps he was mistakenly thinking of the 360 degree surround cameras that are on the new MBs these days.

I am supprised to hear that dealer cost on one of those cameras is only $100. I would have guessed more, given the fact that dealer cost for a cargo net for an S class is in the $30 - 40 range. But I am not in the car business so I don't have any first hand knowledge of the parts costs at an MB dealership. Regardless, my original point was that a warranty is critical IMHO in owning one of these cars. There was no fretting over the cost, I had a free loaner car, and they would have picked the car up at my house and dropped it off had I asked them to do that.

Mike5215

My 220 had a little led ambient light that lived in the rear view mirror and blew. The car was CPO so I asked for a new little light.

The light could not be ordered independently. It was part of the rear view mirror assembly. The mirror happened to be motorized (it could be set along with the other memory features). The rear view mirror was $1300. With labor the warranty paid just under $1500 for the little lamp.

Folks like to talk about how cheap and easy it is to find parts for nothing and install them themselves, but it seems like very few have ever actually done it. I say that because when anyone asks for technical or DIY advise the response is usually dead silence.

BTW, it's not necessary to dismantle the dash to get to COMAND. It's a few Torx screws and the thing is sitting in your lap. I'm sure the price the dealer charged you was in line.

TheActionKid

Buy an S600 instead of the S550 or S500 and you will be a lot happier

Mike5215

Yeah, because a car with every available option and a biturbo V12 is so much less complex and expensive when it comes to repair issues.

Nuru

LOL!, yep, you may be happier with all those options, but you definitely want, newest year you can afford, low miles and a solid warranty for as long as you keep it. More options, more complexity, and potentially more opportunity for issues.

superpop

Not to pile on here but I have to agree with what most of the posters are saying. I purchased a 2012 S550 4Matic 3 days ago with 26K miles for around 43K thinking I was getting a steal. I love the car but a day after I brought the car home the rear view camera stopped working. Off to the dealer I went as the car still has 1 month of factory warranty left. Wanted a second key as well. 400 bucks later for a stupid key and who knows how much for the camera fix but that part is covered. I will be extending the warranty for 3 years and then promptly dumping the car for another used one. Spend the money and buy the still in warranty car that you can then extend the warranty on. You can get a 3 year exetended bumper to bumper MB warranty for around 3200 bucks. Worth every penny in my book. At the end of the day I will be into it for around 46K plus tires and brakes. Way more manageable and predictable.

Nuru

If you need parts, check out these sites:

www.mercedespartssuperstore.com (USA)
www.getmercedesparts.com (USA)
ww.mercteil.com (Europe)

They all tend to have pricing that is a lot less than dealers for OEM parts.

Nuru

Hey, wait a minute Mike, I am one of those few and I resemble your remark!

https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...ferrerid=60539

between shopping for parts on German ebay and sourcing parts in the USA and overseas, with a little patience I think I have done well in at least the Fridge retrofit..

Nickthegreek

I think what Mike is trying to say is be careful about all the hidden costs/issues of owning a mercedes benz. The cars are affordable used but the cost of repairs and maintenance is a whole new ball game. Changing the front suspension out alone costs about 4000 dollars and parts are usually at least 500 so a mercedes can nickle and dime you in repairs. In the end it can cost you the same as if you bought a 40000 dollar reliable car is what he is trying to say. Have a warranty and understand the policies of what is normal wear and tear because again things like the suspension are mucho money to repair and may not be covered. Because these cars have a lot more complex systems alot of things can go wrong and nothing is cheap. I know how to repair these cars so I forfeited a warranty but its still expensive to fix. My massage feature in my front seat had a ruptured bladder and the bladder alone for the seat is 700 so just be ready for sticker shock in repairs. With all that aside the ride and handling cannot be beat and thats why I own one. And lets face it, its a status symbol saying I drive a nice car. also find a reputable independent repair shop but its still going to be a lot more expensive to own and maintain than a jeep so just be forewarned