I'm looking for a larger, more comfortable daily beater to replace my tons-of-fun C55. It will be my primary driver but I have multiple vehicles.
I drive 60 miles a day during my commute. 35 miles of that is on the highway between 65 and 80 mph. It's rare for me to be caught in stop and go stuff other than the initial 2 miles on my way home. To give you a better idea what it's like, the average C55 driver gets around 18 mpg. I average 20 in my daily despite the occasional bout of.... enthusiasm. It'll top out at 22 on a road trip. All this means I look a bit more at the highway mpg than I do at the city stats.
Seeing that it's going to be a beater that will see plenty of miles, I'd like to keep the price below 24k but still get all the toys. Nightview Assist, Distronic, rear seat package, and everything short of Pano and rear DVDs would be on my preferred car. That would make road trips with friends and family much nicer. Pano isn't a deal breaker but I'd prefer a car without it.

Also, owing to those far too frequent outbursts of enthusiasm behind the wheel I'm more at home with a car that has some power behind it. That means the M642 and M273 cars are straight out of consideration.

I've thought about M156 cars but they're not that impressive and a tune won't get you more than 30 hp and the torque is still lacking. Add on the AMG tax (cost of brakes, etc) and they lose a bit of their shine.

M278 cars aren't too bad, owing to the turbo torque. A tune on those will put the car up to tuned M156 hp levels but give you a mountain more torque. Highway mpg is pretty stinkin good, too. Then you've got the oil in harness issues and turbo coolant lines that die when touched. Airmatic is a bit floaty for my liking. The cars are nice but maybe a bit too sedate for the inner me.

M157 cars are really nice and can be tuned to more than 600hp. That's fun! Highway mpg isn't too painful, either. You still need to consider oil in harness, ABC, and general AMG tax. They're pretty tough to find in that price range.The exhaust note alone is nearly worth the price of admission.

M275s can easily be found in that range but you get into the V12 issues. Luckily, coil packs can frequently be repaired but turbo oil/water leaks require dropping the engine. ABC is beautiful but might bite. MPG is better than the M156 cars despite bucket loads more torque and just as much hp. The smooth nature of the beasts is truly intoxicating to a gear head like me. The 722.6 transmission is nearly bulletproof but rather lazy. These cars usually come with all the desired toys.

M279 cars are still well out of this price range.

About me: I'm a touch larger than average (6' 230 lbs), late 40s, not afraid to get my hands dirty, a car guy through and through, and I've sold Mercedes parts for 15 years. Yes, I deal with these cars for a living but I don't play with client owned cars. My job will take a significant sting out of S-class ownership.

So, as owners and drivers of these cars, which one do you folks think wold fit me best?

 

If this means anything to you. My Indy told me to look for a 2010 S63. He said that is the best W221. last year before Turbos. because it is an Engine out repair anytime you deal with turbos. I was looking for low miles one for 6mo. However I didnt read about much issues with the turbos on the w221 in this forum.

I asked about V12s. I was always fascinated with 12 cylinders. He told me that it take a lot of cash to keep a V12 W221 running. ABC & Coil packs are common and expensive repairs.

I found myself a 2011 S550 designo Mystic White w AMG package. 56k miles. Thats a m273 car and I couldn't be happier..

 

I love my S600. It has its issues but gosh the power with a renntech tune and the designo interior... sooo good.

 

You got the resource to parts, the knowledge and wouldn't mind getting dirty hands. Mostly highway driving. Sounds to me an AMG couldn't fit you better. There's no perfect thing without tradeoff. This is from an owner of w221 with M278 that admires ABC. As long as it doesn't break your bank, go for the best. Life is short, 40s isn't old but isn't that young either. Good luck.

 

I am in the same spot currently...I was told the S63 wasn't as reliable as the S550...is this not the case? I am trying to stay under $25K as well.

 

Personally I would look into the M278 or consider the M273. The M278 will be much faster than your current C55 and the M273 will be slightly slower. In your budget you could get a pretty loaded M273 S550 with pretty low miles (which will be pretty nice considering you drive so much.) Considering performance, the M273 model really isn't a slouch and can keep up with many cars. The M273 S550 is rated at anywhere from 5.2-5.5 seconds 0-60, which is only about .3 seconds slower than your C55. 1/4 mile is anywhere from 13.5-13.8. I can tell you that I went from a 6 Speed Camaro SS with 430hp to my 2007 M273 S550 and I'm not really asking for power, but I did do a resonator delete, secondary cat delete, and custom stainless X pipe and it significantly improved the top end (according to my and my friend's butt dyno.) The M273 model I assume would be cheaper to maintain over time as there's no turbos to worry about, and in your budget the model year of the cars you're looking at will rule out idler gear issues. AirMatic is pretty floaty (amazing for a daily) but does get a good bit firmer in sport and can handle the twistys pretty easily for a car so big. I also agree about the Pano, my family's 2015 C300 Pano broke about a month into our ownership and was over an $8k repair (luckily we still had MB warranty.) The car was at the dealer for over a month and they had to basically tear the entire interior apart to replace it (one of the plastic pieces in the tracks snapped causing it to be unable to close.) If I were you, I would look for a 2010-2013 S550 with AMG package (a must imo for the looks and better brakes), and at least the P2 package. Keyless Go is one of the main options that i'd look for as it's in the P2 package and is pretty easy to spot. Just look for the notches in the door handles. Lots of dealers or owners take out the keyless go button do a lot of cars have it, just not the $10 button. A Designo leather option would be nice too, as the standard leather in my P2, AMG Sport model isn't impressive whatsoever and isn't indicative of a $100k car when new. That's just my 2C worth, but you really can't go wrong with a post 2010 W221 (aside from the S400). Good luck!

 

2010+ face lift, no turbo's. The NA (Naturally Aspirated) engine sounds way way better too. And remember, turbo's are an engine out repair and sucks.

 

S63 in the model year 2007 & 2008 have some issues with engines.. 2009 and 2010 should have all the common issues sorted out. So I decide to look for 2010 S63 but end up with a Designo s550

 

whats your budget? Nvr mind I see 24k... hmm Id say buy the most car u can, Id def stay away from 07-9 bc there dated and the oldest of the bunch.

 

No frilly extras. Just big-*** reliable supercharger V8 and brake jobs under $1000.

 

I want to avoid the 220 cars due to age and even less reliable ABC systems. The S55 was a bit of a pig in comparison and can't really hang on to my little C55 in a straight line, either. Awesome in it's day, that day has passed.

As for the brakes, you could say I'm familiar with them.