I currently have a 2008 s550 and i'm looking at swapping it for a 2011-2014 740li. Is the f01 as reliable as the w221 and does the w221 have any major advantage?

 

W221 way better car reliability wise. F01 has more tech but the reliability just is not there. F01 def has more tech though IMO.

 

modern cars don't last (its intentional)

it started circa 2000, prior to this they wore out / rusted. With modern manufacturing and materials they could do 30 years but the accounatnts noticed the business model was flawed
they invented soft pistons on VAG but were so bad got caught out, suspension bushes made of marsh mallows but people kept replacing them

so the manufacturers just got better at making the expensive bits you want die to time, make it slightly random 6 to 9 years and hope no one reads forums or joins the dots

stop start and single roller cam chains to wreck the engine and ECUs that's die - they aren't as stupid as the customers who buy them think they are. Certainly its not accidental, we should close them down on environmental grounds but they are too powerful... this has been working well so they got greedy and the clock has sped up.... make it 4 to 5 years to inbuilt expiry

No way would I buy another German car, they are built to die.... lease a new one if you like it, don't ever buy another

 

I mainly wanted better fuel economy but better tech and handling is also nice. I know the drive train isn't as reliable as the Benz but as far as everything else they seem about the same.

 

MY S550 has 254K miles as of today... say that about the E66?F01 series 7......

 

After look replacement part prices for the f01 i'm just going to stick with my w221 but I still want better fuel economy.

 

I am not sure the F01 does much better in that department either.