marshal_murat

No a CarMax warranty is good both at the dealer and an independent shop. I have always heard the CarMax warranty is about as good as it gets. Some comments in this forum also mentioned service advisors at MB dealerships stating that CarMax is easy to work with and rarely push back on claims: https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...d-options.html

Hoping that is the case, but heard from several sources that is true. So the car has just under 45k and I was going to get the 5 year/125k warranty. I usually put about 12k miles a year which would cover me for the 5 year period. Ideally that should cover what I have read are the common issues with this car: AirMatic suspension failures, amp failures, and more.

Senecat

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marshal_murat

I know its overpriced but CarMax is that way a lot lately. The car market in general is not great. I know for a little more I could get a W222 but I actually prefer the body of the W221 with the fender flares and I only want one if I can get a warranty with it, so I figure that is going to just cost more.

https://www.carmax.com/car/21588799

marshal_murat

So never got to buy the car or even see it. Once it was delivered the techs at CarMax discovered two wheels were damaged and needed to be replaced and the engine had an oil leak. CarMax told me they might not be able to get the wheels repaired very soon or at all and that the car would need to go to the local MB dealer to have the oil leak addressed. In the end they gave me back my shipping fee and shipped the car away to another location. Sales rep said they would either try to repair it or just get rid of it.

Clearly dodged a bullet, but it is increasingly difficult to buy a car in this market. Anyway, looking at another S they have and having it transferred. If this doesn't pan out, I will figure it wasn't meant to be.

mercedesmax

Honestly, I would stay away from Carmax or Carvana for a car like that. Wait until you find a car that is being sold by it's owner(or a Mercedes dealer) and that has a full dealer service history.

MBCO

The W221 experience is like few others when it comes to risk/reward. As with any used car the risks are always high; medium; low.
Risk is quantified by the buyer and driver: Risk of——-stranded by a mechanical or software break down or—- 300$ oil change at the dealers affecting my lifestyle? $5000 repair bill for a transmission overhaul? Rate your risk.
What to do to reduce risk?
Know your self, can you DIY, have tools and knowledge to at least Diagnose and fix what you can , know an Independent trusted guy is at hand if needed
OR
Have sufficient resources to pay for correction of previous owners neglect.
Get detail on service records or walk or run

Look for Designo interiors rare but definitely worth the price and wait, I lucked out finding a 1 owner dealer maintenance car, won’t sell it Best road car and limousine experience for your friends that $$$ can buy if you know your self. Good luck and keep us posted

conmee

I've had a 2013 S550 4Matic since February 2020 (previous MB was a 2013 E350). 80,250 miles currently. Original owner had prepaid maintenance and only repairs were ECU reprogramming and oil sensor change. Next owner was CPO with warranty and just standard maintenance. Since I've owned the vehicle, I've replaced front right Airmatic strut, front right ball joint, an ignition coil, and the original 2013 factory battery final died. Had original brakes serviced at 78,000 miles. Engine is strong and the car is surprisingly fast and agile for the size (even when fully loaded) and it's just a joy to drive on long road trips (14mpg around Seattle, 25.4mpg on most recent drive to Tahoe and back). Airmatic and massaging seats are very nice on those road trips and the Distronic cruise control is such a nice convenience. Interior isn't as nice as Designo, but very roomy (mother-in-law has all the room she needs and son used to put his knees up on the front seats of my E350 while playing video games, but in the S550 there's too much space between back seat and front seats for him - 5'11" - to do that). Thankfully, repairs the past two years amount to $2,200 (mostly the ball joint and strut). The rest has been maintenance.

My only real disappointment is that the 2013 S-Class didn't get the upgraded COMAND like my 2013 E350 (that had nicer graphics, showed album art from iPod, streaming Bluetooth audio, etc). Also, the final navigation maps update was 2015 so 2013 S-Class owners only received one maps update before MB discontinued the updates. I know most use mobile devices now, but I like to use COMAND (there are now extensions of interstates and new housing developments where I'm off in a field now on the map - but still 98% of the time not an issue - SiriusXM traffic and dynamic routing still works very well). I also miss the split folding rear seats of my E350 which aren't an option in the S-Class. NOTE: The 2013 S-Class will no longer have MBrace as 3G service is sunset. No more remote unlock, locate vehicle, SOS, or concierge services.

I still have people who tell me they love the look of the W221 and when they ask what year the car is they are surprised it's so "old." As others have noted, once you get used to an S-Class, it is difficult to go back. I started out in a C, then a couple E's, and my current S550. Each time I've moved up it's been a noticeable improvement. As long as I'm part of the MB family, I don't think I'll ever own anything else but an S-Class.

marshal_murat

Beautiful car conmee!

The only reason I am considering CarMax is the MaxCare warranty, which I have been told is excellent. People who are service advisors for MB told me its one of the best aftermarket warranties and they rarely dispute any claims. I have heard nothing good about Carvana though.

chassis

Great looking W221. How did you come across it? Cargurus, drive by the dealer, something else?

conmee

I used Cars.com, AutoTrader, and CarGurus. The vehicle showed up on all three at the time I was looking. I also kept an eye on CarMax inventory.

Like others gave suggested, I was looking for the lowest mileage (had 58,000 when I bought it), newest model year I could find. So 2013s are all I looked for. I wanted silver, gray, or white exterior, wanted a light color interior, ended up with silver and black interior (my 2009 C350 had black interior with gray seats/accents and I liked that combo but couldn’t find an S550 with it). In the end, the only things on my wishlist I didn’t get were the Designo interior and the night vision (thought it might be cool to have that feature, but at least it’s one less thing I don’t have to worry about breaking). The only other option I don’t have is the rear seat package. Otherwise, I have a loaded S550.

Had a friend at MB of Seattle pull the VMI for me and it had prepaid maintenance with first owner and was under CPO warranty for second owner the entire time with no major repairs. CarFax also clean. After having it inspected, I flew out to Fredricksburg, Virginia, to a small used dealer had about 40 cars in inventory but mostly German luxury models. And the overall quality of the inventory looked pretty good. I brought a scanner with me and pulled the codes, drove it around and monitored fuel pressure, timing, usual measurements while driving and passed emissions systems self test. Interior and exterior were immaculate and still had a new car smell when sitting in the sun for an hour or so. I felt pretty confident after my basic inspection that I drove it nearly 3,000 miles from Virginia back to Seattle without issue. Fantastic roadtrip right before pandemic lockdowns.

When I considered all the possible issues that could go wrong with the car after reading the forums, I still took a calculated chance and I don’t let any unexpected repairs bother me (ask me again if the engine or transmission goes!). I look at it this way, even if I lay out $12,000 for unexpected repairs, I’m still driving around in an S550 for the price of a new C-Class or fully loaded Camry. And I’m not anywhere near $12,000 in repair costs (knock on wood). I declined the warranty that was offered (although I’d recommend one to others), but after 2 and a half years of ownership, even the unexpected repairs have cost less than the warranty I was offered at the time. Hopefully this post doesn’t jinx me!

kevm14

I took a slightly different path than some who say buy the newest example. First of all, my budget just will not allow me to buy a 2013 low mile S550. Second, with the way they continue to depreciate, the idea of paying $25k, having it lose $10k in value AND having to dump another $10k+ into it just didn't appeal. Is that better than many new car purchases? Yes. But that is a super low bar. I know it's all about the experience but that doesn't mean I can't compute a value equation. I should also reiterate that value means different things to different people. In the extreme case, value means driving a base model Corolla. Suffice it to say none of us calculate value that way.

With that out of the way, the path I took to a W221 is probably different than many on here. I am a GM V8 kind of guy, and have found all of my previous vehicles rewarding to own, operate and maintain (such as 95 Camaro, 95 Fleetwood, 93 Caprice, 05 CTS-V). I bought my 93 Caprice (ex-cop car) in college with 112k or so for $3500 and proceeded to add another 200k of hard, but well maintained miles. Even though I loved the car I always wanted it to be something more. I considered LS swapping it for example. I like big cars that go fast much more than small cars. The original powertrain never let me down though so I had no excuse to swap it, and later in life with a wife and 2 kids I realized I didn't have the time, either. Then, the car finally experienced some fatal rust in the rear frame area that caused me to park it permanently.

In the middle (mid-2017), I bought a 2005 STS which turned out to be a turning point (or gateway drug) into German cars. It was complex like a German car. Not fun to work on like a German car. But enjoyable to drive like a German car. Knowing the Caprice was on limited time I also bought a 96 Roadmaster in 2017 on a whim on vacation at the Cape. This was high mileage but generally much cleaner. I got it for super cheap and it was going to be the basis for building the hotrod B-body I never did with my Caprice. Or so I thought.

From 2010-2021 I had a 2005 CTS-V in my garage but I rarely drove it especially in the second half of the decade as the family stuff really entered the picture. I also began to realize that to experience the car fully, you need to be going like 8-9/10ths down a backroad and where I live in southern New England that just was something rare. I began to seek out a new daily driver in early 2020 maybe. I considered the second gen CTS-V (maybe I could just replace my V with that, even though it wouldn't be a daily). I was all over the place. STS-V, also. Then my cousin reminded me of the E55. After careful consideration I began to realize that the E55 was probably the daily driver that I really wanted. It did all the things I always wanted my Caprice to do, but it did them out of the box. And what I wanted to build the Roadmaster into would cost an easy $10k as well as time that I didn't have. Frankly I also don't have the facilities to (comfortably) take on an LS turbo swap.

So I found an 04 E55 on FB marketplace (well, my cousin who lives in NC did and he showed me). I won't belabor the point but I drove up, test drove the car (the first one I ever drove), really liked it, made an offer and the guy accepted. I hadn't even really told me wife. The promise was, this replaces my STS and Roadmaster with one car. Hmm. Anyway, I snagged it for an impressive pre-inflation $9500, with new engine mounts and trans mount thrown in.

Right, so I had the E55 from ~June 2020. Did some maintenance and repair. Car had 129k when I bought it so no spring chicken. Somewhere in there I decided to drive it down to the Asheville, NC area in July 2021 so I really went nuts with the PM. I began to learn the ways of Mercedes and for the most part, liked what I saw. Every manufacturer has their "why in the hell would they do that" designs but, again, all things considered, I was a W211 fan and liked the robust powertrain of the E55 (not to mention the performance). Drove down and back to NC with two issues: right rear passenger door keyless go failed and some pretty serious oil consumption. The oil consumption I had planned for and brought enough oil (after freaking out and buying some Blue Devil rear main sealer stuff which actually did temporarily work). The door handle issue was my fault. I had the door panel off to replace the latch and misrouted a harness so when I rolled the window down, it yanked the wire for the KG right out of the module. No parts required fix (a little glue) and that was it (after I got home).

Long story short, my first foray into a euro car was going pretty well, considering I had spent my entire life up to that point lambasting them and saying "it's not worth it." But it can be worth it, if you do your research, buy the right example, and DIY. So that sets the stage.

I began to realize that the E55 was not going to work well as a winter vehicle for two main reasons: 1) RWD and high power. Could I do snows and get by? Yeah. Not optimal though. What if the wife's car was down? Would I really send her out in this thing? Ugh. 2) The W211 wasn't as rust-proof as I thought it was. Lucky for me my example was a Georgia car and then garaged and not snow driven in MA so it is quite clean. But I need to keep it that way. Something else must be done.

So while I had replaced the Caprice/Roadmaster pretty successfully, and with good results, I needed to replace the STS (V8 AWD) with something truly 4 season. But what to get? I had zeroed in on a G35/G37. I actually like those and they are fairly reliable, quick (pretty much exactly as quick as an M273 S550) and fun to drive. I drove a local one and liked it but it was rustier than I wanted. I kept looking. E500 wagon 4Matic? THAT would be a good daily, right? Lost out on an extremely good deal, and then realized they are hard to come by. Then I discovered the E550. Oh they made them in AWD. So that's everything I like about my E55 but in a more laid back all season package. Interesting. Two W211s? Never drove a single one because I realized that having two of the same car is not what I wanted. I wanted something MORE different.

Always liked the S-class, even if I never drove one. So the first thing I did was look into the W220. I figured that was all the S-class I could afford. I was willing to spend 5 figures on the G37 but if the car was NOT going to be Japanese then I needed it to be cheaper so I could brace more for repairs. So hence the W220. Never drove one. I knew about the W221 but assumed I would never be able to afford a non-sketchy example. Did more research (including on here). Given my skills, I began to realize that an M273 powered W221 is actually a far more reasonable purchase than I initially suspected. And S550s are actually fairly easy to find, unlike some of the more unicorn cars I tend to seek. And while I like options, I realized that even a fairly base S550 is going to have everything I want (mostly) so that makes it even easier.

Somehow I noticed a local silver 07 S550 4Matic on CL. Perfect chance to check one out in person. It had 79k and seller was asking $16k. Plus it was in an accident (Carfax said light hit in the front). So I knew that price wasn't happening but it was a local example so I checked it out anyway. It was an estate car and she was selling it on behalf of her deceased father's estate. She also had been trying to auction it (some kind of virtual auction process). Anyway, drove it for a while. Honestly, I was underwhelmed. First, it was kind of a base model. Didn't have any of the fancy toys I would have liked (rear seat stuff, Distronic, night vision, AMG package, etc.). It appeared to have the P2 package, iPod plug and Nappa leather, but nothing more. A $96k car in 2007, yes, but pretty base as S-classes in the US go. Also, I had been daily driving my E55 all 2021 season (because my STS was broken). Condition wise it was actually pretty good. A bit of a garage queen, so it was pretty clean underneath. With the front collision, the front was very nice which I actually considered a pro. Interior was near mint. It actually drove really well and the suspension felt tight. But it seemed like maybe the power/weight of the car wouldn't be enough for me, even as a daily (again, I had been dailying my E55 which sets a pretty high bar for what happens when you touch the throttle). That plus the price caused me to walk away. In retrospect I began to justify the car more (after all it is just as fast as a G37 though it feels totally different). I needed to find a cheaper example and see if the condition of this 07 was really special or typical.



I did run the VIN and noted that the engine is a post-fix for the timing gear so that's one major problem mitigated (in theory). I also ran the VMI and didn't see red flags. I was happy with the Carfax, as well (including the accident in ~2015). Her dad owned it from like 09 to 2021 and only added like 27k. He also kept pretty meticulous records.

I located a RWD car in CT but the guy spaced out and decided not to sell right as I was about to leave to go see it (2 hours away). Ended up driving 90 minutes to look at a different example. It was another 07, but equipped in a more desirable way than the one I just drove. This one was black, AMG package, night vision, rear camera. But it had 140k. Seller was asking like $12k so I figured, if he could come down a bit maybe that would work. So I checked it out. It drove ok but an inspection revealed some clear evidence of neglect. I was not looking for a total fixxer-upper. I know any car I buy will need maintenance/repairs but I didn't want to start out that way. Driving this car solidified that the silver 07 was the one, IF I could get the price way down. I also began to rationalize the low options and base 18" wheels (less likely to bend a wheel and cheaper tires).

So I texted the owner...hey I know I used a lot of your time last week but I would like to check the car out one more time. She cautiously accepted. But I had a plan. I went to the bank, took out $12k in cash, and went to meet her. I briefly looked at the car again and then began to make my offer. Here's how it went:
I said here's the deal. This car is missing desirable options, is in a somewhat undesirable color, has been in an accident and we both smelled a coolant smell under the hood which could be the radiator, water pump or something else. I like the car but you are not going to get $16k for this. So I whipped out my $12k and said, I can offer $12k, right here right now, I am local, let's sign the papers and this will be done.
She looked at me and said "I really wanted $13k but I don't give a **** - let's do this."

Holy ****, she accepted. I actually thought she wouldn't and that was my best offer so I was 100% going to walk away.




This was November of 2021. Finally sold my STS in Jan (in 24 hours). Incidentally, this means three of my four vehicles are Daimler Chrysler (I also have a 99 Dodge Ram), something that I enjoy telling people for some reason. The plan now was to quickly ready the car for another road trip. We were driving to Disney World in Feb and the plan was to take the S550 (I called it the Orlando Express). It'll pay for itself because 4 plane tickets were stacking up to be nearly $3k and, well, flying sucks imo.

I spent a couple months just going through the car doing regular maintenance, PM for known trouble spots, and trying to discover all potentially broken things. I've found that on more complex vehicles you just have to own them and drive them to find all the things potentially wrong. A test drive only rules out some obvious things.

So between November and mid-Feb, here is what I did.

First, here is the list of maintenance items I came up with, knowing I was going to take a 3,000 mile road trip in a relatively unfamiliar vehicle (unlike my E55 I wouldn't get to own it for a year before such a trip).
[X] - Coolant or at the very least a cooling system inspection. Changed coolant.
[X] - Rear diff service
[X] - Front diff service
[X] - Oil change
[X] - Replace cam covers and breather cover and centrifuge
[X] - Clean MAF and TB
[X] - Engine air filters
[X] - Cabin air filters
[X] - Solid inspection under the car with the panels removed. Just need to baseline what it looks like under there as far as leaks and the condition of lines, hoses, etc. Looks good.
[X] - Examine main battery. Removed battery, added water to cells, charged, reinstalled.
[X] - Protect underbody with CRC Corrosion Inhibitor
[X] - Trans service. Did the A89 pan/filter/tube conversion and drained torque converter.
[X] - Clean dust out of amplifier

Then, here was my list of items that were "broken" that I discovered, and fixed:
[X] - Rear sub rattled. Never did audio test but even if I did not sure I would have turned it up that high. Already fixed with glue.
[X] - Windshield washer pump dead. Have replacement pump and grommet, just need to install. I think the OEM part was $28.
[X] - Accessory whine from something. I heard this before I bought it but hoped it was one of the pulleys. Ordered a belt kit with 3 pulleys. If that doesn't fix it that means it's the alternator or P/S pump I guess. $134 from Rockauto for all that. UPDATE: Was A/C pulley bearing
[X] - Replace serpentine belt, tensioner and idler pulleys.
[X] - Oil level sensor issue? I am still not 100% sure it is malfunctioning but it seems to report a low level when it's way over the min line. Not the way I would have designed it but I did get a sensor and the right time to replace this is on the next oil change. $35 for OEM?
[X] - Rain sensing wipers seem way overly aggressive. I just got new OEM wiper blades so I'll put those on at some point and hopefully the old ones were just smearing on the sensor making it think the windshield was wetter than it actually was.
[X] - I did add a tiny bit of coolant because I saw a low coolant warning briefly after pulling some Gs around a ramp. Doesn't look low but not sure where the proper fill level is so I added some. The system was holding pressure because it released when I opened the cap. Holding pressure means it can't have a very large leak. Changed coolant. Held a vacuum....
[X] - I noticed the tires are SUPER old. Three are 2009 and one is 2011. I knew they were old and I don't think the car would have gotten any more discounted but man that's old. Shopping for tires now. Point is I could have at least looked at the date codes and mentioned it as part of my negotiation but since she accepted it doesn't matter at this point.
[X] - The brakes do have a light pulsation but she claims they are new and they feel new. I think they were bedded improperly so I'm hoping with my usage it will go away. I may try some aggressive stops from a higher speed to clean off the rotors. I noticed this on the test drive though so not sure this should really be in the list. UPDATE: did rear pads, rotors and rebuilt calipers (seals and boots and hardware), and bled/flushed fluid.
[X] - GPS date issue. Needs the update but it won't take. I may need a telematics software update before it will take the GPS fix update. My STS had a similar requirement but it had already been updated so it wasn't an issue when I did that one. The nav works and the clock keeps the right time since I set it so this really only matters for the maintenance reminders but I'd still like it to be right. But this may require a Star computer or the dealer and the dealer will cost on the order of $156 (possibly more?) so I'd rather put that towards a Star system I can use on both cars. UPDATE: got it to work with some modification of the update file by a forum member.
[X] - The tilting sideview mirror in reverse feature WOULD NOT WORK. The power mirror worked fine in all directions. Very odd. So what I eventually tried was to put the car in reverse and manually tilt down the mirror as if to show the car "see, that's how you do that." Ever since then it has worked perfectly. Adam thinks the tilt down may have had its own memory position and needed to be set. That is actually plausible but a little weird. Either way it has functioned perfectly every time since.

Did the trip. It went perfect. Car had zero issues. I averaged 23 mpg and it used ZERO oil. Wow. In fact, it would go on to use zero oil for the entire 5100 mile oil change interval, in a nice change of pace from my E55.

After the trip, I discovered that the passenger side seat belt height cable had pulled off the bracket under the seat. Reattached that. I also had a squeaky right front lower main ball joint. Injected some grease through the boot (once while the car was on ramps and once while it was in the air) and that actually fixed it.

By the way. what about that coolant smell? I have no idea. It is possible that the smell is actually washer fluid. First, it's heated. Second, when below freezing, there is a leak from (I think) the passenger side headlight sprayer nozzle/area. I didn't think a water pump or radiator would be the end of the world and it turns out I think those are both fine anyway. Haven't fixed the washer fluid leak yet...

I wanted to lay out the story to set the stage. What do I think about the car overall after like 7k of additional miles? It's great! I am glad I didn't buy another W211 because this car compliments my E55 very nicely, by doing some stuff very differently. It's like driving a limo but in S mode I find it plenty athletic. Lately I've been driving in C and trying to get the best fuel economy. And back to the power thing - once I realized this was not the E55, I made peace with the performance. It is more than adequate for a daily driver. But understand - for me this is more or less a daily driver and isn't even garaged (my E55 is). I also made another interesting realization. The same way my E55 fulfilled my hotrod B-body desires that never materialized, the S550 actually fulfills a luxury car desire that my 95 Fleetwood could only approximate (and I missed that car). Looking back, I didn't go a totally different way with cars. I actually amplified what I liked about previous vehicles, and accepted the trade-offs. I have no regrets.

Aspirationally, I hope to find a way to get an S65 in my garage someday but I'm not ready for that yet.

One note about model years:
My E55 is on the earlier side being an 04 and the S550 is on the earlier side being an 07. In my personal opinion, it is not mandatory to buy a later year WHEN taking price into consideration. These cars are old and in my personal opinion, MANY (not all) of the issues have already presented and been sorted. But you must do your research, and being a DIY is highly recommended. To be honest I have completely written off the M278/M157 as a daily to put miles on, as it seems like an exercise that WILL end in expensive disappointment. But even with an M273 car, owning this car out of warranty and bringing it to a shop seems insane to me (no offense to those who do so). But all things considered, and maybe because this is more of a base model, I don't find this car nearly as daunting as a casual observer might assume it to be. I find BOTH of my Mercedes better to work on than I expected, even considering some of the questionable design/material choices that everyone can point out. I am not just making this work; I LOVE both cars. For the most part, I just get in and drive them. The fact that I expended some effort to sort them both out before a long trip probably helps. Your mileage may vary.

chassis

Cool story. Vague coolant smell can come from the circulation pump. In many MB models the pump is installed behind the driver’s headlamp. The pump is a cheap commodity MB parts bin component. The hoses “perspire” coolant and you can see the crusties at the hose joints. It’s not a concern unless your coolant level is dropping. My W166 had (has) vague ambient coolant smell from nearly new, after long hot runs when I walk past the driver’s headlamp. It’s a MB design feature.

riv-stage 1

@kevm14. I enjoyed your journey you wrote....especially I like those other cars too!! thanks

conmee

As fate would have it, whilst having the dealer perform Service A, I asked to have the "rough idle" diagnosed. Engine mounts are shot I'm told. $4,186 total with tax ($400 going to the state of WA). I have other options besides the dealer, but wanted to say that the S-Class will make you a DIYer if you aren't already one lol.