I traded my MY2012 4matic for a MY2015 4matic with 17K miles. I have racked up around 4K miles in the last 4 months with zero issues. From a pricing perspective the MY2015 seems to be in the sweet spot as far as depreciation goes with a very nice example going for around 50% of original MSRP. I gave 59K for mine and it had an MSRP of around 119K. I think the 15-17MY cars have the same 7 speed. Some have had issues but it is too soon to tell if the new 9 speed is any more reliable as it is new. Got around 31K on my trade with 55K miles on the clock. These cars do seem to sell for a premium in the PNW as I found my same car on the east coast and in TX for around 3K less but in Washington we have sales tax so the savings was cancelled because of this. Found a MB dealer that will extend the factory warranty for another 3 years for around 3200 bucks so I will be at around 62K all in with the warranty. Love the car, it is a step above the 12 in refinement and comfort and it feels just as solid. Loved my 12 but it was falling out of warranty and I was ready for something new. Personally I would never buy one of these cars new because of the depreciation hit they take but the 2-3 year examples with very low miles can be had for a bargain.

I got a 2015 about a year ago on a trade of my AMG Wagon. Great car, no real issues, trans sometimes has a firm shift from 1 to 2 first shift of the day only and on rare occasion a firm downshift from 4 to 3, like once a month if that. Car is very comfortable and cushy. Was thrilled with the distronic originally until I drove a 2018, much improved in the newer car. Does not hold the center of the lane all that well in the 2015 and tends to weave a little as if you'd had a few beers, lol. The newer cars of course are more advanced, but that's the way technology goes. Car performs very well, really presses you into the seat when you get on it. Surprising handling for a such a big car. Sometimes on exit ramps I'll hit the suspension into sport just to make it a little tighter in the corners. I don't recommend the run flats, better off with a regular tire, I run the bridgestones Serenity plus tires. Less noise and more comfortable. The mood lighting is good and many other cool features. All around a great car.

Something like this seems like a decent deal, maybe throw a bid at it. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-Be...8AAOSw7fBa6J1b

The MY 2014 I had was great, solid and reliable.........only had a aux battery and brakes replaced....under warranty of course.

traded my 221 for a 15 w222. No issues as of yet. Big improvement over the 221.

While you had transmission issues, the 7-speed "isn't known for issues" on the W222 S-Class. Typical generalization that isn't helpful to the OP. 4 years of posts in the W222 forum and yours is either the first or maybe 2nd here with tranny issues.

MB has been using the 7G-tronic for 15 years in millions of cars and and had countless revisions and software. They definitely had some issues and the 9G is much better but the 7G in the 222 was the most mature version. Transmission software is also designed by model and is not 100% between models.

Double post. Deleted

Just pointing out that there is always a lot of hear say and when something is manufactured over decades, it can't just be compared. There is also a big difference between people not liking the shift patterns or certain harshness, etc. but that doesn't mean it isn't working exactly as designed. In your case the tech have detected an issue and fixed it, which is wonderful.
Keep in mind that the OP is coming from the exact same transmission already (perhaps older software)

Hmm. A link to what? Somebody saying that they heard something and everybody responding they have no issue? I am not disputing you, just like to keep it real. That said every car manufactured anywhere has issues. Some more, some less. Some people get a lemon. The percentage defines reliability. Konigstiger maintain an excellent list of any service bulletin that addresses issues that people might experience. The forums are also a good reference of what goes wrong with these cars as they act as an amplifier. So reviewing years of threads typically provides a nice overview of how these cars do.

The only thing at times is to separate personal opinion from facts. The 7speed MCT for AMG models has been cursed for years for it's harsh and jerky shifting. And it was; AMG should have changed the transmission years ago. But its bad demeanor wasn't faulty. It just was working that way. Same way with BMW's SMG and DCT for M cars...

I know that I am one of the guys who has had issues with hesitation in shifting from 3rd to 4th gear especially in the winter when engine is really cold. But after a few minutes of driving the hesitation is completely gone. To me that's not a big deal. In the summer time, this does not seem to be an issue even in the first few minutes of driving. So, it's all good as far as I'm concerned. Considering all the other wonderful features of the 222, I am not at all complaining.

From what I've heard there has been problems with the Pulse Width Modulator in both the 221 and 222's. (PWM). I think that could be the problem in my car. I tried to tell the dealer this and all they did was a software update which did not thing for my shifting harshness.

Same here. My 2015 S550 is super quiet. Not a peep from the glass roof or elsewhere.