Will Hunt

I was originally going to replace my hoopty 08 s550 with a 14-15 s550 in a year or 2 but after seeing this video and seeing that a maybach 57 can be had for 40-50k i'm thinking about going with the 57. I know the maybach specific parts are absurd expensive but does anyone know what its like to own a maybach and if the w222 is really that bad?

superpop

These cars do not age well and the Maybach is much older than the W222 you are referencing. I would much rather have a nice lower mileage W222 especially for a DD. I have had my 2015 W222 for around 3 years now and I have had zero issues other than a noisy strut I replaced myself for around 400 bucks. Have done a set of tires and brakes but you will have those with any car. I would never buy a 10+ year old big body benz though.

MBNUT1

Keep in mind that th W240 chassis is based on the W140 which dates back nearly 30 years.

Will Hunt

I'm aware but it is a highly modified w140. I would think that would not be that relevant.

2012 merc amg

That guy is a disgruntled owner and trying to make the car look bad, might be a Salesman for a competitor of Benz or something. I've had a 2015 S class and 2017 and now a 2018 and I've never had any of these problems. Never had one button stick, never a real delay with things as he describes. I would take this review with a grain of salt, The 222 really is a great car.

Will Hunt

He is a BMW guy and he probably got a lemon but I feel like a might still be disappointed with the interior quality although I have not tried one out in person yet. My w221 has sticky buttons around the comand knob so it may be a possibility in the future on some of them.

SW20S

Having driven everything in this segment probably a dozen times over the past 5 months, if you are not satisfied with the interior quality of the W222 then you need to be in a Bentley or a Rolls or something much higher end. All of these cars have great interiors, there isn't anything in a W222 not to like, and nothing in the competitors that is better.

I would be very surprised if "sticky buttons" were an issue in this car and were not an issue in a Maybach. The switchgear is all the same.

My guess is any sticky buttons on a console come from having spilled drinks onto that console over the years.

2012 merc amg

Ya, I'll bet the guy regularly goes to Taco Bell and spills hot sauce on the buttons

as.thompson

"Sticky buttons" has been a problem for several high end cars, including MBZ, Ferrari, etc., for a few years. It seems to have something to do with the type of plastic used and appears as the car ages. My '05 SL has that syndrome on the door Lock/Unlock buttons and no cleaner seems to remove it. Google it to see what the issue is all about. Here is one vendor that is capitalizing on the problem <https://stickynomore.com/>

SW20S

If you watch the video thats not what he's talking about.

2012 merc amg

Interesting. Never experienced that myself then again have not held onto one of these cars more than 2 or 3 years. The buttons are very close together. Maybe as they age the expand or something from the sun hitting them and then bind together. I think they are made out of some kind of plastic although they look metal.

MBS63AMG

I haven't even watched the video and I can already call B.S. on this. I've owned two W222s (85,000 miles on an AMG and up to 15,000 miles on my 2019 S560) and I never had a single issue. I did have sticky buttons but that was entirely my fault as I spilled some type of sugary drink in the area. I repeatedly cleaned it with electronic cleaner and it went away after about 3 treatments and one month. I'm hanging on to my current car as I'm not impressed with the styling trends that MB is taking.

SW20S

The issue he's referring to in Ferraris, etc is the material the buttons are made out of. It goes soft and deforms and gets all gummy. The guy in the video was talking about buttons that get sticky in terms of staying stuck down when you press them.

Looking at all the buttons in my S today I don't see how the Ferrari style sticky buttons are possible, all the buttons are metal or covered in a metal like smooth plastic.

Will Hunt

Is the designo interior all that better?

Will Hunt

On my w221 the hazard button gets stuck down (worse in cold weather) and I have never spilled anything on it although it was very dirty when I got it so somebody might have spilled something on it in the past. I have tried to clean it with electrical contact cleaner but it did not help.

stever500

The W222 "that bad"? That's a joke. The W222 is freakin' awesome. I'd suggest you buy one and enjoy it and to completely disregard this video. If you google 2015, or 2016 S Class Videos most reviewers including most of us LOVE THESE CARS. Just buy one, enjoy it and don't spill sticky drinks in those buttons. Actually, never eat or drink anything other than water in your Benz, ever! Then, no issues. I've never had any major issues and neither did anyone else I know that had or has one. You can always find reviewers trashing any kind of car from a Rolls to a Hyndai Accent but in reality, most cars these days are pretty reliable, most any car. Just do it.

MBNUT1

Get what want but I can pretty much guarantee you nobody on this forum would pick a W240 over a W222 me included. I don't find the front end of the W240's to be very attractive whereas the W222 is a beautiful car.

SilverArrow44

Only you can truly answer your question, but you'll have to keep in mind that the older W240 will provide an unfavorable combination of severely outdated technology and significantly high repair costs. As the current owner of an S-Class, you have an idea of what to expect should you step up to the W222. If you're comfortable with typical S-Class issues and maintenance, then to me it makes most sense to move forward in time, not backwards. If you're adding the first generation Maybach to a stable of cars as a collector's item or maybe using it for business purposes like a luxury rental, then okay. But for a vehicle that you'll use a daily driver, I suspect you would immediately regret going from a 2008 S-Class to an even older Mercedes product with less modern technology.

Wolfy90503

I've been inside the new RR Ghost, it's not that much nicer than the W222. The wood & leather in the new RR look nothing special anymore compared to RR's of yore.

Nice Ride

If you ever spilt anything or splashed a drink, it will cause this problem. They can easily be cleaned.

Will Hunt

Seems worse than the W221.

SW20S

Sounds to me like you've decided what you want to do and are trying to convince yourself that its the right thing to do. If you want a W240, get one. That simple.

Wolfman

BMW dealer. Curious about the purpose of these videos. If he would step into a 7 series, it would make more noises
Same for the W221 which had more plastic inside.
That said, I am unsure about this whole thread. Why bother with searching for videos? Go to a dealer and check out the car and make up your mind.
In regards to the Maybach, we drove a new 57 for a week. Loved the car which was something like $350k at the time. Drove great and a better tank than the W140 that it was based on. But it’s a classic car at this point with significant repair costs. You won’t be able to afford a cheap one as many parts are Maybach only and difficult/expensive to obtain. A new alternator will set you back over $7k...

Strolling down memory lane
https://mbworld.org/forums/maybach-w...-pictures.html

DaveW68

The W240 might be built on a 140 chassis, but the interior bits and pieces, including the switches, nav, seat controls, etc are right out of a W220 and kept using those old parts throughout the entire run. You'd think that the car would have been ahead of the curve and used W221 pieces, but Benz opted for their older tech. That W240 will be much more expensive to maintain now than it was while it was fairly new. I'd guess that if you want it to be a DD, you should budget upwards of $20k/year for maintenance and repairs.

And beware of ultra low mileage examples. While the engine may not have had much abuse, seals, gaskets, and plastic parts will be dried out and cost you a small fortune to replace as leaks become very prevalent. The ABC suspension alone will likely bury you and the V12 bi turbo is a very costly engine to maintain and/or repair. And expect it to be off the road for long stretches for repairs as parts could take a while to come in. Since they were priced similar to a top end Rolls when they came out, expect maintenance and repairs to be similar to an old Rolls.

PatentLawyer

Like others have said, the right thing to do is the thing you want to do. These aren't rational purchases (buy a Honda Accord if you just need a car), so emotion is fair game in your decision making.

That said, from a factual perspective, the W222 has proven to be a reliable and very enjoyable vehicle. From a personal perspective, I'm on my second W222, and have had a great experience; they are the best cars I've owned.

Consider a 2017 or later so you can get the 9-speed transmission and other updates.