jbm417

https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/WDDUG8FB5HA311794

Thinking of buying the above mentioned car & am seeking any tips/info for guidance. MB certified with 41K miles & factory warranty until 4/22/2023. Have never owed a MB before so totally uninformed. In particular: any chronic problems or pecularities that are a nusiance?

Just finished reading here about the aux battery/capacitor failure - although an aggravation , not that much of a big deal.

I am accustomed to doing my own maintenance, but will be letting MB do it until factory warranty expires. That said, I know this car has lots of sensors & computers that I suspect will require MB do maintenance using specialized diagnostic equipment. So I would like to hear opinions as to how feasible is doing my own maintenance/repairs?

TIA, Joe

stever500

Very reliable cars... if you like the color combo, it's covered for over 2 years so if I were you, I'd just get it. Life's short, get what you like. Maintenance? Doing it yourself? You won't have to worry about that for over 2 years and by then, who knows, anything could happen. You may end up trading up to a newer car so you may not be doing any service on your own. ENJOY IT! My car has been super reliable. You'll find people who've had issues with ANY CAR, even a 2017 Camry... most of us have had very few major issues. People who are on car forums complain more than the average folks... just do it.

2012 merc amg

That kinda sounds like a lot for a 2017 S class with that many miles on it, I don't think thats worth anymore than $50K at the most. I just traded in a 2017 with 28K miles on it, they are good cars. Probably best off getting rid of the run flat tires though, non of those run flats are really all that great.

jbm417

Thanks for both replies. Re price: I sure would like to pay less, but just haven't found anything. Don't like black, white, silver/gray or green- maybe a shade of red would be ok, and of course the blue.
I'll keep looking, but pickings are slim.

2012 merc amg

I always thought Silver looked real good on these cars. This car seems like a good deal. https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...ckType=listing

jbm417

Yes, this does seem like good deal - don't know if I can get the wife go for silver. However, silver is better than black or white - so maybe.

SilberGrau57

Personally, I would stick with the 2016 model year tops to keep the 7-speed tranny. I believe, though, gears 1-7 in the 9-speed are the same, and the top two are just for high-speed cruising, so you may rarely ever see them. At least you've got the solid 4.7 V8. Ask to see the CPO inspection and work order to see what's been worked on. You probably won't have to do anything except maybe one oil change in the next two years, depending on the miles you put on.

Utopia Texas

Have you ever driven a S Class with the nine speed transmission? In my opinion it is superior as far as smooth shifting and acceleration. And no, MB did not just stick two extra gears on the 7 speed. The ratios are different all the way up the sequence.

SW20S

In person that is a great color, I have a coworker who has a 2015 in that color, very sharp, different without being over the top.

jumpman726

To the OP, I am also considering a 2017 S550, but I may hold off another year for the prices to drop on the 2018/19 models. 2017 is the year they introduced the new 9-speed transmission, which is what many recommend. Based on what I've read on these forums some common issues are windshield replacement because they aren't as thick as in the old days to withstand the force from rocks.

Another issue is moisture in the headlamps, which can lead to corrosion of the electronic modules in the headlamps. While looking at the CarFax reports on some 2017 S550's that I was considering I noticed many cars with records of having headlamp repairs/issues and I couldn't understand why because they are LEDs, which are supposed to last longer. Now I know why.

Another issue is with the panorama glass roof cracking. Unfortunately, that's not covered under warranty because it's hard to prove that the glass just cracked on its own.

The other issue you mentioned are the batteries, which need to be replaced around every 2 years. If it's covered under warranty that's fine, but out of warranty I'd recommend buying from Sam's Club or Costco. The batteries usually come with a 2 year warranty and getting it replaced under warranty is easy at those two stores. Just save your receipt.

Side note, Sam's Club will repair/patch flat tires for free for members. (I don't know if Costco does that and I'm not sure if that includes runflat tires)

I've actually found a few used 2017 S550's with the rare metallic silver wood trim on the interior. That's my absolute favorite. It's usually paired with the gray leather interior.

PatentLawyer

I have Anthracite Blue Metallic and I really like it. It changes with the light and, as you point out, it is different while still befitting an S-class.

I also love Ruby Black Metallic, but it has to be *clean*....

PatentLawyer

To respond more generally to the OP, I would endorse the purchase of a CPO S-class. I am only on my second S-class, but have had so many other cars before this one. Had a few Lexus; pretty reliable, but not the paragon of perfection some say. Had a '15 Audi A8 which seemed to have worn through its air suspension after 3 years and 30K miles....really swore me off those...and it ate up front rotors. But '18 S450 felt as new as the day I bought it as when I turned it back in 3 years and 20K miles later (COVID cut my miles down!). Never had a car I could say that about. So IMHO, there is a lot of quality in these cars, even though there are going to probably be small issues to contend with here and there. And while it is a matter of taste, I just prefer driving the S over the others that I've had. And that's why for the first time in my life I got same car two times in a row. (Though, an S560 this time, to make passing more fun.)

jbm417

I checked further on the 2016 listed on autotrader by 21st Century Auto Group. While the price is good, it only has 1 month factory warranty remaining. Also it is not "certified" & to top it off the wife is not sold on the silver color. Thanks for the link, but am going to pass.

SW20S

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the anthracite blue one. it looks well maintained, price may be a little high but if its the right car whats a couple thousand dollars?

That silver one is a matte finish, interesting.

MBS63AMG

KBB values it at $49,000, MB certified,,,, so I think you need to push them down to $45K and see how they rebound on that offer. My two W222 Benzes were trouble free. I would get an extended warranty. If you got the car for $45K then they could finance in an additional 50,000 extended warranty and probably keep it under $48K. Remember, if you trade the car off before your warranty mileage is up, you get a credit for unused mileage of that warranty.

MBS63AMG

Sorry if I missed the question I'm about to ask>>>> but this car looks like it was wrapped. Is it? Looks like a denim finish.

2012 merc amg

Yes to OP it's true that you are probably better off with a CPO vs buying from a non MB dealer. Also I would agree if you can get the 9 speed trans in a 2017 and up probably better off too. There is a fix for the jumpy shifts with the 7 speed auto pre 2017, it's a software update but like 90 percent of the dealers have never heard of it and then you'd be fighting them over that. It's not the greatest time to be a buyer right now as it's pretty much an under supplied sellers market, it seems like even since I bought my 2018 a month ago or so things have gone up even more so that car you listed originally is not over priced by as much as I thought but still over priced I'd say, but like was said if it's what you really want go with it. I probably paid a little too much for my 2018 @ 85K but it is very rare one with pretty much every conceivable option and I don't think the dealer woulda haggled much more as they'd just got the car in stock and there I was with my 2017 I'd bought from the same dealer who was the original seller of the car and knew it's full history. If it were not sold I woulda recommended that one, it was Lunar Blue. If there's anyway possible you can swing a tad over 80K (financing is dirt cheap right now) and go with a 2019 that really would be your best bet. Every model year up got better and better. The internet hot spot and internet radio in the pre 2018's can be troublesome as it used a different system than the starting 2019 model year.

jbm417

Too bad - sounds like that would have been perfect. Ability to talk with the prior owner & get first hand info - awesome!

2012 merc amg

Crazy thing was that car was a little more comfortable for me than the 2018 I got as far as seat comfort goes. The seat just fit me better. Cant figure out why that is although the new car is the designo interior and maybe that has something to do with it or maybe MB changed the seats a little for 2018, I kinda noticed that right away. I didn't let it sway me though as I really wanted all the options I got in the 2018 including the 3D audio which is a rare option and the Magic Body Control for the bumpy roads which again is kinda a rare option. The night assist is nice too along with the Magic Sky Sunroof which has tint that changes electronically.

MB-CES

Since the factory warranty didn't start on this car until 2018, you will have original factory warranty until 2022 and the extra year of CPO warranty until April 2023, as you mentioned. The extra piece of mind for having the factory warranty and CPO warranty is nice. Some people will pay a little extra for this additional warranty.

As others mentioned, also look into a 2018 CPO as many of them will be coming off their 3 year leases. IIRC Android Auto and Apple Carplay began with MY18 for the S-class. Since live traffic will not be available after 3 years free live traffic from TomTom, Android Auto and Apple Carplay can be helpful to those who drive in traffic. Driver Assistance package was improved slightly from 2017 to 2018 as well.

2012 merc amg

All those are very good points with the 2017 vs 2018. The 2018 was a major step up in the technology dept. I did kinda get frustrated pretty quickly with the tech in my 2017.

SilberGrau57

So, no I have not driven the 9G-Tronic, only the 7G in the 2014 S550. Instead, I based my comments on this thread...https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...rformance.html

And while it does say the first 7 gears are basically the same as the 7G, I have not "done the math" in comparing the actual ratios. So I will take your word for it that they are different. The OPs point in the above thread was that he never saw 8 or 9 gear in his driving, and was checking to see if there was something wrong.

In addition to this thread, there are some others that complain the 9G does a lot of unnecessary downshifting, i.e., hunting for the right gear. Maybe the 9G was better designed for the smaller V8, while the 7G fits the 4.7L better. Who knows. For my part, I will stick with the 2014-16 S550's for the reasons I specified.

SW20S

I see 8 and 9 all the time in my regular driving.

S_W222

only issue i see is that it misses the 360 camera option. To me, that feature is really important. I would not get a W222 without 360 camera option. I know it sounds like simple issue, but it's valuable.

2012 merc amg

Agree about the 360 Camera, very risky without it with parking and curbs hitting the front fascia and damaging it. My 2015 did not have the 360 camera option, never again, I did damage like 3 times to the nose of the car and it's not cheap to fix and the owner has to pay for the repair, warrantee does not cover it of course. It's strange with the 9 Speed in my 2017 with the 4.7 liter it would shift into 9th gear by 55 mph. With the 2018 I got a month ago it does not shift into 9th until around 66 mph or so. Obviously the software shift program was changed in the 2018 maybe they found the engine was turning too low a rpm in the 2017's. Nothing really wrong with 2014's-2017's, they are still great cars. That harsh downshift on my 2015 with the seven speed really bothered me, I think it was 4th gear as I remember but there is a software update available for that at this point. With a 2014-2017 I would recommend Apple Music for streaming as with that you can still navagate via USB with no Apple Car Play with the search function and access all your music still through the screen of the car, probably a lot of people don't realize that. The other option there are Apple Car Play add on kits available so Car Play can be added but looks like a lot of work doing the install, I decided not to attempt it myself on my 2017, good thing as I got rid the car anyhow and I didn't want to go messing with things like that.