Emendez

Hi to everyone, this my first time trying to buy a 2014 S class 550 but don’t know too much about them, all I know is that parts and maintenance are expensive but when it comes to reliability, are they reliable? Does anyone knows a independent mercedes mechanic that won’t break the bank? Thanks

absent

Post it in appropriate forum, W222, that discusses the model you are considering.

Diesel Benz

Is it a W222 that you are after? You would likely get better answers from the W222 forum.

MBNUT1

Did this thread get moved from another Forum? It's in the correct forum now.

To the OP the W222's have been pretty reliable.

Mitch Alsup

A properly maintained W222 S-class will likely pass 200,000 miles with standard service and maintenance.

Maintenance is pretty reasonable compared to my Ferrari........

YasS

Don't get the first model year

MBS63AMG

The W222 has been the most reliable Mercedes S class that I can think of. I've had two of them, one up to 85,000 miles, and no problems at all. I've had S classes since the mid 80s. The W220 was the worst of any Mercedes I can think of.

Katie22

My 2016 Maybach has been a good car. It has not been as maintenance free as say any Honda I have owned but it has been a good car for the 75000 miles I have driven it.

A few of the odds and ends were taken care of during the factory warranty.

After the warranty I replaced two idler pulleys for the belt, a front wheel hub bearing, and an air conditioning line. All these were inexpensive and done myself. I would say that I would not expect any of these items to wear out prior to 100000+ miles on a car so that is what makes it a bit more work than say a Honda.

The only other costly repairs was a active body pump at 60,000 miles and an air seat line repair. I tend to think both of these are not a common repair in our cars.

kafklatsch

I have had good reliability with every Mercedes I have owned and I'm an owner typically keeps an MB for many miles but I do have to admit the W220 for some reason just didn't work out so well After the miles got above about 80,000... I love the w220 amg but had to make many repairs (motor and tranny where great throughout)... the w222's are too low miles to know... but so far so good

badq45t

For a car of that age it is all about the current miles and the way the owner took care of the car originally. You can take the most bullet proof car and neglect it into early grave. I would look for something south of 60k that has a book of everything that was done to the car. If your coming off a Honda, Toyota or Nissan everything on a MB is going to be more. I am still breaking myself in with my first MB after years of Nissan's and Infiniti's but still under warranty and pre-paid maintenance programs, so I will see once I get past those. I bought CPO and the car was well sorted out at 32k when I bought it, most of my friends thought it was new. A 2014 was first year, shoot for 2015-16 if you can.

Donnymac

Wise words that cover lots of territory!

MBNUT1

The converse to this is that if a car is unreliable due to poor design / manufacturing all the tender loving care won't make it a reliable car. That was my experience with the transfer case in my 4matic W212.

badq45t

I completely agree with that but these years S class are great cars, as noted 2014 was the first year, I can recall earlier years that were very poor. My cousin's husband leases a new S-Class every 2-3 years since 1992, he had crazy issues in the early to mid-2000's with cars that were build like crap. I think any W222 that is well cared for is going to be solid, but one that the owner neglected will cost you $$$ big time on the backside. I bought CPO as I know these are not perfect but least you know the leased car (mine was a lease return) had to have adaquate care.

Any brand can have a bad copy of a good product.

Wolfman

Yes, I moved it

MBNUT1

Agreed as I indicated in my first post of this thread my observations based on this forum is that the W222 is pretty reliable. One thing that seems to be an issue is the headlights can collect moisture and fail which is an expensive repair.

badq45t

Good reason to look for one that is a garaged car vs. outdoor car. This really makes a huge difference, I look at my 1984 300ZX and it has less dirt and other "outdoor" issues that my 2005 Nissan X-Terra that unfortunately lives in the street vs. my garage.

DaveW68

So many replies to the OP who has made only the 1 post then bolted.

badq45t

I flippin' hate when they do that. I am a newbie here but I have been active on many boards starting back in the late 90's and I always hate it when that happens. I am enjoying this board as it has some action and regular dudes posting.

S_W222

It was his first post ever and he just joined the forum this month, probably only to post this question. I don't think he even subscribed to see replies
I like this forum, can't believe that I open the forum every morning just like I open my emails first :-) !

hyperion667

I had a 14 and it was solid....even though I didn't want to own it out of warranty.