So I sold the Maybach and now just reflecting on owning the car. Perhaps one would ask why sell it. Well probably the biggest reason was the three premature rear tire failures. I did put the adjustable camber rods on the car and had the camber adjusted so the tires would not wear out like they were doing but I think with my husband he still did not have confidence to take the car on trips anymore. I admit I was a bit gun shy as well about it. The second reason we sold it was that when I would walk in the garage and see the Maybach I would also see the AMG GTC and this girl REALLY likes the GTC. It does not ride like the Maybach but it does ride really nice and dam what a thrill to drive.

What was it like owning the car. Well as with any S class the car is magnificent and was truly a joy to drive. Add to it a car that can be taken to a road course race track (like I did) and drive the car like a sports car is a first for me in a luxury car. Also the 3D sound system is the most amazing sound system I have ever herd bar none. Add all the amazing tech in the car and you get the idea why its so nice.

I do have to admit I had several repairs that I would not expect out of a car with 50-60k miles. One was the air conditioner line replace, another was front wheel bearing, two idler pulleys, and the ABC pump. The first three I did myself and were not much money the ABC pump was just under 3k.

When the car was under warranty one of the front control arms was replaced because of squeaking and I had to take the car back a number of times for the heads up display rattle that I myself eventually fixed. I would hope to think that Mercedes would have been a bit more proactive in getting that fixed but who knows. When I told the service advisor after the first tire failure his response was that is the way these cars are vs. attempting to address the problem.

So would I do it again. I dont know if I would get a Maybach again because we did not use the back seat that much and simply put the back seat is what the Maybach is all about. The problem with getting a S at the time we got the Maybach was by the time you load up all the options on an S your well over 150k and dam your so close to the Maybach........ I guess if the options dont mean that much then yea the S is the way to go.

What are we going to replace the car with? I cant say for sure but hubby likes the new F150 Limited, the Lexus ES, Acura TLX, and finally the Genesis G70. Me I am happy with the GTC.

 

Congratulations. It sounds like one of those cases of "mixed emotions."

 

That seems to be a big change.........

 

Katie congrats on the sale. The bad news for this forum is it won't benefit from your technical contributions. Was great reading posts by a W222 owner who was willing to turn their own wrenches.

 

Yea Mitch I would agree with you on the big different but then that adds spice to life I guess.

I will still be in the forum over on the GT part of the forum and who knows I learned a lot about the w222 so I will stick around.

 

Congrats on the sale. It's now somebody else's warranty-free problem. I hope the new owner is as handy as you are when it comes to repairs. But odds are they won't be and won't have the necessary MB specific tools and software like you do. Oh well....their problem now. It's been fun sparring with you about warranties.

Would you mind sharing how much you got for it?

 

Congrats, enjoyed going through some of your older threads, while learning about the different vehicles..

 

I would say one thing I would never have sold the car had we not also had The GTC.

 

I noticed in another thread that you were willing to entertain offers to sell the GTC. Thinking of making a clean break from MB?

 

Congratulations @Katie . Your MB knowledge is impressive and I hope you stick around on the site to contribute.

 

Ahh thank you. I still am on the gt part of the forum. I would not mind getting a gtr convertible.

 

They are a bit pricey. We had a local used one for sale forever for around $176k and it just sold. The market is strong at the moment.

 

Do yourself a favor and don't go to a FWD car. I did that once, I went from the Lexus LS to the ES which I drove for 7 years at a time when that's what I could afford, and then I got another ES which I traded out of after a couple years to go back to RWD Lexus vehicles and you will never be satisfied with a FWD platform after all the incredible cars you've had. The ES and the TLX will just fundamentally feel lower quality and you will never be able to shake that and be satisfied with the car. They feel way more like a Camry and Accord than they do a RWD Lexus/MB/BMW sedan.

So in your situation out of those options, the only car I would consider is the G70 for a comfortable run around sport sedan, otherwise I would do something totally different and get the F150. My business partner went from RWD Lexus and MB sedans to a Ram Limited and he LOVES having a truck. Its very comfortable, tons of space, he loves the look and feel of it, and it feels like a serious piece of machinery because it is, just in a different way from a high end sedan or sports car. My 2 cents.

 

Funny you said that SW20 about the G70.

After a number of test drives we ended up getting a 2022 G70 with the 3.3 engine and top trim level. It was abundantly clear when driving the Lexus Es and Acura TLX that these cars were nice and all but then when you get in the G70 its like going from a Honda Accord to my AMG GTC. What a difference. I swear I never in a 1000000 years would have thought I would buy a Korean car over a Honda or Toyota product but dam what a difference. No wonder the G70 won car of the year recently.

A few people asked me... why sell the Maybach. I have mixed feelings and the more I think about it the better I can explain. The car itself was very nice with just a few already mentioned problems. What really grated me over time was the Mercedes/dealer experience. When I took a 200000 dollar car in under warranty for the snare drum noise out of the heads up display, if I were in charge of the company I would have ordered a new HUD unit and be done with it so I had a happy customer. Instead I had to take the car in at least four times and even though I had video of the noise and me touching the screen and noise going away I still had to take the time to drive a technician again and again in the car to try to recreate the issue. They never did fix the problem I DID.

When under warranty I told the service manager about the car eating the inside of the rear tires the response was that's just the way the car is. Again I would think if a customer owned one of their most expensive products they would be jumping through hoops to make them happy but that's not really what I felt was happening.

When I took the GTC in under warranty for the drivers side seat and window not working correctly they did the simplest attempt to fix the car (computer reset) and then called me to come get it because it was fixed. When I picked it up I never left the lot because the problem was still there. They did fix the problem the next day by replacing a module in the door and all was well but I spent two hours going to pick up a car that was fixed but then NOT fixed.

When I took the Maybach in last October 2020 to fix the seat bladder air line they put a tiny scratch in a trim piece on the passenger seat. They told me about it and that they ordered a new part. Last week (seven months later) I got a call that the part came in. I drove an hour down to the dealer to get the part to send to the new owner. It was NOT the correct part. I left a message with the service manager about this and have yet to hear from him.


When I think about al the time I lost taking the car to the dealer about an hour drive one way (due to busy traffic all the time) and the fact that the dealer/Mercedes didn't seem to have a repair process that excels at servicing what are excellent cars you can see where I am a bit annoyed with the whole thing. I say these things with reservation because I don't want people to be scarred of owning a Mercedes, I really feel they are great cars with very few problems (my GTC has had just that one problem), but i think Mercedes has some work to do to make customers happy in the Service/warranty repair world.

Katie

 

That is probably the dealer, and not the car. Too bad. Most dealers do not take second owners seriously as they know these customers will probably never buy a new car from them. I assume you are the second owner on these cars. How does the G70 compare to the S550 in ride quality and quietness?

 

I'll bet that the rear seat was equipped with head pillows, so that you might be able to direct me to a source. I have a fully equipped S550 with snap provisions on the head rest, but alas no pillows.

 

Superpop you could be correct about the dealer. As far as comparing the G70 to the S Class I could not possibly even consider that. The S Class insulates you from the world in luxury and at the same time can be driven like a race car if you so choose. Did that once on a F1 race track with the Maybach and was shocked at how aggressive you can drive the car, mind you its still isolating you from the world.

I had said one of the reasons we sold the Maybach was when I went to the garage I would most always choose the AMG GTC which rides reasonably nice (makes a Miata feel like a terrible ride) and can be raced any day of the week since that is what it was designed for. The GTC is also a blast to drive and very engaging.

I would compare the G70 to the C Class which is a competitor. My G70 has the top trim level and v6 engine. What I am about to say is would be a unfair comparrison but if you were to compare my G70 to a BASE C class you would likely pick the G. Plastic seats and none of the tech is not that agreeable on the C class. NOW if you were to compare the V6 C class with most of the options and leather seats you would be possibly on par with the G. If you were to spend notably more than the G costs and get an AMG C Class (not the 600hp S) I suspect you would either be either on par with the G or perhaps far ahead. This G really does have a LOT of power and handles really well. Its like a sports car in sedan form.

If I did not have a slightly bad taste in my mouth about Mercedes I would have likely brought a AMG C Class over the G70. Mind you I would have had to spend probably 30k more than I paid for the G. With that said this G is a LOT of fun and very agreeable and way way way more fun than the Acura TLX and Lexus ES.

 

Did you buy a '21 or the refreshed '22? I've heard you can squeeze a decent amount more power out of that 3.3 V6 with a tune.

At the end of the day, I have a feeling that if you were disappointed in the service you received with your Benz, you may be even more disappointed in the service you receive on the Genesis. After all, they are serviced by Hyundai techs at Hyundai dealerships. I have a couple of buddies with a Genesis G80 and GV70. Both have complained that they are treated no better than the guy pulling up in his 10 year old Sonata at the dealership. I don't think this will be resolved until Hyundai forms their own specialized network of Genesis dealers like Toyota did with Lexus. But in the current environment, that likely won't happen for several years if ever.

I hope your experience will be better.

 

House cleaning. A few posts have been removed. Please stay on topic. Thanks!

 

Problem is that your going from a world class top of the line S600 Maybach. There are few cars in that league making it hard to get something else. Those cars will satisfy you for a very short term then you will realize oh no! I should of bought a newer S Maybach or Bentley or Rolls Royce

 

Well a Maybach or S are definitely on the list of future cars but for the time being I don’t mind stepping back to a more plebeian car. Mind you I still have the GTC to drive and that’s a very special ride.

 

Wolfman

I understand your concern..so noted.

 

I just read through the thread titled "2018 S560 Turbo Oil Leak". Wow!! That was an interesting read that sure took a lot of twists and turns. Kinda reminded me of almost any episode of "Dallas".

My takeaway was that you did a lot of your own work on the S600. Would you mind sharing what kinds of service and repairs that you think a weekender mechanic can do on a complicated V12 car like that. I can handle the simple stuff like brake changes, oil & trans fluid swaps, and air filters. But what other repairs are fairly simple for somebody with basic auto knowledge to tackle on that kind of car? I've been considering a W222 S600 (non Maybach), but am a bit worried about the cost of the things I can't handle by myself since it's not a certified car and nobody will warranty a V12.

 

First of all you spend 8-15 dollars on eBay for Mercedes WIS and you will have the service manual and parts manual for your car that the dealer uses. Ittakes time to learn but has all the repairs and maintenance. A person in the GT forum took the time to post All the maintenance for his car here https://mbworld.org/forums/coupe-roa...intenance.html

mind you that’s just the maintenance. All the repairs are there too.


if you look you will see pages from wis that will give you an idea of what it’s like..

So now that you have wis you will see that generally speaking it’s pretty simple to follow clear directions. One need not have a pile of special tools. I promise the cars are not terribly difficult to work on.

With all that said the v12 engine is nice but ANY s class has a good engine.

 

Perhaps I should have taken auto shop as an elective in HS instead of concentrating solely on college AP courses. Dammit!