I have a black/black W221 (2013) with 105k. Well maintained, no issues (other than the dreaded malfunction indicator with the icon for vehicle rising/lowering which night suggest a new air suspension strut is in my future; however it happened once and they’re still hissing and rising/lowering fine at the moment).

anyway, I’ve been toying around with the idea of getting a W222 for no reason other than “maybe” I’ll need new air suspension (and who knows how many and when at thousands per pop) and just for the novelty of having an updated S-Class. I have no concerns about my current car really, but I just saw a beautiful 2015 black exterior with designo porcelain exclusive interior, which is a rare combination and my favorite. It’s got 40k and is $49,999, not certified. I paid $54 for my 2013 when it was 3 years old and 36k and it was certified. I get the msrp went up and this w222 is a bit more optioned than my w221. There’s not a huge performance change and I don’t think I’m getting a deal price wise, especially since it is out of warranty and has a few interior imperfections (like the seat back pocket elastic is stretched and dented; somewhat simple to order and replace for bit much $$).

thoughts on this? It’s difficult to get the perfect color combo I prefer unless I’m continuing to search or order a new s580 special order and pay a fortune. Nothing is wrong with my current car and outside of a “maybe” air strut, I know it’s in good shape. There’s always the chance something fails sight unseen.

there’s the “damn the car is beautiful” part of me that wants to pull the trigger and there’s the “this isn’t even a deal and you know more about the car you own than this one” practical side of me. I also don’t feel great buying a car that’s 6 years old whereas last time I only paid a few $$ more for a 3 y/o version. Looking for opinions ..

 

Keep the economy going man!

 

Generally speaking, the W222 is quite reliable. I'm not sure if it would be worth the leap between the W221 and W222 though.

 

Unfortunately there are no good deals to be had right now. So it really comes down to how motivated you are to change out of the W221. If it were me and I was happy with my car I would stay put right now.

 

A W222 is significantly better than a W221 (design, features, reliability and luxury) but this is bad time to purchase unlike the last time when you bought yours. After the W222 S-Class models were introduced, the W221 had to be unloaded with big discounts as few people wanted to buy them. They have been a used car bargain ever since...

The only reason to buy right now is if the trade-in price of your car has increased enough to cover a good part of the premium that is in the W222 price.

 

The Wolf is correct. I went from a 2012 W221 to a 2015 W222 in 2017 when the pricing difference was not too bad. Gave 30K and my car so I got around 30K for the W221. Used car prices now are crazy and while I paid 60K for my 2 year old example with 17K miles, I could probably sell it now for 50K based on condition and miles. 10K depreciation on an S class over 4 years is unheard of and that is because used car pricing is obscene right now. I would wait 6-12 months and re-assess.

 

I've owned S classes since 1989 and the W222 is has been the best car I've owned.
The W221 was also flawless. Either car is a bargain at any price. Just stay clear of a W220.

 

It's a bad time to buy any car today, new or used.
All dealers are complaining of inventory shortages and it really affected the prices, like everything else, it is temporary and by Winter (most likely) all will return to normal.

 

You came onto the W222 board asking for opinions of W222 enthusiasts about what "you" should do? How about driving a few of them and figure out for yourself whether it's worth spending the money to make the change. I used to have an ultra low mileage W221 S600 and now have the W222 S550. I absolutely loved the W221, but it became a money pit (for my warranty company) paying out $24k in claims in just 3 years. But a lot of the stuff that broke had more to do with age of the parts than wear and tear. So you may want to consider the age of your car when it comes to future potentially expensive repairs. And if you do decide to go with the W222 (which I think is a better looking car with tons more tech), then you may want to consider also purchasing reasonably priced exclusionary warranty coverage that will cover the car for as long as you plan to own it. I paid $4300 for 7 years/100k miles of coverage and the policy already paid out more than half of what I paid for the policy in just the first 3 months of ownership.

 

I agree. The warranty should be automatically a part of the purchase process.

 

My front air struts went out at 13 years old and 68k miles, for perfect replacements i paid $950 a corner, and it was the only repairs that needed to be done to the car in my 2 1/2 years 20k miles of owner ship. However, I do suggest getting the most for your trade in now, rather than waiting until you're at least 2g's out AND need to trade in for another vehicle. My opinion is once you start thinking out moving on, it's better to move on now, rather than waiting and loosing value on your trade in.