potown andy

I have never been a person who needs the latest and greatest. Always happy with top quality for long term and therefore we have kept top end cars and SUV's for 150K+ miles. We'd love to upgrade to the S560 but I rarely see anyone commenting on their long term viability. Should we expect tons of maintenance and/or reliability issues? Our 2005 Lexus LS 430 is still a reliable fine car today and it has largely been maintenance free although it now has some issues, especially with door actuators. Thanks.

superpop

I have had 3 S class sedans in the past 10 years or so and they have all been as reliable as any Toyota or Honda that I have owned. The only reason I have replaced them is because I wanted newer tech or an upgraded car. I now have a 2019 S63 and I will probably have it for a long time. Love the car and I cannot think of anther car that would be an upgrade for me. I think most newer cars are designed to last 100K miles with a few random failures as they age. An S560 is completely different from anything Lexus makes, I like Lexus products but once you drive an S class you will be ruined for any of the Japanese cars.

cfmistry

I would say they are very reliable (can easily last 10 years) but yes you should expect lots of expensive maintenance along the way. An S class is known for many things; low cost of ownership is not one of them.

Mitch Alsup

I am nearly 69.
I have a 2015 S-600 bought new currently with 35K miles on it.
I plan on driving this thing about as long as I still have a driving license.
The cost to maintain it long term will be smaller than the cost of replacing the car with another V12.

SW20S

If you expect the S560 to be as reliable and maintenance free as your LS430 at 17 years old, thats just not going to be likely. Its a much more complex car, parts are much more expensive, and lets be honest Mercedes has less of a track record of reliability...

chassis

Agree. MB and Lexus are at opposite ends of the reliability spectrum.

SW20S

To be fair, the LS460 is not as reliable as the LS430 was either. The 430 and 400 are really very simple cars, the 460 got a LOT more complex and more Mercedes like.

BenzV12

Speaking of Toyota's reliability , I have heard that Toyota recommends maintenance procedure way shorter than equivalent other car makers .
For example : Let's say Mercedes-Benz recommends oil replacing every 10K miles / 1 year , Toyota makes it 5K miles .So, much frequent dealer visit if that's true .
Buying an extended warranty should be good for the S Class given complexity and price of the parts .

SW20S

Toyota's OCI is 10k, same as Mercedes. They have a 5k interval but its just a tire rotation. Maintenance schedule on my LS460L and S560 is very similar, maintenance just costs 3+ times as much on the Mercedes.

Extended warranty isn't going to get you to 17 years old...

badq45t

I came from owning Japanese cars, finally gave up my 97' Infiniti Q45 for 2016 S550e. The older 97' of course had far fewer things to go wrong on it than my MB but no question especially at the stealership the cost of regular visits is going to be more. I had very few issues with the Inifiniti save the lack of aftermarket support and lack of even OEM parts. My dad loved his LS430 and it was flawless but had some issues with the LS460 and never loved that car.

If you find a S-Class CPO i would strongly suggest extended warranty from MB and buy the pre-paid maintenance. I negotiated the dealership from original offer of $9,800 down to $4,800 for both. So far the warranty has paid off for me with a flex plate that cost $1200 and the pre-paid maintence has been a steal of a deal. I had 3 services perfomed and the last two would have been around $2,000 at Bay Area Dealership (highest costs probably anywhere in US) and the first one was $1100 so I made out pretty well with those. I added it up yesterday after getting the B7 service and I was at $5,100 for 3 years....WOW that is a lot for a Japanese car owner of 40 years.

once my warranty is over I will probably not be quite as **** as MB recommends, like doing spark plugs at 35k which was done a year ago, but for sure my local $100 an hour mechanic will do much of what needs to get done unless I can find another 3 year pre-paid package for $2500 or less.

MurrayG

Longevity is relative (and of course variable based on luck of the draw and how you drive and maintain your vehicle). I can tell you that we have had 16 different MBs. And while the cost and issues experienced seem correlated with the complexity of the vehicle (very few problems with our more "simple" MLs than with, for example, the CL 600's (V12), all of our cars have been essentially trouble free. Aside from maintenance items like brakes, etc - the only notable issues we have had in ALL of these cars is a power steering pump in one of our early MLs, and coils and engine mounts in the CL 600 V12.

Two other points:

1. About half of these 16 MBs were bought used - usually with low mileage - and kept well beyond the warranty period in some cases - so it's not as though we bought them all new and got rid of them at 20,000 KMS.
2. I have also had a Jag (XK), Range Rover, a Lincoln Navigator, and other non-MBs. THOSE were unreliable cars - every one of them. In fact, after the most recent of those (the Jag), we decided we'd not stray from MB again given they have been very good to us reliability-wise.

So - Love the product. The service centers and service experience - not so much. But that's another story.

skeelo

For what it's worth, here's my experience with my 2016 S63 that I've had since May 2018 (27k miles then, 42k miles now). No major issues and I don't have an aftermarket warranty. A few minor issues - headrest got stuck and was replaced under warranty. Rear window shade button broke and was replaced under warranty. Post warranty expiration - my CD changer is stuck and makes a clicking sound but since I don't play cd's I don't care. My dashboard peeled off this summer - I'm guessing due to shrinkage of the leather in heat (even though I don't park in the sun that often) - now I know why many manufacturers choose not to put leather on the dashboard. One of my rear seatbelts stopped retracting and will need a fix. I had to replace my rear rotors/brake pads and battery but I consider those wear and tear. I consider those all pretty minor though not all cheap to replace (outside of DIY) but I think overall this car has been very reliable thus far.

mysticblu999

My 15 has 173k on it now. It's the greatest car I've ever owned. 100% reliable, as I haven't had to do the first thing to it. I plan on taking it to 300k.

Donnymac

Totally agree. Cars are solid long term brutes if maintained correctly. My miles are essentially all hwy. That said, I have had suspension issues and prefer to shorten the MB recommended fluid change intervals, old habit. What will stop me from 300k will be the friendly Highway Patrol.