ccww

For work-related reasons I drive about 50,000 miles per year, nearly all on the highway. I typically spend about 3 to 3.5 hours per day, 6 days per week driving. I currently have a 2015 E250 Bluetec with Driver Assistance that is a wonderful combination of comfort and efficiency. However, I am wanting to go further towards the comfort side of the equation given the ridiculous amount of time I spend behind the wheel.

I remember reading a thread a while back where forum member valley_isle described how he buys CPO S-Classes and adds the 2 extra years to the Certified Pre-Owned Extended Limited Warranty and then runs them up to very high miles. I have never been a fan of extended warranties as I tend to think the actuaries will always win and I don't mind paying for some repairs out of pocket when I've saved tens of thousands by buying lightly used instead of new. However, I wonder with the complexity of the S-Class and my anticipated mileage if this would be the best strategy in my situation. I understand that by calling the right dealer the 2-year extension can be had for less than $4000 giving a total of three years of unlimited mile coverage. I'd welcome other members' thoughts on this idea. I use an independent mechanic for all my scheduled maintenance.

I think I would prefer a facelift (2018 or newer) W222 mostly due to the better driver assistance systems. I use the Distronic Plus with Steering Assist in my W212 continuously on the freeway and I understand the new version is much better with a much longer time allowed with hands off the wheel.

I've always wanted a V8 S-Class and according to the EPA ratings the S560 only gets 1mpg less on the freeway than the S450 which works out to about $400 per year in fuel savings, not really enough to care about. I'm curious if there is a more substantial real-world difference or if there are any other more significant reasons anybody would recommend one engine over the other for my application. The S560e would be neat but there are vanishingly few on the used market and at a price premium that would never be recovered in fuel, particularly since I'd be greatly exceeding the all-electric range every day.

One of the best things about shopping for an S-Class compared to other Mercedes models is that most of the really important features are either standard or optioned onto basically every unit. My dealbreaker options are Driver Assistance, Warmth and Comfort, Premium Package, AMG Appearance, and no wood steering wheel but it is easy to find cars with all of these. The high-end backseat options are neat but would almost never be used so I don't really care about those. The two other major options to consider are the High End 3D Sound System and Magic Body Control. Both seem to be so rare on used models that I'm not sure of my realistic chances of finding a CPO car with either, let alone both. I'd definitely love the better sound if I can find it but I would imagine the standard system is also very good?

I know there have been many threads and competing opinions Magic Body Control on this forum and I'm not trying to start another debate on its performance merits. However, I am more interested in knowing about the comparable reliabilities of MBC and Airmatic and what is or isn't covered by the Certified Pre-Owned Extended Limited Warranty for each system. According to this dealer website, the following suspension components are covered:

While the following suspension components are NOT covered:

Does this mean that all suspension struts EXCEPT air are excluded? In which case the Airmatic system would essentially be covered while MBC would not? Any clarity would be great.

The other option to consider is which level of leather interior the car has. S560s have Napa leather standard with Exclusive and Designo as upgrade options. I'm curious what Exclusive gets over Napa? Is the leather itself nicer or is it just applied to more areas or both? If it is applied to more areas, where? I'd welcome thoughts on if a higher level leather is worth seeking out and what would be durable over 200,000 miles of use.

Many thanks for your thoughts about these questions and the best route to take in my situation!

cfmistry

Seems like you know what you’re getting into. I think a late-model (FL) W222 will work well for your needs, and the extended warranty is a must at that mileage (for any car really).

Curious where you are located because the Sport Package and all-leather steering wheel are the minority here in the U.S.

The standard audio system is “fine” while I’ve heard the 3D is phenomenal.

Can’t help you with the suspension question; but from my reading the MBC suspension is more of a gimmick / party trick than a real-world asset.

ccww

The all-leather steering wheel is the rarer option, there are plenty of AMG Appearance cars out there. You can replace the steering wheel at some effort and expense so if I found a car that checked all my other boxes and had great colors I could do that to solve the wood steering wheel issue. I'm in Oregon but I do nationwide searches for my cars. I enjoy the experience of flying out and driving the car home and obviously it greatly expands my choices.

superpop

Just curious what field of work you do that causes you to drive 50K miles per year.

Tom in Austin

What's the new per-mile IRS rate, 62.5 or something? Big deduction for that many miles!

Seriously, hard to think of a better car to be in when you do that much driving! Only thing I'd add is you have to do a '19 or '20 to get Apple Carplay or Android Auto.

Donnymac

Not unlike you, my miles are all hwy. With 3 550s my problem was suspension/struts/airmatic but only on the 2012. Later cars have been problem free in all areas.

On the 2012, my after market waranty covered nearly all suspension related repairs. Got lucky. Present coverage is zero. Properly serviced, I’m not afraid of the car at all. Wearables will happen but town vs road car probably not the same. Car runs like a supersonic brick on glass and loves an open stretch.

BenzV12

50K Miles are too much but not a patch on the S Class . I'm also curious about what makes you drive that much as well.
W222 is one of the best cars to do the job probably another S Class could beat it which is W223 but I prefer W222 styling over anything else . Leather durability should be no concern

Merserybenze

If I could do it again I’d replace run flats with regular tires and carry a donut. S450 has plenty of power and it’s easy to hit 80mph plus etc. I’d opt for nappa leather seats as my regular ones are not that comfy after 3 hours. Also black interior gets hot quickly.

MBS63AMG

I too drive over 50K miles per year due to my job. When I read his post, I thought to myself that I could be writing this post. I have the same issue with my vehicles.

ccww

I have been looking pretty intensely for a vehicle. Some observations about what is on the market:

cfmistry is correct, the all-leather steering wheel is very rare. I’ll probably have to swap it later.

Burmeister High End 3D is vanishingly rare on S560s, mostly seems to be on Maybachs and S63s. For some reason there seems to be a negative association between 3D and the AMG package as well as RWD cars. The few 3D cars seem to mostly be non-AMG AWD for some reason.

Magic Body Control is even rarer and I have yet to find even a single current or sold listing that combines it with 3D and AMG package on a a certified S560.

The cars that do have 3D or MBC seem to have above average miles and less likely to be certified. Perhaps the kind of drivers who order those features are more likely to custom order, buy, and hold onto their cars longer than an off-the-lot leaser.

There seem to be a lot of owners here on the forum with 3D and/or MBC but a lot of you also custom ordered the cars. I’m dubious that I’ll ever realistically find a certified car with both and my other requirements, even (mostly) throwing colors out the window. I could live with most exterior and interior colors but the lighter wood trims, like light burl walnut, are an absolute dealbreaker. Whereas if I forego MBC and 3D I can get everything else I want including colors now…

superpop

Steering wheel is a pretty easy but not so cheap fix with a swap. You ae correct on the rareness of the high end 3D but that should not be a deal breaker. The standard Burmester audio is very easy to upgrade to far better performance as compared to the HE 3D with about the same amount of investment if not less. On my last S550 I upgraded the audio by installing a NAVTV Fiber Optic converter that converts the Mercedes MOST signal to toslink audio that I plugged into 1800 watts worth of JL Audio VXi amps. Had a JL WA7-10 sub installed in a custom enclosure in the trunk that took up less space than the Burmester hi end sub and utilized the rest of the factory speakers. It sounded the same if not better than the HE 3D. I have the HE 3D in my new S63 and it does sound good but not as strong as my last set-up. I experienced the same thing with regards to availability when I purchased my S63 6 months ago. They stopped making this model in 2020 so there are very few to chose from. I wanted a fully loaded model with sub 15K miles and got one with everything but CCB and I will probably keep it a very long time. Good luck with the search.

ccww

Thank you very much, superpop. I’m not particularly interested in installing a subwoofer but would consider the amp swap. How do you think the sonic performance would be with just the amplifiers but no additional subwoofer?

Mitch Alsup

Curious:: You are doing 50K miles per year:: how long do you intend to keep this car ?

ccww

I should be able to get about 180,000 miles over 3.5 years of driving under my ownership covered by the balance of factory warranty and then CPO extended unlimited mileage warranty. After that we’ll see how the car is doing.

superpop

I would not waste the time or money unless you add a sub. The standard Burmester system uses 2 8" shallow mount subs in the front seat footwells and they just do not have the horsepower to do much more than they already do. They are great as a mid bass which is what I used them for but the primary deficiency of the standard Burmester is lack of low end bass.

ccww

Thanks for the info, that is good to know. I wonder if the factory 3D sub could be added to the standard Burmeister system with a factory or aftermarket amp. I just have a significant aversion to anything that doesn’t look OEM.

ccww

Does anybody know the real-world MPG difference between RWD and 4matic on the S560?

EPA ratings are the same which is strange. Usually 4matic is good for a several MPG hit. I have only been shopping RWD on this assumption as I have simply no use at all for driving the front wheels. This is purely a highway cruiser and will never be taken in snow. The extra weight, complexity, maintenance, and (presumably) fuel consumption are not worth it to me.

Mitch Alsup

A long time ago, Audi had a 4wd vehicle and C&D or R&T tested it and verified that the 4wd option got at least as good gas mileage as the 2wd.
a) yes it does weight more
b) on the other hand, there is less rolling resistance with both front and rear wheels pulling their respective sections of the car along.
c) so it will be close either way,
d) and highly dependent on your driving style.

Me, personally, I hate FWD and 4WD, it removes the ability of the front wheels to talk to the driver through the steering wheel.

seamus2154

We just got back from a 1700 mile road trip. There is no better car IMHO than an S on the open road. The w222 has not had any issues with the air shocks as the previous w221 had. We were really putting down some miles yesterday, at a high rate and still managed 23 mpg. The S class just eats up the highway, its a pleasure. We were in back roads and twisty mountains, just clicked into sport mode and the car does it all well.

Donnymac

Car is absolutely made to run the open road with maximum comfort and performance.

valley_isle

Just reading this thread and since I was tagged, I wanted to give you all a current (albeit belated) update. I still have the 2016 S550 4MATIC that I bought in Oct 2018 with 8,700 miles on it. At that time, I got the 2 year CPO extension to Dec 2023. As of today, the car has 146,141 miles on it. Although it has mostly been trouble free (I have done all routine maintenance and used OEM for everything), there were a few major repairs that WERE covered by the CPO extension (for which I had paid $4,000). It paid for a replacement CPU head unit, tie rod ends, and soft close doors for both front doors. I’m considering keeping the car past the 12/30/2023 CPO extension expiration (much to my wife’s chagrin) because with all the routine maintenance and 30k/year driving, I don’t see how I couldn’t easily get 500k miles or more out of the car. I’ve done the math and the numbers show that even some semi major repairs (if they happen) would be less expensive than buying a comparable car, which for me would be a 2 year old S580 4MATIC with less than 10k miles. We shall see. 😎

W205C43PFL

Thanks for your update! Best of luck with your car, enjoy in good health!

aypues

How much did they pay for those warranty repairs??

ChuckinTucson

The extended CPO warranty from MB is totally worth it. I had a 2015 ML350 that I bought as a CPO, added the two-years additional warranty. The car had almost 300,000 miles on it, all covered under warranty, when it was totalled in a crash.

DarrVao777

what are the maintenance costs for a S class

for some background, i currently drive a 2015 bmw m4 (f82), i put roughly half the number of miles as OP annually on my car, about 25k

just brought the f82 to 40000 miles and due for spark plugs, $1500 for spark plugs…

thinking about making my commute in a 2020 s560 with about 30000 miles on it already , am i also due for a major service fee in making this switch?