Originally Posted by MBNUT1

Just read in Consumer Reports 2023 Annual Auto Issue where they said that the W223 did not ride as well as the W222.

Originally Posted by vinflouen

As you may have noticed by now, In the USA you are on your own dime as we say.
Never saw a dealer be so gracious as to just replace my rotors and pads…..thats a nice thing…..

Originally Posted by Quenthel

Hey everyone,

I got my car to the dealership for its yearly service and a few minor warranty issues. This time I was given a W223 as a replacement car, much better than the gnarly CLA200 & CLA180 I got the last two times. Well, I couldn't help but post a comparison between my '18 S560 and this S500 (not sure which year it is), and believe me, I am going to be as unbiased as I can. Also, I didn't take any photos from the interior yet, but I'll append them later.


Exterior:
So, like many others, I joked that the new S class looks like a Hyundai from the outside. In earnest, it's not that bad. Some lines are very reminiscent of the W222 and the car is still imposing, perhaps a bit less, but definitely not like a Hyundai. I think the one I got is the long version, and in terms of looks, I wouldn't mind owning that.


Interior:
This was very weird. It has the Nappa leather I think (not sure if it's the exclusive or not, but let me know when I upload the pictures later) but the console/dashboard is less impressive than in the W222. The part of the dash that meets the windshield looks decidedly less premium than my S560's vinyl version. The yacht-like aesthetic they tried feels kinda bland and even a non-exclusive Nappa W222 feels nicer.

I liked the screen. It's a fingerprint smorgasbord of course and were it mine, I'd install some form of tempered glass, but the new OS is WAY more responsive to the point it makes my COMAND feel godawful to use, with the wheel occasionally skipping a beat, menus taking a couple of seconds to load and so on. The "Hey Mercedes" feature is very useful, especially compared to the rather clumsy and slow voice recognition in my car (which is why I rarely use it).

The heads-up display is more impressive and feature rich but its focus feels wrong. Not sure if it can be adjusted, but whereas in my car I had no eye-focusing problems, in the W223 I was getting crosseyed trying to look at it. I didn't have the 3D console as far as I know so I cannot comment on that, but all these feel definitely nicer in the newer version.

I miss the central console buttons. I was so used to them, while now having those buttons on the middle-screen just feels... wrong. Thank god it's not all on-screen buttons though.

The steering wheel is nicer as a whole, I had the all-leather AMG-style version in the new car, but the leather seems less nice than my plain all-leather wheel. The steering wheel buttons are not that bad, but I prefer the more haptic buttons of my car and even the more definite feeling the capacitive buttons had. In the new one, I had to confirm that adjusting the CC limit by +1Km was applied by looking at the HUD.

The rear of the car didn't have the middle divider (as my car does), but the car did have the tablet and the screens. Didn't test those out yet, but I expected them to be way more useful that my useless rear screens that no passenger of mine ever managed to operate without some form of assistance from my side. Then again, I don't have rear passengers often, so I wouldn't mind not having them at all anyway.

My seat was not as comfortable in the new car as in mine, but the contour thing with its bolsters felt way more immediate and more definite. I'd definitely take that over my car's, combined however with my car's more comfortable seats.


Cabin noise:
This is way worse. OK, it's not like an A-class level of cabin noise, but compared to the W222 it's not really close. Not just the engine noise (more on that later), but environmental sounds are not as well isolated as in my W222. My benchmark is my garage's door, which makes a very specific creak when it opens. I can barely hear it when I'm in my car, but in the W223 I was almost shocked by how much louder that noise was.



Engine:
I'm comparing a V8 M176 versus an inline-6 the newer model has, it's a bit unfair, I know. But......... the engine is not anywhere CLOSE to the smoothness and quietness the V8 has. It's more noisy (in not a nice way), it feels like it's struggling a bit more to get going and were I in the market for a W223, the 580 would be my only option (assuming no S63). I haven't slammed my foot down and see how it accelerates, the dealership is merely 8Km away through the city and this being a replacement car I don't want to use it at all if I can avoid it. It's a mild-hybrid as I was told, but I didn't experience any of that.



Conclusion:
The W223 feels newer, snappier but at the same time... cheaper? I would prefer my S560 over this replacement car, however there might be other configurations that are nicer. As things are and from my limited perspective, I wouldn't go blindly with a W223; a comparison would definitely be in order.
Thank you for reading this far!

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Useless side note which I wanted to share. I recently renewed my warranty for 2 years or 30K Km, for a total of CHF 4800. I asked my dealer to quote me a price for a full set of discs & pads + labour, since they are due for a replacement from the looks of them. He replied in a nonchalant manner that "you don't have to pay anything; these are included in the warranty and we replace them if they're worn out". Told him that I'm planning two big road-trips in the next couple of months and to check if they could change them now and said "sure!".

Is this a Swiss only thing, or do other countries do the same? Given the costs of discs & pads even in indie garages, the labour as well as the few minor warratny things I've asked them to fix, I've already got my money's worth on the warranty already and more. How the heck do they make any money?

Originally Posted by chassis

Regarding brake replacement, it sounds like you purchased a maintenance contract. What does the document say about parts replacement, or specifically about brakes?

Originally Posted by Quenthel

I got my car back. I will admit that while it's good to be back on my more silent, comfortable and smoother vehicle, I will miss the W223. If it were the S580, I might be getting envious enough and start looking to replace my W222 with it. But I think I'll stay with my S560 for the next couple of years, then we'll see.


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Thing is, I didn't. They gave me a 2-year warranty extension for free when I bought the car (awfully nice of them, about CHF3,7K), because the original one is 3 years, then I purchased another one late February for 2 more years (CHF 4,8K). There are no specific packages or options, you either buy the extended warranty or not, and it's covered by the same terms as the main one. Here are the terms (translated for your convenience):

Included

• Repairs ( also wear ) up to 3 years or 100,000 kilometers ( the first thing reached applies )
• Free maintenance work [that's what we call yearly Service] up to 10 years or 100,000 kilometers (, the first thing reached applies ) including mandatory exhaust gas maintenance, braking and cooling liquid.

Excluded

• First aid kits, liquids such as oils, window solvents, fuels, fuel additives such as AdBlue, TIREFIT or similar
• Disposal of exchanged liquids ( e.g. Disposal of old oil )
• Tires, costs related to changing wheels or tires, and balancing
• Various adjustment work or chassis measurements
• Maintenance outside the regular intervals
• Repairs that are due to improper maintenance or care
• All services that were not provided by authorized workshops
• Ordinary wear such as signs of aging on upholstery, seat frame, dashboard, paint, convertible top, running board, trim strips, seals, etc.
• Costs from accident and body damage ( e.g. Hinge breaks )
• Vehicle cleaning inside and outside, paint care, chassis and engine cleaning
• Repairs due to third-party influences or external influences such as marten or hail damage etc.
• Glass breaks, repairs of glass parts
• Costs resulting from excessive load on the vehicle, such as overuse of the brakes, clutch, etc.
• Costs arising from improper or motorsport use
• Costs of mishaps
• Included or attached accessories, superstructures, extensions, as well as resulting costs
• Updates for maps
• Costs related to the loss of vehicle keys
• Follow-up costs from changes in performance or types
• All measures for longer decommissioning according to the operating instructions and the elimination of damage caused by it
• Statutory taxes such as MFK fees, vehicle taxes and insurance, motorway vignette, etc.
• Replacement vehicles ( the mobility services within the framework of Mobilo / MobilityGo remain unchanged )
• Claims for loss of vehicle value, loss of income, loss of use, etc.
• Damage to the hardware / software of the vehicle as well as the loss or violation of uploaded personal information / data in the vehicle, as a result of unauthorized access to any source such as Foreign parts, third-party accessories, third-party applications, Bug, other malfunctions, viruses, malware, cyber attacks, etc.
• Follow-up costs from previous lists
• Claims for unused benefits from MERCEDES-SWISS-INTEGRAL


By the way, to recall a conversation I had in the past here about the windshield wipers, this time they replaced them for sure; I had clipped the old ones at the edge and noticed that these are new. I think that it's the fluid I'm using which is of not great quality, time to replace it with a Benz concentrate.

Originally Posted by chassis

Thanks. You have in fact purchased a maintenance contract. And a repair contract. Seems like it has provided you some nice benefits already, enjoy!

Originally Posted by SW20S

You dislike the GLC300? I get them as loaners and I like them a lot.

Bear in mind when you are used to an S Class even other Mercedes don’t measure up.

Originally Posted by Quenthel

Is this a Swiss only thing, or do other countries do the same? Given the costs of discs & pads even in indie garages, the labour as well as the few minor warratny things I've asked them to fix, I've already got my money's worth on the warranty already and more. How the heck do they make any money?

Originally Posted by Nico9182349

Interesting, in Germany the warranty extension is 1145 euro per year. Getting my breaks done all around, discs and pads etc, was 1600 Euro at the dealership. So I'm at around 3900 Euro for two years warranty and new breaks. Actually cheaper than what you paid. I wonder what else is covered in Switzerland though. What is it called in CH? Here it is Junge Sterne and then MB100 two years after purchase for used cars.

edit: just saw you posted what is included and what is not. looks like the main difference is that wear is covered in CH. Which is pretty cool actually. Question though - can you get wear covered above 100.000km?

Originally Posted by Quenthel

Yes, my understanding is that the Junge Sterne programm is more like the american CPO, where as the MSI (Mercedes Swiss Integral) is more like the standard warranty that applies from the first day of the car, but extensible.

I think you can extend the warranty up to 7 years and 200K km, but the higher you go, the more it costs. For me, I do ~15K per year, so I've capped the warranty at 92K and 7 years (maximum), thus reducing the price a bit compared to getting 100K or more. Still, I paid 4800 for 4 years effectively (since the first two were free), and I already got my money's worth from the intercooler they replaced last year, the brakes and the central console hinges.

1150/y for warranty extension is a pretty good price though, similarly for the brakes, but prices in Switzerland are always higher (in new cars, they're about 20-25% higher compared to Germany); service is even worse. A friend of mine has a 2016 S500 (S550 in the US); he went to the dealership in Zug to get a quote for pad & disc replacement and he was told 6K for the fronts and 3K for the rears which is insane even for Switzerland.

Originally Posted by Nico9182349

9k to get the breaks done is absolutely ridiculous. How do they even justify that? I mean prices for the parts are public and I was told doing the breaks on the W222 is actually a bit trickier than normal but come on! Mine were replaced by Mercedes in Heidelberg. It's not even a franchisor, it is literally Mercedes-Benz AG. I just looked up what I paid, I actually paid 1848,78 Euro plus taxes. So it was about 2200 Euro for the breaks front and rear. So I'd be at 4500 for two years warranty plus breaks. Haha. Now I want the maintenance contract even more. Car is still on Junge Sterne actually, so I didn't pay any warranty extension yet.


On the W223, I think it looks pretty good actually. I wouldn't mind a quicker user interface either but I'm not sure if I would love the touch pad stuff. I have deactivated the touch pad in my car even. It depends a bit on how good the "Hey Mercedes" thing works. I had it in rentals and it was pretty good. So maybe touch is fine. My biggest concern is actually quality. The W222 already has some flaws in my opinion and I doubt that it will get better. I want the W140/C140 build quality and the modern features. That would be my ideal car...I'm not sure if my next car will be a Mercedes and I say that after over 60 plus years of Mercedes ownership in my family. But that is a different story. I think I'll start a thread.