luckydriver

i just drove a 2016 Mercedes-Benz S 550 4MATIC Sedan with 71K and loved it but i have zero mercedes experience. what should i watch out for? or would a 2 year older car with the same miles be an even better deal?

dmatre

It all depends on your budget and your priorities.

i recently purchased an S450 4Matic with 35k miles (Premium + Drivers Assistance + AMG) for $49k.

The car has 6 months remaining on factory warranty, plus CPO afterwards.

The 6-cylinder is beautifully smooth, powerful enough, but not a V8. Leather is lower grade than S560, but given condition (perfect), price ($49k for $112k list price) and warranty; this was the right deal for me.

I would be careful to avoid cars with multiple owners (buy, then sell when they can’t afford service). But again, it all depends on your risk/reward balance.

As a side note, the W222 exceeded my expectations in every regard. Ride is sublime, to say it is quiet inside is a woeful understatement, and it’s a damned beautiful piece automotive sculpture.

From my experience to date, I say find the right one and pull the trigger! Good luck!

luckydriver

i drove a lot in the past but no more, was 33K a year and did at least 4 or 5 oil changes a year. . other than tires i had no budget so to speak. some years i had only oil changes in my car. most expensive things were all 4 wheel bearings in the past year and that was about 1800. transmission was 3K at 135K miles. and struts were about 300 each in front if i recall being done just under 100K. AC line cost 600 this year but for 240K on the car i think i got away very cheap. i know online calculators are notoriously over priced but for this year of car it was saying some crazy amount a year just for normal maintenance.

i knew MB would cost more than my car for sure but i guess i need some firm pricing on things to help judge what are even normal costs. like brakes etc. though i think i only replace brakes 3 or 4 times ever in my car. they last forever! i guess i can call the dealer and ask for pricing for things. but i do have a feeling this isnt ideal for me who's retiring on the proverbial fixed income next year lol.

dmatre

I’m handy enough to do my own brakes, and likely struts (once they give out), so that’s not a concern.

I understand the concern about spending good money, then having to shovel out more unexpectedly, but DIY of simple things (brakes/struts) can free up $$$ for issues beyond your abilities.

It’s a decision only you can make, but these cars don’t just fall apart- they are well-engineered, but sometimes things do fail…

You’ve got to make your decision based on your own risk/reward balance. If you do choose to purchase, the experience (until $$$$ repairs) will surely live up to your expectations.

luckydriver

i did my brakes, oil, and rotations myself till 3 years ago. in theory i saved all that money. but you know reality. was getting to old and it just wasnt fun anymore. still my guy only charged less than 100 for the oil change now and i havent had to have brakes for years because of all my highway driving so i dont even know what he could charge. i guess i could call him and see what he will charge for the MB or even if he wants to work on it. that would be the determinate as im 100 percent not doing regular dealer maintenance.

superpop

Dealer will charge 3-4K for front and rear brakes on this car, you can do it yourself for around 1200.00 in parts that includes new rotors, pads, fluid flush and all HW. Oil change will be a few hundred bucks at dealer while again, you can do it yourself for around 100 bucks in supplies. Dealer tends to be 2X to 3X what you can do it yourself for on most maintenance items on this car.