thunderbenz

Greetings,

I have a 400 series Benz (V-6 biturbo engine) as well, which is a pretty reliable engine.

But, how's the rest of the car?

Thanks.

dmatre

I have only 2 weeks in my S450, but the CarFax showed only the usual W222 issues (oil changes, brakes and tires) in the first 35k miles.

The car is perfect otherwise, and I have tested every switch/button/assist/option since purchasing the car.

The only other somewhat-issue which I’m aware of with the oil-in-the-wiring-harness, which will be addressed with the required pigtails shortly.

I’m interested to see the experience of others.

ChrisHimself

The car itself is tried and true. The drivetrain you'd have to see the "400" and "450" series cars, a good index would be like an ML400 and like a GLS450, and filter out all the platform-specific problems that aren't the engine.

In short theyre a bit too new to see how they do 150k, but honestly as long as you check for leaks on a monthly basis and get to know all your smells and sounds that come out of the car it's just another Mercedes. Don't overthink start-up chatter, squealing brakes, and replace your fluids earlier than the factory intervals.

thunderbenz

The 400 and 450 series engines seem to be pretty good as in reliability. I have one in my SL and it seems to be running well. But ,I'm concerned about all the electronic gadgets on newer Benzs, such as the whole flat panel screen for the dash, etc. I guess we will have to see how those ages to 150K miles. That's my marker if I decide to buy a S450 or G11 740i. From my reads, it seems it is a hit or miss whether you get a problematic car, which at least is less in numbers than non-problematic ones. I have some friends with the G11 740i that has no problems and but then mechanics tell me don't ever get a BMW haha.

Any other feedbacks are appreciated.

Barry Hanna

I asked the same question of a very qualified Mercedes shop owner who said he would buy a well-spec’s out S450 any day. Additionally, he preferred it to the V8 for being trouble-free. I eventually bought an S560 because the 450 was sold before I made up my mind. My personal experience with the V6 in naturally-aspirated form in our E350 has been excellent except for the front timing cover leak which was covered out of warranty by a good will policy from Mercedes.

SW20S

The W222 platform is very reliable. Spend some time reading the forum here, there really are very few chronic issues with these cars. I came from the Lexus world, and IMO this car is just as reliable as a Lexus LS. More expensive to repair when things do go wrong sure. There is however a surprising lack of issues with air suspension, electronic problems etc. Remember the oldest W222s are 9 years old now, go to ClubLexus and look at the LS460 forum and issues people are having with 2014+ LS460s, if anything we don't have those issues here. Very surprising.

I am about to go out of warranty, and when I got into this car new I never anticipated I would ever consider keeping it out of fear of reliability, and I find myself really considering keeping the car. I also had a long discussion with my MB service guy and my MB independent mechanic and both said the same thing. In fact my MB specialist is looking for an S560 himself.

A G11 7 Series is nowhere near as reliable though, a flip through the forums will tell you that, although the i6 is a better option there than the V8. I really struggled when buying new between the S560 and the 750 and I also believe the S Class is just the nicer car, although those 7 Series are also incredibly nice,

carlosinseattle

I totally agree with SW205. Since you're buying used, you have to factor in how the previous owner maintained the car. Better to buy a well maintained car that hasn't been beat on. Just try to avoid buying a car that had problems (lemon) from the factory and/or was treated poorly. Look at the used S450s listied on Carfax.com and review as many Carfax reports as you can. You'll see maintenance patterns and be able to identify outliers, cars to avoid. Then, once you pinpoint the car you want, talk to your service advisor at your local MB dealer and see if he'll run the VMI and share the information with you. They aren't obligated to do it, and some guys definitely won't. The VMI gives you more nformation than a Carfax report, sometimes a lot more. I just learned about it a couple months ago from a member on this forum. Before I bought my car I asked my service advisor at my local MB dealership to run the VMI; the service history wasn't stellar, but it was more than satisfactory. Found out the previous owner was the CEO of an aeronautics company that had offices in 2 large Southeastern cities, which explained why the car was bought and serviced at the locations on the Carfax report. It also explained why it said 1 owner and 2 owner; turns out he bought the car after the lease period was over, probably because of the limited inventory in 2021-2022 - no way to know for sure why, but he did. While all the research in the world won't guarantee future performance, it can sometimes reveal problems you'd want to avoid.

thunderbenz

All good stuff, thanks to all.

carlosinseattle

An S450 is probably the best bargain in this category of cars. I test drove a couple before I bought last yeat and it never felt underpowered and didn't lack any of the refinement of the V8, in my opinion. In some ways it really is the best of all worlds.

thunderbenz

Yeah, I always go for the v6 for the long run. My sl400 never feels underpowered vs the sl550. It's a mere .5 sec slower to 60mph, but almost 300 lbs. lighter. The 400/450 are good engines.

SW20S

I can't agree that it doesn't lack the refinement of the V8. I drove them back to back new, and IMO the V8 really makes the car, the V6 cars also all lack the napa leather interior and the base leather is a big step down. Big flagship sedan like this needs a V8 IMO.

BenzV12

V6 could be more budget friendly but once you drive an M278 you could lame for not having it

Sleeper Benz

The late model 3.0L Twin Turbo V6 in the S450 has been reliable for us to date. This M276 DE 30 LA variant is rated at 362 HP & 369 ft-lb @1600 rpm for the 2018-2020 S-Class. There is plenty of power for our use. Keep in mind, we could have easily bought a V8 yet chose the V6 variant specifically in a very, very well optioned 2019 S450.

Given the choice, we would have preferred the newer M256 straight six for ease of service, but that wasn't offered yet in the US W222 S-Class until the W223's came out. V8's are indeed cooler sounding, sometimes faster and have better resale value, but are not really required for most daily drivers. No further need to splain why a V8-V12 is better than a V6-I6 to us

SW20S

The V8 over the V6 is not about power, its about feel. The car just feels moire luxurious and effortless with the V8.

2012 merc amg

The V6 is a great engine, I have the TT 3.0 in my E450. The low end power and fuel economy are great and reliability is very good. The thing the V8 has over it though is the V6 tends to slow down some at highway passing speeds over the V8 and like was said the V8 just has more effortless power such as when climbing mountain passes and passing another car.

SW20S

Exactly, nothing againt the V6 at all.