(Sorry this went long - excited I guess … plus it’s not a great time for us so it’s nice to have a small win.)

I just purchased for delivery my first S-Class. It’s a 2018 W222 S450 4Matic with 31,903 miles and single prior private owner in Montana. I think it has many packages I was interested in. It was $37,990 which I think is reasonable (is it?).

I bought it through Carvana which might be a gamble, but it is the way I needed to go this time. I’ve arranged to pick it up at their car vending machine and my 8-year-old daughter can deposit the token and watch it come down on Christmas Eve, so that’s a plus.

I needed something very comfortable to drive from Dallas to Houston as I will be undergoing cancer treatments at MD Anderson Cancer Center and will continue to have blood work and scans there for many years assuming they can get it all in the next few months. 🤞

I was originally going for a V8 as I enjoy having that in my Tundra, but this car seemed to pull me in. It has a V6 twin turbo 3 liter with 9 speed 9G-Tronic. Did I mess up here or am I good? I’m definitely not planning to drag race this thing… that’s obviously the purpose of a Tundra. 🤪

Below you can see it has head-up display and night view assist, both of which I wanted. It’s about 5 hours from home to MD Anderson and a lot of that will be done very early or very late. I would really like to take anything but I-45 every time. I also wanted active lane keeping and steering assist. Good options or trouble ahead? 🙋‍♂️ What is that blank button on the right? I never figured that out. Dang it… it’s probably the fire rockets button isn’t it? 🚀


Driver’s dash controls

QUESTION: When I receive the car on the 24th, what should I do? Oil change? Prior owner was religious about oil changes. Anything else I should consider right away? Tires seem to be good but I will make sure. What else should I take care of in the first week or month or half year? I absolutely want to continue what the previous owner was doing.

I will post the data card hoping someone can tell me more.

It seems to be in fantastic shape except for one thing I haven’t seen clearly yet. Scratch near the glovebox. Below is the photo but not sure which is the scratch (vs reflection), how annoying that’s going to be, and if it can be repaired at a reasonable price.


Scratch near glovebox?

I’ve wanted an S-Class for about a decade. I will be honest - I almost bought a Lexus LS but I felt that I would always still want the S-Class so I went for it. Given the extremely good job this guy did maintaining this car I may be lucky and not have blisteringly high repair costs coming at me soon. At least used I’m not going to pay the huge depreciation driving it off the lot.

PRETTY EXCITED AND WE NEEDED SOMETHING NICE RIGHT NOW (without breaking the bank). We have a little time before having to go back to the MDA Cancer Center at the end of January. When we go back this time we will be going back in style. 😎

I’ve attached a PDF of the LastVIN info. If you can tell me anything more about what I bought I would love you sharing your knowledge. Really any advice would be very appreciated. I do have some apprehension about reliability etc. simply because these are complicated cars.

 

Congratulations on your purchase!

I bought my S450 in October 2023, with 34k miles on it, and have put 20k miles on it since.

The car is everything that was claimed and more. It is without a doubt the most comfortable car I’ve ever driven.

Ten hour trips to visit family in Florida leave us relaxed upon arrival.

Yes, there are some visual blemishes (stone chips, scuffed wheels, etc) which show the 54k miles it has traveled, but the interior and the ride are like new. Have done two services since purchasing, without having any failures of any type.

Consider having the car coded to enable ILS+, as this makes driving at night safer and more relaxing. Also consider Powerstop Z23 brake pads if the dust from the OEM pads becomes an annoyance.

Enjoy your new car, and best wishes with your commute and treatment!

 

Thank you! I think I will be okay. MD Anderson has been the top cancer center in the world for I think 18 years so if I have to get cancer living in Texas helps.

QUESTIONS:

I have seen what. ILS+ does and I want that. I assume that would be BenzNinja?

I assume you did the 35k maintenance. Did you do that at MB? If so, did you have any service issues after a modification like ILS+?

I will find those brake pads and put them in my cart now. It’s only a matter of time.

 

Congrats, post some pics when you have the car. Here are a few comments for what they're worth:

• Hope you don't have to keep it outside, black/black in Texas is brutal
• Option 398, the electrochromic sunroof, is very rare. It's on my new 2019 as well and I'm anxious to see how it behaves under summer sun. 610, Night View Assist, is also rare and people on here who have it seem to like it
• With a used car it's difficult to know what service has been done. You could sweet talk an MBZ dealer into looking at the MVI report and that would let you know what was done at a dealer, but not at an indy shop.
• Good starting point is to have your dealer or indy pull any codes. Then I'd have the brake fluid flushed since that's supposed to be done every 24 months and is easy to overlook. If everything works well and no codes, then you're off to a great start

As far as value goes, there are three ways I'd look at it:

1) Cosmetic condition. A car that's had collision damage or paint work always gets a large discount since no one can truly put it back to perfect original condition, and it's cost prohibitive to really repair torn upholstery, body/paint damage, etc.
2) Deferred maintenance. At 32k miles/6 years many cars are just reaching the time for new brakes, tires and batteries. If all of these need replacing on a car that would be a fairly large deduct from the value
3) Items not working. If anything is not working correctly and needs to be repaired that would be hit to value. On my car, I needed a software update or two and I would say that's not unusual

These are great cars and once everything's sorted they give great service. I bought my 2016 with 39k miles, have 58k now, and I runs like brand new. I'm hoping and expecting that the 2019 will be just as good. BTW, try using a fine polish on the scratches, it worked on a couple of places on my wood trim.

 

For ILS+ you can use BenzNinja. I did mine with a OBDII dongle from MWMods.

No service issues at all, (both done at dealer) from coding or otherwise.

 

I think the S450 is the perfect freeway cruiser. Decent gas mileage and a very comfortable ride. Montana cars tend to have a lot of freeway miles but not sure on this one, that is actually pretty low mileage for the year. I would ask your local dealer to run a VMI on the car, sometimes they will do this and share the information with you. Other than that I would do a full fluid and filter change including motor, trans and cabin filters. I would also probably flush the brake lines and check the pads. That gives you a baseline of maintenance work done and you know that everything is ready to go. I am on my 3rd S Class and all of mine have been incredibly reliable, my current 2019 S63 being no exception to that. The scuff on the dash should buff out but if not a new trim piece can be had fairly inexpensively. I would also put it up on a lift and do a thorough inspection of all suspension components and under body panels.

 

I am on my second S450, and they are great for daily driving, long commutes and road trips. Looking a the data sheet, it looks highly optioned, also including Warmth and Comfort Package over the other things that you listed. I am a huge fan of using the Drivers Assistance on a long journey, it's not for everyone, but I think that it takes away some of the effort of driving and allows my to arrive feeling better than without it! It looks like you have Magic Vision (874 AQUABLADE INCL. HEATED WINDSHIELD WASHER SYSTEM), these wiper blades are silly expensive, buy from FCP Euro, and use their lifetime warranty when it's time to replace.

As others have said, I would go to your local dealer (Service Department), and be upfront with them. "I'm buying this car, and I'm wondering if you could run the VMI for me, and let me know if you see anything out of the ordinary?" I recently bought my wife a new GLS580, not from a Mercedes dealer, and while we were test driving it, my SA called me back and went through the VMI for me

 

Wow...amazing SPEC!!!!! I love my S63, which I bought so I could get the options I wanted. But I would have LOVED to have save a few bucks and found your car instead...congratulations!
You'll probably need to get a dashboard cover to protect the leather from curling up in the hot Texas sun. Nothing else I could add to what the others have said. Just looking forward to seeing some pics. I can only imagine the look on your faces as the car is delivered to you through the vending machine

As for the open spot in the row of buttons, nothing is missing. You have all the options included. In S63's they need the 6th button position for raising and lowering the car, there's no room for that button on the center console.

 

Excellent choice & nicely optioned. My S 450 has been perfect. Not one problem & everything works as it should. I am a conservative driver but she will eat rear tires. Enjoy your new ride. 😎

 

He has a 4-Matic. Probably not going to be so hard on rear tires like RWD.

 

I’ve put 20k miles in the Michelins on my 4Matic. They were almost new when I bought it. The rears are still at 6/32, worn evenly from inside to out. The fronts are at 4/32, but the outside corners are wearing off.

I know it’s not a sports car, but it’s still fun to bend it into a mountain corner. Unfortunately, weight and geometry conspire to grind down the outside tread rib when doing so, but it’s a price I’ll have to pay for my foolishness.

I’m betting it’ll need new fronts in 5k miles, while the rears can likely go another 20k.

 

Does it have the 360 view camera? That's a button on mine that I don't see on yours.

Could be in a different spot? Mine is a 2014.

Best wishes to you for your health and congratulations on your new ride!

 

I don’t see that button but I also don’t see it in the manual. What does it do?

 

I had not thought of that. I am in Texas and this is a 4Matic with 19” wheels. Are there any great tires for someone who will be sticking around 85 highway and wants a very smooth and quiet ride? I have Tundra tire$ coming up soon as well and those are easily $1400. I want to say tires for the S450 aren’t going to wreck me… but… let’s find out! Haha.

 

Excellent idea on the wood. Will try that somewhere no one would notice first. Thanks! Great reply. MBWorld is such a great asset!

 

After you have owned this car for one or two months, you will have one enormous regret.

You will be kicking yourself for not buying your first S-Class 10 years sooner. I waited until I was 71 to buy my first MB - it was a 2018 S560 I had factory built to my personal specifications. I loved it so much, I purchased a companion 2017 SL550 9 just months later. Now I am 77 years old and my only regret is how many years it took me to discover MB ownership.

 

it gives you a 360 degree view around the car while backing up or parking along with a view from above the car.

 

On the facelift cars, the button is in the center console, between the seats:

 

Great car, gets good gas mileage, will be very comfortable, just keep the maintenance up perfectly and you will be good! Congrats!

 

Congrats man… you will very much enjoy this subforum (W222)… especially now!! Clean, collaborative, scam-less informative sub-forum.

Nicely spec’ed W222 too!

 

Great car, that engine is super reliable as well.

 

All that matters is you like it and the deal works for you.

I made a mistake of listening to someone who said not to buy an “old” W222 in 2023. Got spooked and bought a Lexus. I regret that decisions immensely, but don’t drive enough to justify the hassle of trading again. This is an excellent car and it seems to do just fine with age.

I’m contemplating trading for a 222 now (no commute). The 223 just doesn’t get us excited to spend that kind of money. Seeing yours makes me want to take another look at the market

 

Can’t wait to see some pics of it, specs look really good. Agree with the driver aids, I use them all the time on our cross country trips. Good to kick back and let it help as the miles go by.

On top of the ILS+ (I got mine from MWMods), I’d also get windows tinted all around, even the windshield. Makes a huge difference.

Then get a couple nice fragrances for the Air Balance system.

Enjoy it!

 

Hey Billy, please make sure when you code with BenzNinja that you have him enable "Animal Detection" in your NightView system.

For whatever reason, in some (all?) of the North American cars it is coded "off" by default.

You will definitely want that working when driving long distance on those Texas roads.

 

If you have Benz Ninja do the coding consider a few other things while he has it, my 16' has engine management (horsepower, torque, battery level etc), converted to gallons vs. percentage, and one or two other goodies. He can also lower it just a bit, I did 1" and for sure handles better without any negative issues (tire wear is still great) and looks more "sinister".

Good buy, the LS is a quiet comfortable car but has no "heart" and Lexus doesn't sell many of these anymore. I never had German car, went through mulitple cars and first luxury big car was 1997 Q45t that was reliable as can be and great car. I was worried about German cars but knock on wood nothing has gone wrong (except for flex plate covered by warranty) in 5+ years. Consider an extended warranty as that will give you peace of mind, so far i am losing on that bet but one big item and we'll break evern