Z356

Greg Weiler of MB of Westminster has supplied me the info (below) on Designo for the 2008 S class. I found of particular interest the following pricing by MBNA: If you want Designo leather & alcantara interior on a S550, you need to pay $12,160. But if you want the same for the more expensive S63, you need to come up with almost $2K more - the exact amount is $13,790. Considering the base S63 costs $40K more than the base S550 and already comes with an alcantara headliner as standard, this option is incredibly expensive on this AMG model (notice S65 Designo interior is priced the same as S600, and is considerably lower). When I first test drove the S63 at the Untertürkheim test track back in May, I was appalled by the quality of the leather interior inside that car. It was strikingly 'coarse-grained' leather, especially in black. And here is MBNA confirming that to get a really 'nice' leather interior in an S63 will cost you $2K more than in the much lower priced S550, since it will take more Euros to bring an S63 so-called 'Premium leather' interior up to its 'Designo' standards. This revelation adds ammunition to those of us that think the S63's leather interior was seriously shortchanged. This might be one of the reasons why so many S63s are sitting on dealer lots unsold. The other reasons probably are A) a deteriorating economy and B) the performance & upgraded leather interior of the (almost) similarly priced S600. One man's opinion. Z356
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#181 Designo Espresso Edition
#235 Designo Graphite Edition
#264 Designo Mystic White Edition

You save $2,250 by not using a Designo exterior paint.

S550
Designo interior $12,160
Designo exterior $ 2,250
(would not have this if you went with standard S color)

S600
Designo interior $ 9,765
Designo exterior $ 2,250

S63
Designo interior $13,790
Designo exterior $ 2,250

S65
Designo interior $ 9,765
Designo exterior $ 2,250

WSH

Suspect the slowing high-end economy explains more of the inventory issues than anything else....

Vast majority of these cars are $0-down, 2-3yr leased, so MSRP quotes mean little in calc'g total ownership costs...

Problem w/a loaded 550 is that it's underpowered and has only passable brakes....

600 offers elegant, luxury interior, but has codgerly exterior (and ricer/rapper exhaust tips in MY08).....and more visible ugly, econocar brake calipers if one opts for AMG-style wheels....

63 is best overall car...but plastic interior is hideous....looks like stuff out of a CLS/E-Class.....

65 is default choice....but has the codgerly 600 wood steering wheel (????)...and the tacky quilted leather.....isn't the 600 aimed at the >70yo buyer????

Choices, choices.....

Z356

WSH: If MSRP wouldn't matter, everyone would be leasing a S65. So MSRP is quite important. The plain exterior of the S600 is the forced result of deliberate marketing ploy by MB that prevents the offering of the more attractive & aggressive AMG exterior 'look' option on the S600. If the AMG option would be available to the S600, this along with the performance and upgraded interior of the V12 would cause further bleeding of S63 sales in the US - which I find a rather cynical tactic on MBNA's part and betrays the insecurity of their overall strategy. You will notice that the new '08 S600 interior, as Chris from Moraga has demonstrated in his posts, is now the best looking in the entire S lineup, since it mimics the formerly exclusive Designo interior & stitching patterns which was available only as an extra $10K option in MY2007. I do agree with you on two points - the new '08 S600 exhaust tips are annoyingly fugly and the Bentley Mulliner cross-stitching leather in the '08 S65 seems out of place in a Mercedes. Why imitate the Brits? By the way, the 'old codgers' wood/leather steering wheel on the S65 can be quickly changed to the S63 AMG full leather at little expense. I already bought one via this Forum's Classifieds and is on standby for my upcoming 2007 S Class purchase in the second hand market. Z356

FloridaE55

This is what I found out today at my local dealer, applies to CL63 and S63:

If you get a designo, you can't get the 030-Package (and vice versa). Don't ask me why!

cjf_moraga

No doubt in the mind of MBUSA there is significant overlap between the two. The Piano Black lacquer wood for example. In fact the rear wood of the center console even had "Designo" written on the 2008 S63 I considered before I went for my S600.

The whole 030 "performance" package is pretty dubious IMO. For $7000 you get what? NO LSD, (despite misleading websites like Edmunds that say you do) the removal of the speed limiter, (big deal) some black piano lacquer wood, and 4 * 20" double spoke alloy wheels. Well if you don't like black lacquer wood then you are essentially paying $7000 for 4 wheels - and there are far better aftermarket choices for that money.

The price of the 030 starts getting the S63 near the price of an S600... and it is still not comparable interior-wise alas.

Chris

Z356

Chris: I agree that there is a lot of fuzzy logic going on at MB and MBNA. I did noticed the Designo lettering on the piano black wood offered on the 030 packaged S63s. Yet, the quality of the "Premium" leather included was lame and would not be acceptable in the Designo packages Mercedes offers on the S600, S65...or even the S550! Anyone that has seen a S550 with a Designo Espresso, Mystic or Graphite is probably pretty impressed with the quality, feel and look of the upscale leather used in those cars. In fact, one can order the S550 with a premium leather upgrade (without going Designo) that is superior to that found on any standard S63 at $40K more expensive. I have yet to see a Designo S63 but MB Westminster has a Mystic S65 in their website and Ebay. I presume that the interior appointments for an S63 Designo would be the same. However, at $13,790 for just the interior, I doubt we will see many S63 so ordered. The point being missed by MB, MBNA and perhaps even the good people in this forum that are avid S63 fans, is that you should have both performance and a superlative leather interior on a vehicle at that price point - period. And for that lack of foresight by MB, the S63 and their loyal owners everywhere will pay a dear price in the future as the market sets their resale price and pecking order in terms of desirability vis a vis other vehicles in their class. Z356

cjf_moraga

Along with the cheaper interior (though it is all relative!) what really concerned me about choosing an S63 was the possibility of an announcement in a year or two that the current AMG V8 will be superceeded/replaced in the mid-model update by the rumored TT version - especially as the new C63 is showing such amazing performance figures. From a marketing POV it is not good that the "base" MB whips the "senior" performance models. Also the timing of the 2009 W212 introduction aligns with the introduction of a new performance engine...

If this happens then current S63 desirability and resale value will surely go south... (Shades of the non-kompressor 55's) Less of a problem if one is on a short lease to be sure.. in my case I am taking an ownership horizon that will take me to the next S-Class. (W222?)

Of course MB could introduce a new V12 mid-cycle, (though rumor and speculation aside is there actually any substantiated evidence?) but like the S550, the S600 has a clearer heritage/identity and market position.. and importantly has unused capacity in the V12 that can be wrung out with some tuning to stay competitive...

I really feel as has been re-iterated in other posts, that the S63 from both interior design and power-train aspects has an increasingly unfavorable and skewed value equation... (With apologies to current S63 owners)

Chris