W222 Reliability
Discussion
I’m looking at a 12-18month old W222 350.
I do around 18-20k miles p.a., so not huge. Obviously the MB S Class is an incredible car, however I’m just wondering what are the pitfalls of owning something of that complexity if it goes wrong? I’ve heard horror stories costing over £10k. Would (could) you extend the warranty?
Edit: an idea of running costs too would be really handy.
The “sensible” choice is a 530d but there’s something about the S-class I can’t turn down!
Thanks
I do around 18-20k miles p.a., so not huge. Obviously the MB S Class is an incredible car, however I’m just wondering what are the pitfalls of owning something of that complexity if it goes wrong? I’ve heard horror stories costing over £10k. Would (could) you extend the warranty?
Edit: an idea of running costs too would be really handy.
The “sensible” choice is a 530d but there’s something about the S-class I can’t turn down!
Thanks
Edited by TG105 on Sunday 17th February 15:04
MPG will be terrific.
It's not slow. It will have a great sense of occasion and will be quite comfortable.
Loads to go wrong. The engine itself has plenty of issues and as for the air suspension all four figure issues. It is not a car for the light of pocket or one who minds unusual noises, warning lights and being on first name terms with your local Merc garage.
Get the lowest milage one you can and with a warranty at least it won't be you who stumps up the cash to fix it.
The only reliable big saloon out there that matches the Merc is the Lexus LS460. Smoother, faster, less economical but less hassle and oodles more reliable. The correct choice is that.
It's not slow. It will have a great sense of occasion and will be quite comfortable.
Loads to go wrong. The engine itself has plenty of issues and as for the air suspension all four figure issues. It is not a car for the light of pocket or one who minds unusual noises, warning lights and being on first name terms with your local Merc garage.
Get the lowest milage one you can and with a warranty at least it won't be you who stumps up the cash to fix it.
The only reliable big saloon out there that matches the Merc is the Lexus LS460. Smoother, faster, less economical but less hassle and oodles more reliable. The correct choice is that.
I can't comment on running a W222, but after the thick end of a year and almost 20k in an S221, my conclusions are:
(1) They can get through rear tyres quite quickly - a heavy car, lots of torque, so not a surprise
(2) General servicing is no more expensive than a E Class - I use an indy, but I'd imagine for a young 'un you'd be using MB. I've heard mixed stories, with some claiming that MB are very price competitive; my own experience is that they're very pricy.
(3) Fuel consumption is excellent
(4) Nothing has broken, the car's never failed to start, and it's been 100% reliable. I've had air suspension on the last five Mercedes I've owned and not had a problem, but I've seen internet-raised issues with Magic Body Control. No idea if this is real - if you believed everything you read on the internet you'd never buy any car, ever.
(5) If you're buying a 12-18 month old car, getting an MB warranty makes sense
(6) Your biggest expense - by far - will be depreciation. Mine was just under 9 years old when I got it, with under 100k (genuine) miles on the clock. It was just 10% of its original cost............they depreciate faster than a falling log
(7) It's an absolute joy to do long distances in, and by far the most relaxing car I've had
(8) Although the LWB model is sen as the 'best' version to have, I specifically went SWB as it's just a lot easier to park and use around town. Up to you, but as I drive myself I really didn't need the additional space; it's plenty big enough back there with even the 'small' version. A different story if you're being driven, obviously.
Overall, so long as you can live with the fact that it's an expensive car to run - depreciation at the earlier stages, then as parts need to be replaced (the cost of spares such as injectors etc aren't cheap) - you'll love it. I've had 5-series and E Classes for the last two decades, and thought I'd try an S when one became available. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. I've driven a W222 quite extensively since buying my 221 and although it's even better than mine, it's not sufficiently good to justify the additional cost to me right now, though I'll almost certainly buy one when they've dropped another good chunk of depreciation.
ST4's comparison with Lexus isn't all that helpful - both the cars do what you want in that they're fast luxury saloons, but the character is entirely different, and the sort of person who likes one will probably hate the other. I find Lexus products to be utterly forgettable, albeit well-made, and also prefer the Mercedes over the more obvious Audi A8/BMW 7-series alternatives. Horses for courses.
In summary, if you like an S-Class then it's very much the car to go for. I'll not pretend that it's cheap to run as it isn't, but it's no worse than anything else at this level.
(1) They can get through rear tyres quite quickly - a heavy car, lots of torque, so not a surprise
(2) General servicing is no more expensive than a E Class - I use an indy, but I'd imagine for a young 'un you'd be using MB. I've heard mixed stories, with some claiming that MB are very price competitive; my own experience is that they're very pricy.
(3) Fuel consumption is excellent
(4) Nothing has broken, the car's never failed to start, and it's been 100% reliable. I've had air suspension on the last five Mercedes I've owned and not had a problem, but I've seen internet-raised issues with Magic Body Control. No idea if this is real - if you believed everything you read on the internet you'd never buy any car, ever.
(5) If you're buying a 12-18 month old car, getting an MB warranty makes sense
(6) Your biggest expense - by far - will be depreciation. Mine was just under 9 years old when I got it, with under 100k (genuine) miles on the clock. It was just 10% of its original cost............they depreciate faster than a falling log
(7) It's an absolute joy to do long distances in, and by far the most relaxing car I've had
(8) Although the LWB model is sen as the 'best' version to have, I specifically went SWB as it's just a lot easier to park and use around town. Up to you, but as I drive myself I really didn't need the additional space; it's plenty big enough back there with even the 'small' version. A different story if you're being driven, obviously.
Overall, so long as you can live with the fact that it's an expensive car to run - depreciation at the earlier stages, then as parts need to be replaced (the cost of spares such as injectors etc aren't cheap) - you'll love it. I've had 5-series and E Classes for the last two decades, and thought I'd try an S when one became available. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. I've driven a W222 quite extensively since buying my 221 and although it's even better than mine, it's not sufficiently good to justify the additional cost to me right now, though I'll almost certainly buy one when they've dropped another good chunk of depreciation.
ST4's comparison with Lexus isn't all that helpful - both the cars do what you want in that they're fast luxury saloons, but the character is entirely different, and the sort of person who likes one will probably hate the other. I find Lexus products to be utterly forgettable, albeit well-made, and also prefer the Mercedes over the more obvious Audi A8/BMW 7-series alternatives. Horses for courses.
In summary, if you like an S-Class then it's very much the car to go for. I'll not pretend that it's cheap to run as it isn't, but it's no worse than anything else at this level.
longblackcoat said:
I can't comment on running a W222, but after the thick end of a year and almost 20k in an S221, my conclusions are:
(1) They can get through rear tyres quite quickly - a heavy car, lots of torque, so not a surprise
(2) General servicing is no more expensive than a E Class - I use an indy, but I'd imagine for a young 'un you'd be using MB. I've heard mixed stories, with some claiming that MB are very price competitive; my own experience is that they're very pricy.
(3) Fuel consumption is excellent
(4) Nothing has broken, the car's never failed to start, and it's been 100% reliable. I've had air suspension on the last five Mercedes I've owned and not had a problem, but I've seen internet-raised issues with Magic Body Control. No idea if this is real - if you believed everything you read on the internet you'd never buy any car, ever.
(5) If you're buying a 12-18 month old car, getting an MB warranty makes sense
(6) Your biggest expense - by far - will be depreciation. Mine was just under 9 years old when I got it, with under 100k (genuine) miles on the clock. It was just 10% of its original cost............they depreciate faster than a falling log
(7) It's an absolute joy to do long distances in, and by far the most relaxing car I've had
(8) Although the LWB model is sen as the 'best' version to have, I specifically went SWB as it's just a lot easier to park and use around town. Up to you, but as I drive myself I really didn't need the additional space; it's plenty big enough back there with even the 'small' version. A different story if you're being driven, obviously.
Overall, so long as you can live with the fact that it's an expensive car to run - depreciation at the earlier stages, then as parts need to be replaced (the cost of spares such as injectors etc aren't cheap) - you'll love it. I've had 5-series and E Classes for the last two decades, and thought I'd try an S when one became available. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. I've driven a W222 quite extensively since buying my 221 and although it's even better than mine, it's not sufficiently good to justify the additional cost to me right now, though I'll almost certainly buy one when they've dropped another good chunk of depreciation.
ST4's comparison with Lexus isn't all that helpful - both the cars do what you want in that they're fast luxury saloons, but the character is entirely different, and the sort of person who likes one will probably hate the other. I find Lexus products to be utterly forgettable, albeit well-made, and also prefer the Mercedes over the more obvious Audi A8/BMW 7-series alternatives. Horses for courses.
In summary, if you like an S-Class then it's very much the car to go for. I'll not pretend that it's cheap to run as it isn't, but it's no worse than anything else at this level.
Point 4 re MY w221 I owned briefly - I had issues upon issues with the Ad blue system in the car. 3 trips to the dealer - no fix. Mine failed to start many times. A new EIS at big bucks fixed it. It rusted, it had the airmatic go, it had various engine faults (lambda sensor, crank position sensor et). The air suspension fell to the ground. It had rattles inside. To be fair bar the EIS and air more or less the same stuff goes wrong in C and E classes so the big car is a no brainer in that regard.(1) They can get through rear tyres quite quickly - a heavy car, lots of torque, so not a surprise
(2) General servicing is no more expensive than a E Class - I use an indy, but I'd imagine for a young 'un you'd be using MB. I've heard mixed stories, with some claiming that MB are very price competitive; my own experience is that they're very pricy.
(3) Fuel consumption is excellent
(4) Nothing has broken, the car's never failed to start, and it's been 100% reliable. I've had air suspension on the last five Mercedes I've owned and not had a problem, but I've seen internet-raised issues with Magic Body Control. No idea if this is real - if you believed everything you read on the internet you'd never buy any car, ever.
(5) If you're buying a 12-18 month old car, getting an MB warranty makes sense
(6) Your biggest expense - by far - will be depreciation. Mine was just under 9 years old when I got it, with under 100k (genuine) miles on the clock. It was just 10% of its original cost............they depreciate faster than a falling log
(7) It's an absolute joy to do long distances in, and by far the most relaxing car I've had
(8) Although the LWB model is sen as the 'best' version to have, I specifically went SWB as it's just a lot easier to park and use around town. Up to you, but as I drive myself I really didn't need the additional space; it's plenty big enough back there with even the 'small' version. A different story if you're being driven, obviously.
Overall, so long as you can live with the fact that it's an expensive car to run - depreciation at the earlier stages, then as parts need to be replaced (the cost of spares such as injectors etc aren't cheap) - you'll love it. I've had 5-series and E Classes for the last two decades, and thought I'd try an S when one became available. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. I've driven a W222 quite extensively since buying my 221 and although it's even better than mine, it's not sufficiently good to justify the additional cost to me right now, though I'll almost certainly buy one when they've dropped another good chunk of depreciation.
ST4's comparison with Lexus isn't all that helpful - both the cars do what you want in that they're fast luxury saloons, but the character is entirely different, and the sort of person who likes one will probably hate the other. I find Lexus products to be utterly forgettable, albeit well-made, and also prefer the Mercedes over the more obvious Audi A8/BMW 7-series alternatives. Horses for courses.
In summary, if you like an S-Class then it's very much the car to go for. I'll not pretend that it's cheap to run as it isn't, but it's no worse than anything else at this level.
The tyre wear didn’t bug me, all big heavy cars are sore on tyres. The Mercedes no less or more so than any other.
The most useful thing anyone has said to the OP is to try something else - the LS460 is a more reliable car. It’s just as comfortable, it’s less economical but throw in the inherent unreliability of the Mercedes and the fuel difference is cheap at the price. I wish I had - I keep looking at them wistfully online but the GS is incredible especially given how little I paid for it. The Mercedes - particularly the 221 model is a very staid and bland car. The 222 looks and feels a lot better inside and out.
st4 said:
Point 4 re MY w221 I owned briefly - I had issues upon issues with the Ad blue system in the car. 3 trips to the dealer - no fix. Mine failed to start many times. A new EIS at big bucks fixed it. It rusted, it had the airmatic go, it had various engine faults (lambda sensor, crank position sensor et). The air suspension fell to the ground. It had rattles inside. To be fair bar the EIS and air more or less the same stuff goes wrong in C and E classes so the big car is a no brainer in that regard.
The tyre wear didn’t bug me, all big heavy cars are sore on tyres. The Mercedes no less or more so than any other.
The most useful thing anyone has said to the OP is to try something else - the LS460 is a more reliable car. It’s just as comfortable, it’s less economical but throw in the inherent unreliability of the Mercedes and the fuel difference is cheap at the price. I wish I had - I keep looking at them wistfully online but the GS is incredible especially given how little I paid for it. The Mercedes - particularly the 221 model is a very staid and bland car. The 222 looks and feels a lot better inside and out.
Same with me. Biggest pile of rubbish I have ever owned- pretty much everything breaks and only mercedes can fix most things. Lucky that WBAC bought it. Pile of stinking crap.The tyre wear didn’t bug me, all big heavy cars are sore on tyres. The Mercedes no less or more so than any other.
The most useful thing anyone has said to the OP is to try something else - the LS460 is a more reliable car. It’s just as comfortable, it’s less economical but throw in the inherent unreliability of the Mercedes and the fuel difference is cheap at the price. I wish I had - I keep looking at them wistfully online but the GS is incredible especially given how little I paid for it. The Mercedes - particularly the 221 model is a very staid and bland car. The 222 looks and feels a lot better inside and out.
I had a couple of W222's, with the 65/63 engines, and never had any major problems with them. Both were in for warranty work at with various issues. Some extra things may have been picked up by the services, but the cars were reliable inasmuch as they didn't break down, but certainly not without faults.
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