High mileage....big problems ?

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MB-Graham

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2015
Messages
30
Car
S Class W220 (2005)
Hi all,

In my quest for a W221 I have seen on eBay a 2 owner (Mercedes and 1 private) W221 S500 in silver with the AMG styling pack and around £11k worth of options.

I am seriously thinking of taking a look at the car, the only downside I can see is the mileage is 105k
My question is do I have anything to worry about with these engines ?

I will be doing around 15k miles a year and the has a full MB service record up to 101k miles.

Thanks
 
Hi all,

In my quest for a W221 I have seen on eBay a 2 owner (Mercedes and 1 private) W221 S500 in silver with the AMG styling pack and around £11k worth of options.

I am seriously thinking of taking a look at the car, the only downside I can see is the mileage is 105k
My question is do I have anything to worry about with these engines ?

I will be doing around 15k miles a year and the has a full MB service record up to 101k miles.

Thanks

105k is nothing IMO

Of course Suspension components will be getting tired, but as long as it has had all the maintenance done at correct times it wouldn't put me off

Just because you bought a car with say 60k miles doesn't mean something major may not go wrong with it. A higher mileage car has usually had all the typical failure items already changed
 
I agree with clk320x as long as it's been well maintained I wouldn't put me off. My last 2 cars (Audi bought with 143k on clock and BMW bought with £101k on clock) were both great cars and easily sold them on. Audi had 170k when sold and still was going strong.


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That is just run in , my cars have gone on to twice , three and four times that mileage without problems .
 
105k isn't high.
 
105k on that V8 ? No probs if looked after. If we blindfolded you and got you to drive it , you'd never know.
 
What price lower mileage?

I'll agree with all of the above. The S class, as well as the E class, are built to do 250,000+ miles, and it shows. If maintained, if maintained, they'll be a joy to drive all the way there, and will always look the part on any Hotel forecourt.

However, here's a question for you: Supposing, for example, you were looking at a 2006 S500 with 105,000 miles on the clock and £11k worth of AMG extras for say....theoretically.... for £8,000 ono. What's the right price for a lower mileage vehicle, same spec etc. Is, say, £11,000 a fair price for a 50k car of the same spec and vintage?

I would argue, especially as you're planning to do 15k miles a year, that you'd be better off spending a few more grand (to be written off over a few years), to get the lower mileage car.

But, if you were only doing 5k miles a year, then that's the ideal case for buying a high mileage car. In your situation, I'd suggest paying a little bit more, for a low mileage S500 is worth the while.
 
You don't say how old the car is? There was a facelift around 2009 I believe and Mercedes often take the chance to improve certain aspects/weaknesses of a model which have emerged since it started its manufacture run. The one thing that caught my eye was "Airmatic suspension" which tends to get " exercised" quite lot in these heavy luxury saloons. That and all the immense onboard electronic trickery. Its perhaps a car that warrants a full interrogation on Star before purchase ?
 
I don't mind high mileage if the car has been looked after, we recently bought a discovery 4 with 20k miles more than an extremely similar car on the same forecourt, for a huge £7k less, we do 20 to 25k miles a year and after 5 years the difference in value will be negligible

I also subscribe to the view that cars wear out with age more than mileage, and a higher mileage car will have had its bugs de bugged
 
I also subscribe to the view that cars wear out with age more than mileage, and a higher mileage car will have had its bugs de bugged[/QUOTE]

I agree, a well-maintained car of MB quality will eat big mileages but age will have a more detrimental effect
 
Facelift came 2010. You can tell as it will have revised tail lights (they are all red instead of having 2 strips of body-coloured trim). Obviously don't rely on this as they can be retro-fitted. Check the build code from the VIN to be sure.

As said, you don't say the age. If the car is a 2006 model, it's done under 10,000 miles a year which is fine. Probably means it hasn't done lots of stop-starting journeys.

If it is say a 2010 facelift, it's done around 14k a year which means it's sat mostly on the motorway with the car and respective fluids all up to running temperature and least-stress driving.

For me, it doesn't really matter whether it is on 50k or 100k or 150k as there isn't much difference mechanically. Of course higher mileage means more wear but the higher mileage will be cheaper but because a lot of people are scared of 6 figure mileages, the prices tend to drop disproportionately as a result. Save money on buying the thing!

Low mileage doesn't mean stop-start journeys as it could be used for less longer journeys though.

I'd rather a younger higher mileage car as, as said, stuff ages regardless.

It all comes down to history / servicing / condition.

You could buy the car on 100k and run it for 50k and it need nothing. You could buy a 50k car and it need loads of bits changing.

It's a bit of a lottery at the end of the day because you don't know what life the car has had.

If you buy the best-maintained car you can in the best condition with the most comprehensive service history, this is the best you can do to mitigate big bills.

At the end of the day, these cars started from £60k so they are never going to be cheap to run. But with a decent indie behind you and a moderate pot of cash to cover any big bills (say £5k if you can - save this by buying a higher mileage example), you should have a great experience.

If the car proves to be a turd - move it on and buy another one!
 
Well I can't offer a direct comparison but I will say that my W211 E320 has 115k on the clock, just ticked over.

Every time I'm in the car and especially when I take it for a long run I'm thoroughly impressed with how it feels like a car that's less than half it's age and mileage. The only thing that gives it's age away is the looks I suppose.

So for me, buying another 100k+ car would not phase me.
 
just bear in mind that when I was last in Berlin, I got into a taxi. a C220 I remember. the car had covered 660km. (450K ish??) and the driver said it ran like a new car. however, he did say I was sitting on its 3rd back seat.

id go with the above. if the car has an extensive service history, then mileage really is proof that its been looked after.
 
I think the perception of what is considered high mileage has changed massively since computers engine management. Most cat these days if regularly serviced will go to 200k and beyond. The only consideration is the depreciation of the vehicle as when they reach over 150k there are a lot more people who will be concerned. That aside as long as the car has full service history and you carry out the right checks you should be good to go.
 
I'd check the engine number, as the earlier M273 engines had balance shaft issues.
 
just bear in mind that when I was last in Berlin, I got into a taxi. a C220 I remember. the car had covered 660km. (450K ish??) and the driver said it ran like a new car. however, he did say I was sitting on its 3rd back seat.

id go with the above. if the car has an extensive service history, then mileage really is proof that its been looked after.
You should have seen the E class 'business' Taxi I got into a few years back in Morocco. I couldn't tell you the mileage as the dashboard was..er..incomplete and instead of eyeball vents blowing cool air from the dash they had been filled with lovingly polished wooden balls !!

Still ran OK though
 
Hi all,

In my quest for a W221 I have seen on eBay a 2 owner (Mercedes and 1 private) W221 S500 in silver with the AMG styling pack and around £11k worth of options.

I am seriously thinking of taking a look at the car, the only downside I can see is the mileage is 105k
My question is do I have anything to worry about with these engines ?

I will be doing around 15k miles a year and the has a full MB service record up to 101k miles.

Thanks

105K is not high mileage : my 300TE-24 had covered 430K , and most of my other cars have gone well beyond 200K ( average mileage ) with a couple nudging 300K .

As long as maintenance has been carried out there is nothing to worry about .
 
105K is not high mileage : my 300TE-24 had covered 430K , and most of my other cars have gone well beyond 200K ( average mileage ) with a couple nudging 300K .

As long as maintenance has been carried out there is nothing to worry about .
Hi resurrecting this thread because I’m looking at a w221 on Autotrader with 167K with full MB history fir £9K. Any thoughts vs an earlier W221 with around 100K - seems like it’s been looked after - anyone know it?


I’ve had a 150K BMW 535d and the drivers seat was very tired and windscreen looked like it had been shot blasted by motorway debris or something but otherwise was fine.

I’ll be doing about 7-10K per year mostly London to Wiltshire every other weekend to see my kids - 5 hrs round trip and I love what I’ve read about the W221 and I can handle about £2K / year bills but not masses more. Need comfort and space - current ride is Lexus RX400h ‘05 which is so boring to drive and too high.

Any thoughts much appreciated.

Thanks guys!
 
I’m sure the seller would be happy with a pre-purchase check over at an Indy if it’s as good as it looks. Eagle F1’s and replacement air struts are obviously not the sign of an owner cheaping out on maintenance.
 

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