Ownership experiences S500/560e

[mercmush]

Hello All

I was wondering if anyone has any ownership experiences of either a S500e or S560e that they would be willing to share.
I have owned S classes before ( six w126s and one w220 ) and I did have a S500e back in 2023 but that got stolen after a month and was a lemon but I now have the itch to try one again.
I know replies might be sparse as I know they are both quite rare but thanks in advance.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Test drive experience rather than "ownership." I tested a couple of S560e's last year, being attracted by their larger batteries / range. Both private sales in Central London. Came away unimpressed with the hybrid experience. Both were in the hands of their first owners, two MD's of small businesses, and living in the central congestion zone. Well heeled owners, doing small mileages and using main dealers for servicing.

Although the electric driving was interesting, both of these owners hadn't bothered to charge their vehicles, using only the hybrid system to keep the battery charged, and both really didn't seem to know, or be interested in, the nuances of charging settings. Men in their sixties and seventies who just liked a big car. It was interesting that both were selling to move on to Bentleys, whereas my past experience of S Class owners was that sellers typically sold to buy the latest S class.

Impressive cars with those wide screens and general air of luxury, but came away thinking that the tech is well ahead of the owners' interest in the tech. They just want a luxury car. (I saw these cars on the production line at Sindelfingen, and they looked extraordinary back then)

Fuel economy seemed no better than a conventional V8. Not that any owner, outside the carriage trade, cares about mpg

Used 560e's seemed to be in short supply, giving me the impression that not many had been sold in the UK. Less than a couple of hundred back in 2020, and seems to have been a damp squib, presumably because of the massive tax advantage of running a company EQS EV.

 

[mercmush]

Thank you for your informative reply. As it happens I'm 57 so not that far away from being in my sixties but alas I am not an MD of any company. There are very few for sale and they have not depreciated enough for me yet but I am still interested. I had a Passat GTE PHEV and it saved me a small fortune on petrol and servicing because I can charge easily on my driveway from just a conventional 3 pin plug.
I must say that you have quite an impressive list of 500s in your MB life.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Thank you for your informative reply. As it happens I'm 57 so not that far away from being in my sixties but alas I am not an MD of any company. There are very few for sale and they have not depreciated enough for me yet but I am still interested. I had a Passat GTE PHEV and it saved me a small fortune on petrol and servicing because I can charge easily on my driveway from just a conventional 3 pin plug.
I must say that you have quite an impressive list of 500s in your MB life.

All good reasons to do it from your side. Your logic on being second owner is the same that was in my head at the time. Easily topped up overnight at home with a three pin plug. These guys were Kensington and Chelsea types who just were taking the hybrid BIK but who weren't bothered about fuel or maintenance.

My comment about the first owners is only about the tax implications and cost for someone depreciating it through the company, and using the crazy low BIK on EV's now compared to back in 2020 when 560Le's were being sold as new.

Phenomenal cars: they look like a million dollars, and definitely don't look like a black squashed potato, like the EQS.