Purchase advise

[jamalmathis02]

Hi everyone,
I'm about to buy a 2010 S class. the price offered by the owner is close to 23K. The car looks to be in pretty good shape. I haven't driven it myself, but the owner did take me for a ride. The car smelled as good as new. The engine was absolutely smooth. He has all the papers and everything. The only problem that bugs me and I wouldn't have found out until after driving it myself, unless he told me as he did, was that the brake takes a split second longer to apply. Is that something I should be worried about? I mean if I have to replace the brakes, how much should I pay him for the car?(he does not have insurance). One more small problem is with his key.. He says that sometimes the car does not receive the signal until you press it repeatedly. Besides that it looks just fine.

 

[gIzzE]

For £23,000 it initially sounds expensive, but without knowing the mileage and model it is hard to say?

Model??

S350
S350cdi
S500
S63???


You can buy a 2010 S350cdi with under 40k miles on it on autotrader for £17,950 before haggling.

You can be in a 2012 model with 29k miles on it for £21950.

For £24k you can be in a 2012 S350cdi direct from Mercedes with their full warranty, 0% finance if needed, and currently they are giving you 2 years free servicing included on used S Class, which will save you around £56 a month.


So a few more details would be nice.


There are 2010 S350 cdi's out there for £15k with 60k miles on them, so be very careful what you are paying.

 

[GP801]

Seems quite pricey to me. The key issue could be a faulty key or it needs a new ignition switch/sensor. Is there only one key? Keys are around £230. Ignition modules much more. Easy to get a car smelling like new. At that money it needs to be perfect. They are complex cars and repairs are not cheap.

 

[maha]

Dont buy an S class, most unreliable car and waste of cash, spend it on another car. C63 amg maybe.

 

[gIzzE]

Helpful.

 

[maha]

It is the worst car look at this thread http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/wheels-tyres-brakes-suspension/205084-w221-s500-dropping-ground.html

3 s class owners (one being me) all complaining about the same problems.

 

[Doodle]

Because buying an S-class and expecting the running costs of a Suzuki Alto is always going to end badly.

 

[maha]

Because buying an S-class and expecting the running costs of a Suzuki Alto is always going to end badly.

Ok lets get this all straight.

1. I dont have a suzuki alto (i need to update that so its my fault) and I did not buy the car thinking it would be the same in terms of maintnance costs as a Suzuki Alto.

I bought the car after doing loads and loads of research, I banked I would need to spend around £2-3k on the car a year in maintance costs (which i can afford) not 8-9k.

The first 11 days was ok had one of the cyclinders go but nothing serious from my perspective. But after that month the suspension started giving (first of problem, first the valve, then the struts) I spent bucks fixing it but even after that it felt like its was built so poorly driving over bumps, potholes etc.

Then the bose system kept cutting out apparently that was a £1300 fix which i did not bother with, then the front two lights stopped working £800 each (does not include fitting), the car was just failing apart all over the place and I was having to drive my wifes alto to get to work as it was more reliable as the s class.!!! My wife drove that car into a hedge once and it would still go.

I think what i expected from the flagship model was something built to a really high standard but from my perspective it was not.

Also i did not want to drive a car around where I was waiting for an error message pop up.

I have had a 190e, C280, E Class my god they were all amazing cars but this mercedes is just so rubbish and flimsy thats why I would never reccomend anybody buy it. All the above was over 9 months over ownership.

Its up to you whether you buy that s class, i am just letting you know my experience as I dont want somebody to waste the amount of time, money and stress i did on the worst model of MB ever.

 

[Doodle]

So from the above we can surmise you got saddled with a pup, and are (perhaps understandably) bitter about it.

Unfortunately it doesn't make for the most reasoned and impartial perspective, as proven by the C63 suggestion.

 

[maha]

ok fair comment about the c63 but the link i posted in my earlier post i think highlights that its a litter and not a pup that MB have put out there.

 

[Doodle]

3 cars against hundreds of thousands of 221s sold worldwide.

Air suspension needing maintenance and replacement parts is hardly unique to the 221, or to Mercedes.

 

[jamalmathis02]

I have nothing against S class, but considering everything it seems quite pricey to me too. @GIzzE its an S350. As for the key issue, if the dealership doesn't help with that, I could always call a locksmith.

 

[gIzzE]

And mileage?

As I said, 2012 cars with sub 40k miles at Mercedes dealers with 2 years worth of servicing and you will be able to get them to throw a second year warranty in as well.

A years warranty on these is worth £1500.



Why would you want to even consider a car with electrical problems?

Just move on to a better one, with full merc warranty.