Thinking of buying an S-Class

[willg]

Thinking of buying this...
2007MY (56) MERCEDES S320 CDI 7G [235] SWB AUTOMATIC [SPECIAL ORDER SPEC] | eBay

I have a few concerns, and I was hoping people with S-Class experience could help:

Is it priced realistically? Book (without adjusting for options) seems to be around £14k, so is it worth extra for the options? I'm aware the new S-Class will be out later this year. So how much more depreciating will it do when that hits? I'm trying to figure out total cost of ownership over 6 years.

I am expecting to have to replace the airmatic pump and probably a strut or two over the next few years (seems to be a given), has anyone done this and know the costs involved?

It seems to suffer from hard 2-1 shifting, which seems to be common to early 7G Tronic applications. I know it's been solved, but I'm not clear as to whether it was fixed with a software update or replacement of a specific part in the gearbox? (again, trying to anticipate costs)

The steering wheel was slightly off-centre (to the left oddly) when driving in a straight line, I guess a four-wheel alignment would take care of this.

I really wanted distronic plus which this doesn't have, but having read the forums people say it works, but it's a bit aggressive in braking and accelerating. So is it worth holding out for?

All help appreciated.

 

[st4]

Later 7g versions jolt. My fathers 61 reg one does it. Appalling in what was over £60k new.

Great used buys. Airmatic can go but so can cool springs in conventionally suspended cars.

The V6 diesel is not trouble free. Search inlet port shut off motors, and failed turbo actuators and oh, front engine bearing issues.

Budget £1k for a new valve body for your 7g.

That's the bad stuff over. The good. Magic carpet ride, comfort and refinement that makes an E class seem like a tractor with no suspension. They are that good and proper luxury car trim.

 

[Fizzer]

Could be the angle of the picture but there does seem to be a bigger panel gap, between the boot lid and the rear wings, than I would have expected to see.

 

[willg]

Thanks for the advice so far, I've looked up those issues and they look expensive, especially the bearing on the OM642 and being a 2006 car that would make it one of the 'early' cars to have that engine, so more prone to issues that were corrected in later models.

When I purchased my E220 CDI with the 5G-tronic advice on the forums was this was a relatively tried and tested combination, and that has held true so far - I've had a glow plug + relay (£300 odd all in), a leak from the gearbox electrical connector (fixed for peanuts during routine service), a leaking radiator (£350 odd) and then just normal wear and tear items like servicing and tyres, in my 3 years and 34k miles (now done 126k) of ownership. I'm pretty happy with that given the horror stories of early 211s.

I really want a w221 (just to experience it, even if I only keep it a year or two) I am happy with spending a bit more on repairs and upkeep, but I don't want to get in over my head with exponentially higher maintenance costs. After all the S-class cost twice as much as the E-class, so repairs costs *should* be no more than double the e-class too right?

 

[st4]

Thanks for the advice so far, I've looked up those issues and they look expensive, especially the bearing on the OM642 and being a 2006 car that would make it one of the 'early' cars to have that engine, so more prone to issues that were corrected in later models.

When I purchased my E220 CDI with the 5G-tronic advice on the forums was this was a relatively tried and tested combination, and that has held true so far - I've had a glow plug + relay (£300 odd all in), a leak from the gearbox electrical connector (fixed for peanuts during routine service), a leaking radiator (£350 odd) and then just normal wear and tear items like servicing and tyres, in my 3 years and 34k miles (now done 126k) of ownership. I'm pretty happy with that given the horror stories of early 211s.

I really want a w221 (just to experience it, even if I only keep it a year or two) I am happy with spending a bit more on repairs and upkeep, but I don't want to get in over my head with exponentially higher maintenance costs. After all the S-class cost twice as much as the E-class, so repairs costs *should* be no more than double the e-class too right?

I went from the 220 5g drivetrain to Om642 7g albeit in an E class. After £3500 of work on drive train faults I'm back in a 220 5g.

Make of that what you will.

But in saying that the S class is not that much worse on fuel, miles more refined and comfortable so you may well find the faults worth it for the car.

It will do 40mpg blah blah but its not fit the typical running costs of a 40mpg car, more the running costs of a 150mph one which it is also.

 

[willg]

So I've done some research based on the points above (thanks):

• £1,000-£1,500 for the valve body replacement in all probability, depending on whether it's done at an indy or dealer, main cost is the part. Unlikely to just be the plate as this will be an early implementation and apparently the plate isn't sold separately.
• £2,000 for the front crankshaft bearing if it starts knocking, mainly labour intensive to get to.
• £500-£1,000 for inlet port motor and related parts
• Airmatic pump replacement <£500 all in
• Airmatic strut replacement (can't find a UK price, US seems be $1,000 for the part + labour) so I'm assuming £800 for the strut and a couple of hours labour - £1,200 per corner

I am unlikely to get a contribution to any of the above (it seems hit & miss) so I should expect to have to cover all those risks and if I do get anything, bonus.

So I need to keep £6,200 in a savings account and expect to spend around £1k on average for each incident on a car worth 2.5x that. That's a huge percentage, but in perspective, for a car that costs £60k new, which is being purchased for a fraction of that, it's not too bad. There's always a chance none of the issues will come up and I can go on holiday with the reserves when I sell it on.

Does anyone know if the Mercedes Tier 1 warranty can be purchased outside of a dealer approved used Mercedes?

 

[st4]

Sounds about right. Re tier one so long as its had full dealer history you should be able to buy it