2001 Mercedes-Benz S-Class S500 from North America - Comments

S500 letters are begging to peel in the back.

Sometimes the air bag light comes on when I start the car and stays on for about 45 sec, but then goes off.

Best Luxury car in it's class.

Performs like a sports car.

Gas mileage is OK.

Very comfortable and quiet interior.

Wonderful technology.

Dealer service is a bit expensive, but they do a great job.

Everyone must have one.

I personally feel that most mercedes owners are satisfied people, whether they have bought it new or used. This is an inspiration that has brought an idea to my mind. I want to buy a black S class AMG sometime after at least 5 years. I don't want to lease it, but pay for it in full right on the delivery date, even before that. I am not a rich guy so 5 years will be the least time for me to save that much money. I am adding all this information because I don't want to read any comments saying strange things-this man is a cheater, if he would be that rich how come he would be asking this question on this forum, etc, etc-as I have seen.

I plan to keep the mercedes as a second car, but will take it coast to coast every year, that will be around 10,000 miles every year. I want to calculate as to for how many years will I be able to keep it at its best, well almost. Now answer the questions below keeping in mind the data provided above:

1- How long does the black showroom-shine lasts?

2- How is the reliability when travelling long distances in one-go?

3- What is the second best colour to black for S class?

4- What about theft?

Thankyou.

I would suggest paying attention to the man who commented above me. He is smart. He wants something that he does not have the money for right now, but instead of going out to the bank and signing up for payments so as to have instant gratification, he will make payments to himself, on his terms (saving...and having his money work for him), until he accumulates enough money to buy his car in full.

If things go badly and he misses a payment (to himself), the repo-man will not be knocking on his door. Perhaps too, within the five years he is saving, he might also decide that he does not want to use the money he is saving on the car. He is not locked into anything. It is his money (not the banks) and his choice. It is a position of power.

This is the way our grandparents and generations before them used to live. The current "everybody go into debt because we have to keep up with the Jones' (who are buried in debt) " mentality only came about recently.

Good luck with your car purchase (or whatever you ultimately decide to do with your money) and do not let anyone dissuade you from your plan.

I really agree with you. I'm in my 20s and have never financed anything. I pay cash for everything. I have no credit cards or anything that I have to make payments on. I really think by the time I'm in my 60s and 70s people won't be able to retire. If people keep spending the money on the credit cards the way they do, there going to be making payments the rest of their life. The guy who wrote the original comment is smart. I grew up in a house with my parents saving every dime they got. They didn't have a bank account they dealt with all their own finances. They are now living comfortably from being so frugal all those years. They are retired and living life to its fullest, not having to worry about their finances. If most people were like the people in the 2 comments above people would not be in debt and filing bankruptcy. Think about how your spending your money and save it. Live without the things you don't need.

I have owned several Mercedes S-Class vehicles and also a few BMW 7 Series cars including two V12 models.

They are all great cars, BUT, that was when I lived in Germany where you can travel legally at very high speeds.

And they were not without their problems.

Now I live in Florida and I have to say that because of speed limits, it is a waste of time to own a Mercedes or BMW here.

You simply cannot use such a car's dynamic capabilities as you can in Germany.

If you really have to have one, that's fine, but if you cannot do your own servicing, be prepared for very high repair & maintenance costs.

For the USA, a large, simply engineered car, such as my new 2005 Lincoln Town Car is a better bet - unless you just want to show off, then the Mercedes badge is unequalled in prestige.

I have a family and the Town Car is big inside, making even an S-Class Mercedes seem small inside by comparison.

And instead of paying $38,000 sticker price, I got a good deal on a brand-new 2005 for only $26,000 at the local dealership.

These cars are good value used as well; currently the dealer has a beautiful, low-mileage 2000 model for only $8,800 and the similar Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis are good value, if a little plain inside the cabin.

The high price of the luxury German brands is proof that the Germans do indeed have a sense of humour!

The extra price does not necessarily guarantee you extra reliability over the cars I have mentioned.

There's a lot to go wrong in an S-Class Merc!

Lincoln Town Car?!

Pfft...forget it!

My dad owned a 2004 Lincoln Town Car, that got fire after only 1 month of ownership.

He replaced it, with a brand new 2004 Mercedes-Benz S500 and haven't looked back since then. His Mercedes is totally reliable.

I own a 2005 Mercedes-Benz C350 and I can say: The car is just fabulous! No mechanical faults to report. Am I lucky?!

To be brutally honest: The Town-Car is cheap crap.

The interior is cheap and poorly built, the handling is a joke - The car feels way too light and bouncy; and the engine is underpowered - only 300Hp to carry 2.5 tons of pure crap!

Ford Sucks!

Both your Mercedes are brand new. What do you have 5,000 miles? Mercedes are fine for the first 15,000-20,000 miles, but then the problems start. Most the time its not engine problems just little annoying things. I am in no way saying a Lincoln is better than a Mercedes. I would recommend Lexus. I drove Mercedes until I started putting $5,000 into the car every time I took in to have an oil change. I bought an LS430 and couldnt be more happy. SNOBS buy Mercedes just for the prestige. People don't think about repair and even insurance costs. People will go put 10,000 down on a 80,000 car and pay 1,000 a month just to have the prestige, its NOT worth it! Like in the comment about people don't get that Mercedes is built by Chrysler.

Actually, the S-Class is already with 23.000 miles and the C-Class is with 12.000 miles. They're both daily drivers.

I've owned a 2003 CLK320 Cabrio before: Put 60.000 miles in 2 years of ownership and it was totally reliable, unlike my wife's Lexus RX300 which blow its blow its transmission with only 16.000 miles on the clock.

You can call me "snob" if you want, but my Mercedes proved to be more reliable than the Lexus.

In our family we have other 3 Mercedes: My uncle owns a 2000 SL600 (he bought after a 1994 SL500 and a 1988 560SL), My grandfather owns a 1997 S500 W140 (with 100.000 miles on the clock) and my brother owns a 2003 E500 (52.000 miles on the clock).

Maybe we are lucky, since our cars has been totally reliable, indeed, my grandfather bought his S500 brand new in 1997, before, he owned a 1991 420SEL W126 and a 1985 300TD W123 Sedan.

I'm not dissing Lexus, because, YES. They proved to be more reliable and YES, the new IS350 is one hell of a car (I considered buying one, but the Mercedes is more fun to drive, although it's a bit slower).

The thing is: You can't compare a car built by a High-Volume manufacturer such as Ford, with a Upscale brand like Mercedes. And yes, there will be a lot more thing to go wrong in a Mercedes, because the Mercedes is a luxury car full of gizmos, while the Grand Marquis is just a espartan big sedan.

As for "Daimler-Chrysler". The Mercedes-Benz works totally independent from Chrysler, no Mercedes is based on Chrysler - that is a cardinal rule, when the two brands merged together. So therefore your statement about Mercedes, being assembled by Chrysler or Mercedes are jumped-up Chrysler is simply totally ABSURD!

I'm sorry for saying Mercedes is built by Chrysler. I have done some research and it and its not true. I also have done some research on the unreliable Mercedes and most the people who have problems don't maintain their car properly. My mom owns two Mercedes, but both have extremely low miles for the years they are. Ones a 1991 560SEL and a 1985 300D. The 300D is an amazing car. People are getting a million miles out of them. My mom seems to think in 1992 Mercedes began loosing quality for she bought a 1992 400SEL and had so many problems. She thought the car had too many gadgets for the time. She has just decided to keep on driving her older ones for the rest of her life. And yes I understand your frustration with Lexus for I had the same problems in my RX. SUVs are not a Lexus thing, they should stick with their luxury sedans and coupes. Sorry for anything I said that upset you. The one thing I am not changing on is that Mercedes are usually only bought for the prestige.

I think SUVs are a Toyota thing. Do you know Land Cruiser? And since Lexus is also a Toyota thing so SUVs are a Lexus thing.

LX470 by Lexus is the Land Cruiser platform with enhanced luxury and exterior styling only. I think this Mercedes s class review is all set to degenerate if we don't stick to the S class only.

Replies to the first comment:

1- How long does the black showroom-shine lasts?

A- No more than two years. Swirls in black are the main culprit. Two years only when you keep it wet with wax all the time and drives less than 20,000 miles per year and store it in a garage. You will find yourself cleaning your car more often than ever before.

2- How is the reliability when travelling long distances in one-go?

A- There are two things to that:probability of failure and time it will take to get you back on track if it fails. The probability of break-down failure is very low during the first 5 years of ownership (even lower than most SUVs). But the time to get back on track will be enormous due to the lack of proper mechanics and availability of spares. Also consider some bad day when you may hit some deer on the freeway, you'll loose almost $50,000 from the total value if it happens within 5 years of ownership. If you gets stuck on a saturday, forget it till monday that your car will even see a proper mechanic and spare.

3- What is the second best colour to black for S class?

A- Its Silver. The German flagship colour. Lasts much longer too.

4- What about theft?

A- No one will take your car away. But expect broken windows and broken interior even in the best of the cities. Even slightly damaged exterior. Could put you in hyper tension.

I've never owned a mercedes, but owns a black colour BMW 7 series and I think these issues with mercedes will be same. If I am wrong, please correct me.

Probably that is the only reason people buy mercedes in colours other than black. So, are there any transparent coatings which can save the paint to last 10 years?

The Town Car, Grand Marquis and Crown Victoria are among the most reliable of cars.

The point I was making about Mercedes S-Class is that they are just over-engineered for the USA.

You just cannot get away with going long distances at 120-140 mph as I used to do in Germany.

Many rich people drive Town Cars and think a Mercedes is not suited to driving conditions in the US.

But it is nice to see these lovely cars on the road.

It would be boring if we all drove the same cars.

People just buying Mercedes with out idea, that all models after 2000 built by Chrysler, and all Chryslers are junks. I have my 1995 s 320, and I have no problem with that car. So please don't say that Mercedes is a bad car, because it's depends on year also on you driving and prew. owner.

I have owned at least 4 Mercedes in my life, and can honestly say the 2004 S500 I purchased was the worst product they have ever built. In my opinion, Mercedes has a long way to go in proving itself as great car again.

Consider the 4 power windows on the passenger side going bad, (I mean how often do you use the passenger window?) an automatic trunk that works when it wants to, the brake warning light suggesting I stop and visit the shop that goes on and off at will when my brakes are just fine. Also, an air suspension system that lowers the frame down on the wheels and locks the car from moving whenever it feels like, and how about a blackout on your dashboard and instrument lights when you are driving at 70 miles an hour at night on the 405 freeway?

But the real kicker is when you call the dealer and they say "well it might come back on or it might not. Bring it in, we will take a look at it, but there are 4 other guys ahead of you with the same problem"

So at $90K+ for the S500, and a bunch of waisted time at the dealer, it was not worth it. I would feel better to take my money and gamble it away in Vegas. Mercedes has got to do better.

Anthony Love.

I agree that a Town Car is more suitable in most states than a Mercedes. In West Virginia, for example, the handling characteristics of the S would shine. However, in Florida where the roads are straight with light curves the Town Car would do equally well as the Benz. I have owned my current Town Car for almost four years and have over 130000 miles on it. I have only taken it to the dealer for a repair once and it cost less than a hundred dollars. Mercedes' have become to technically advanced for their own good. for example the window switch on a Lincoln or an older Mercedes costs about forty dollars. The same switch in a 2000 or newer S costs over seven hundred dollars because it is computerized. I am preparing to trade in my Lincoln and will most likely go with another Town Car. Why? Because while I could afford the initial purchase cost of, and would prefer, an S I could not afford the repairs that would be needed over five years of ownership and 150000 miles. I agree that the Lincoln needs more Horsepower, 239 is not enough. Maybe I'll get it supercharged.