The tires wore out at 25000 miles.
The trunk lid shock holder broke.
The good:
This car is extremely comfortable.
The fuel mileage is great for the size of the vehicle.
The 4-matic transmission is excellent for traction in all mud or snow conditions.
The bad:
The headlights do give adequate light to drive over 30 mph with the dims and 55 mph with the brights.
The original tires only lasted 25,000 miles. One would hope that when you pay $85,000.00 for car that the manufacturer would have installed a tire that would last 50,000 to 60,000 miles.
The tire complaint is the single most asinine thing I've read in quite some time. They're performance tires, they wear out faster because they have better grip than the cheap 60k tires you buy at Wal-Mart. Furthermore, driving style has a great deal to do with how fast tires wear out. Regardless, if you can't afford the tires...
I agree. This is a person who should be owning a Hyundai not a Mercedes. Bet he was shocked when his oil changes weren't $19.95 as well.
Absolutely, tires? C'mon get real. If that's the worst thing you can complain about the car, then I think it speaks volumes.
Boy boy boy, I was looking for useful comments to help with my purchase decision. If you can afford/buy an $85,000.00 car and can't afford tires, all I can say is boy!!!... Please try to be constructive.
I don't think this is a helpful review at all. You first give it high marks, but say you won't buy it again... Then you complain about the tires, something that could be easily changed out of the car and operation of which was not flawed. And then you only provide two other reasons why this car is bad, one minor, and the other trivial (headlights). Buying such an expensive car isn't a one time payment. We have a CLS550, and prior to that, a E320. We didn't nitpick about premium fuel, nor the tires. We know that they're performance tires, and we put on the same ones after the first set wore out. Why? Because it feels better.
Headlights. It seems pretty trivial, but they're aren't supposed to light up the road like a Christmas tree. If they are too bright, although it seems safer to you, it is a hazard to you and all of those around you. You could be impeding the ability of the oncoming traffic to properly see. If you can't see enough to judge where you're going on a dark road. SLOW DOWN. And if it really is something keeps you from sleeping at night, put in some aftermarket bulbs.
These are great cars and to post something so trivial, with out letting us know more about why you dislike it doesn't help.
The S430 (2001) is the best car I ever had except for the tire wear.
Max 25000 miles and the rear tires are gone. Because of different size front and rear and running direction,tire rotation is not possible.
Driving some 55000 to 60000 miles a year would mean two sets/year at $900,-or so per set, it adds to the cost of driving quite a bit.
I am a defensive driver and don't burn rubber, the live of the tires, even more expensive once don't last.
Question:
is this a known problem for the S430 and what is the solution if there is any?
"is this a known problem for the S430 and what is the solution if there is any?"
4wd 2tonne vehicles generally put a bit of wear on the tyres.
Try buying harder compound tyres...
Just don't complain when the handling is not as good, ride is harsher and you start to hear more road noise.
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