p0rn pics of your w220, for braggng rights, otherwise it doesn't exist.

 

Sorry: no Pay, no Pics. This isn't Only Fans 😝🤣. (I'll try to upload some later..😉).

 

I firmly believe that if you are not willing and able to do most, if not all, of the routine maintenance and repairs, you shouldn't own a W220.

 

 

The only thing that is ever left me stranded on my W220 was a failed CPS. Very common problem, just waited till the car cooled off then it restarted fine

 

I’m not a Fan of the chunky / 'more assertive' styling of the W221 (sorry!)

Ouch

 

Nothing personal sonny, your W221 looks magnificent!🥇. Many W221s I spot in the UK are looking quite tired - obviously not looked after as nicely as yours.

It reminds me of a friendly but intense discussion here some while ago. W220...? W221..? W222..?

I think there's only one way to resolve this argument amicably:

FFFIIIGGGHHHTTTTT!!! 👍👎🖕🤘🤜🤛💪🦶💥

 

Like markbenj,I´ve had no problems with the car during the (almost) six years of ownership...after fixing some things at the beginning.Car looks great,everything works year after year.Like Cowboyt has said,this is a reliable model after you´ve sorted the possible issues.I also do agree with wallyp.This car is for people like us,who are willing to study their car and fix things themselves. Nothing wrong with the W220,it´s more likely a stupid(previous) owner(s) and a bad maintenance history if the car gives trouble.
doni01´s W221 is adorable!

 

I agree Arhippa . The W220 sometimes has a bad reputation for the reasons you say: neglected / poor maintenance history so people buy them very cheap... but don't know how (or have the patience / knowledge) to fix them properly and then complain about these cars on social media...

 

It is easy for us to forget that failures that are trivial to us will usually be catastrophic to the owner or operator who knows nothing about the car.

As an example - anyone who has haunted this forum for a couple of years might have the car refuse to start when hot while far from home. He or she will instantly suspect a failed Crank Position Sensor. If time is not pressing, they will just wait for thirty minutes (without running the battery flat!) start the car and go home, get on the computer and order a CPS. After a fifteen-minute install, the car is reliable again. If time is pressing they might see if they can find a cup of ice water to dump on the CPS and see if the engine then starts.

A non-knowledgeable owner would probably have the car towed to a shop where they don't know much more than the owner about what the problem might be. Lots of time, lots of money.

To paraphrase John Wayne - "Life is tough. If you are ignorant, it's even tougher."

 

Greetings all

In case it's of interest to new or existing W220 owners / enthusiasts:

I also follow (but rarely contribute to) a W220 Owners’ forum on a popular social media platform (FB) where there are almost daily Posts & SOS messages from members about ‘Major’ problems which often render their cars un-usable (e.g. Electrical issues, Suspension collapsing, Engine problems, Non-starting, locked-out due to PSE probs etc etc etc).💔.

With Hand on Heart: in the 6 years & 40k miles that I’ve owned my W220 S320L cdi it has NEVER let me down - despite that niggling / ongoing Mystery Hard Damping issue which some of you know about. Now at 140k miles it's still impeccably reliable, refined & well equipped, has lively enough performance for a heavyweight ‘Limo’, handles very neatly at speed on country roads + returns up to 46 mpg (Imperial) on long journeys. Not bad for a very complex 18-year-old iconic luxury car?

My Conclusion - for what it's worth:

As some of you kind friends here have already said: ‘There’s no such thing as a Cheap Mercedes S-Class’. And.. especially if you buy a ‘Cheap’ W220 with your eyes-closed about its History and how to maintain, fix & look after it.

So, all considered: I'm fortunate to have bought my high spec LWB W220 S320 cdi with a good ‘Pedigree’ from a local owner who had cherished it for many years. And, for approx 7% (yes!) of its original sale price of £56k GBP in 2004 - but still looking like it just left the Showroom inside & out. 💫😊. (Ok - unless you look VERY closely at every cosmetic detail 🔎).

During my ownership, my ‘old’ W220 has attracted many admiring comments and 5 (!) invitations to sell it. 💰💰. But you can probably guess my polite reply every time… .

I’m not a Fan of the chunky / 'more assertive' styling of the W221 (sorry!) so maybe one-day I’ll think about upgrading to a W222 or 223? Then again... the elegant styling of the W220 is un-mistakeably 'Modern' for even an 18-year-old 'S' when the newest versions (IMHO) seem to look like just larger iterations of the increasingly ubiquitous C & E Class models? 🔎. I still think about this when I occasionally park my 'old' but elegant W220 close to a much newer W222 or W223 and think ‘Mmm.. I wouldn’t swap - even if Money were no object’.

I rest my case for owning and cherishing a ‘Good’ W220: but ONLY IF you have the time, patience, enthusiasm and a reasonable amount of money to look after these special but complex cars..

MB 😎

‘The Best or Nothing’

Thanks for you sharing your experiece with your W220. I own three W220's: an 2001 S500 AMG, 2003 S430 and 2005 S500. Would like to colect every posted W220 reports from Do-It-Yourselfer's like me. I'll surely enjoy them all. Advice me. Thanks in Advance.
Ml, Franco

 

We just got home this evening from a beach trip in our new-to-us 2006 S350 (SWB). I had to fix three things on the car.

1.) replace the air conditioning compressor and drier
2.) fix the P0410 engine code for the secondary air injection system
3.) replace the PSE pump

That's it. The previous owner told me about the first two, and he didn't know about the third. Turns out the car sprung a trunk actuator leak in one of the usual spots about a month after I bought the car. So, with everything, I'm looking at about $1,400 of parts into the car and a couple of days (total) labour. This is all I've had to do to the car.

On this trip, the car performed as S-classes should, i. e. problem-free and coddling us in the style and comfort for which Sonderklassen are rightly known. I doubt this car is going to give me any significant problems for quite a long time.

As for the "W220's are unreliable!" reputation...well, it's true...IF you don't care for them properly. I can tell you all from experience that the same is true of any other car, including Hondas and Toyotas. We had two other Honda Civics, a 1995 coupe and a 1997 4-door sedan, which needed some serious TLC due to neglect. When I was done, both of them ran like a top and also looked good, and we sold them for top dollar. But it took some major work, including a head gasket for one of them. The one Civic that we kept, it needed a head gasket at one point, too, in the past. Just part of the deal. Had it done, did everything else that you're supposed to do with a Civic, and it's continued to run very well. It has 285,000 miles (462,000 km) on its clock, and still counting.

Far as I'm concerned, any car nowadays is a "DIY maintenance" proposition. This is due both to the expense of shop time here in the USA and the incompetent "work" done by today's so-called "automotive technicians". This is especially true, though of German luxury cars, including the Mercedes-Benz W220. I consider having STAR Diagnostic System pretty much mandatory for any owner of these fine automobiles. Just figure that into the total purchase price, i. e. another US $700, and yes, it absolutely is worth it.

As the old saying goes, "take good car of your car, and it'll take good care of you."

 

I agree with everything you say cbt

It reminds me of when I was an external sales training consultant for MBUK (about 20 years ago - how time flies!) and I was dispatched to Cyprus for a 4-day Group sales training 'Mission' for Sales & Aftersales staff & managers at the local MB franchise there (Mercedes Benz Cyprus Import Corporation). 4 Dealerships spread across the island, about 30 of 'Them' and only 1 of Me. Yikes! 🤞.

But the 4 days went superbly. Hard but Fun / Interactive sales training 'work' by Day, and the Entire Head Office Team gathering in the evenings at my Host's (The MD of CIC) friend's Nightclub to relax for Dinner and, er, 'Entertainment' late into the night. You might know the type of thing: dancing on the tables etc etc.🍖 🍤🍉🍷🍹💃🕺.

All-in-all I was treated like a VIP during my 'work' visit and it still sticks in my memory as one of the happiest, most successful and Exciting on my Professional Journey.

But enough about that. Here's the interesting (& RELEVANT) bit:

One of the Aftersales Managers (Dimitri Kop-alot-of-this) kindly chauffeured me around the Island to meet with his staff at the various remote dealerships in an (even then) elderly but well-kept early 1990s W210 E200 Diesel. On our travels I noticed that the Odometer read 427,000 Km (approx 267,000 Miles). So I asked him if the mileage was genuine and he replied with a wry smile:

"Yes of course Markoveetch, we've owned this car from New and the only major maintenance it's ever had (apart from routine servicing) was a replacement Cylinder Head gasket at about 300,000 Km.

Dimitri went on to say: "BUT... Markoveetch!.. the ACTUAL milage is 647,000Km (404,000miles) because the Odometer broke at 450,000 Km and we couldn't be bothered to replace it". 🤣

On a Final Note: My Mercedes Cyprus 'Mission' was when the Facelift W220 was introduced in 2003/4 and I admired an identical one (to mine, currently) in the CIC showroom thinking 'Wow I'd like one of those one day!'

Nearly 20 years later... (you probably know the rest of my W220 story..) 😉

'The Best or Nothing' 😎

 

Umm..."Fifth Amendment". 😁

Oh, by the way, our 2006 S350 is about to click 224,000 miles, or 363,800 km.

I also will mention that our 2003 S600 has close to 185,000 miles on it. I just finished rebuilding the alternator before our week-long beach trip, and I'm going to get it tested early this week before putting the silicone sealant on it.

 

greetings all,
Considering on swapping a $900 watch for a '03 w220 S500 with a friend. Really dont know much about the W220's history regarding maintenance ect. What common problems should i be on the lookout when i go to see it. do you think its a wise desicion on accepting the trade?

regards from Panamà city, Panamá

 

Oh, there's a laundry list of things to look out for, as with any modern car. Note that this S500 that you're looking at may be 21 years old, but it was the first car to have a lot of the stuff that today's 2024 cars now have.

https://www.benzworld.org/threads/pre-owned-w220-buying-information.1349079/page-6#post-17652340

https://www.benzworld.org/threads/so-you-just-bought-a-w220-here%E2%80%99s-what-to-do.3072466/#post-18561343

 

Is your friend filthy rich ? You may want to ask him(or her)why is the car only worth $900?

I hate that ‘There’s no such thing as a Cheap Mercedes’. Of course there is,that is the exact reason I keep buying these older cars.

Still,I wonder if your friend´s car is a little bit too cheap

 

I just picked up a w220. I love it

 

Work at a dealership and got this as a trade in. Instead of putting into inventory, I just took it directly from the customer!!!! I couldnt pass it up.

 

Looks great! 👍 I hope you got it for good money with (important!) an equally good maintenance history & no major problems? 🤞

 

Wow...yeah, that's a nice looking car. I hope the employee discount was good!