I have a friend who recently made the move from a 2007 Maserati Quattroporte to a 2009 MB S550 with the AMG sport package. He got sick of having to replace the A/C units in the Quat (at $1600 a pop, not covered by warranty) and wanted to get into something more reliable.

Knowing that I am a car guy he originally consulted me on the decision and I recommended the LS since his chief complaint with the Maserati was reliability and maintenance costs. The LS wasn't quite his cup of tea so he went for the S but surprisingly he has had more problems with it than he ever did with the Quat.

I am posting this topic because we have heard so much about Mercedes return to total quality and reliability, but my neighbor's difference has been a nightmare. I am wondering if this is simply the norm for the S class or if there is a larger problem here.

So far...

1) There has been an awful vibration in the steering column and wheel that the dealership cannot seem to correct. The car has been aligned numerous times, they tried a new set of tires, checked for bends in the wheels, and nothing is off target. The car has spent nearly three weeks at the dealer for this problem.

2) Last week the shifter was not responding to inputs from the driver. He went to leave work, popped it to R, and the car didn't go anywhere. He says this has happened two or three times and he has to get out of the car, lock it, unlock it, and try again.

3) The CD player has been replaced once because it died

4) The A/C unit went out last night which is a rather unhappy dose of deja vu for him.


At this point the car only has a little over 6,000 miles on it so everything has been covered under warranty but he has spent almost as much time in his C300 loaner as the S550 that he bought.

Do the Mercedes owners/fans have any input on this?

Thank you

 

It sounds like he got a lemon. One of my coworker's dad (not my second cousin's third uncle twice removed ) has an 08 and he hasn't had any issues yet *knock on wood*

 

boy, that does sound like a lemon i know a friend with s550 and his car has been pretty ok

 

lemon law!!!!

 

Problem with lemon law is that in the state of GA, the dealer/mfr has to exceed 3 failed attempts of fixing the same problem. I guess, if anything, the steering wheel vibration might qualify after another try or two.

He is just getting sick of the other problems in the mean time...

 

It sounds like a lemon to me. My wife has an S550 with 7,200 miles on it and has been driving for 16 months. So far she has not had 1 problem with the car.

 

Is your friend my former CEO? He got a S550, drove it to work for 1 day, and spend the next 2 weeks ****ting on the dealer why his car wasn't fixed. He had to drove his 911 to work.

 

MPLexus301, so your friend is looking for something more reliable and he choose a MB S550 AMG? Thats a good one. There are many reasons to buy a MB S550 AMG, but reliability is not one of them.

 

Should've gotten a LS600h. You should tell your friend that if he wants reliability he probably shouldn't be sticking to German or Italian brands. They've come a long way but they aren't quite there yet.

 

Welcome to the world of MB. Problems are all fixed in the new models really, they are.
I bet he is loving the MB dealer experience too. lol. At least he gets to drive the new C-class around. Ask him if he's going to get another one? The next one will have NO problems!! Really !! God bless MB.

 

My friend & I know the lawyer(pioneer) of Lemon Law. He has the largest firm in the US that only handles lemon law. MB & Range Rover is at the top of the list for lemons.

 

Lots and lots of electronics on the s-class. Most are not yet proven and are new thus the expected reliabilty problems.

 

Truthfully the LS was not flashy enough for him and he thought it too much of an old man car. He has always been about having something with some spark/sizzle/flash to it thus the Quattroporte and now the S AMG. He says that if the S doesn't straighten out he is going to wait to get an M56S.

Who knows...rich people

 

Was this related to the Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member you helped advise on a purchase? You certainly travel in rarefied company!

Sorry to hear the S550 isn't working out. If he can't get it lemoned, before making his next purchase, perhaps he could consider how much value he is placing on flashy qualities...maybe next time he will have fewer regrets.

 

Haha no...she ended up putting in an order for a S600 and then cancelled it as she decided she now wants a breast lift and an SUV, most likely the GL550.

Much agreed. He lost a ton of money on the Quattroporte and obviously dropped a load of cash on the S but to some people money just isn't an object. He is notorious for getting bored with a car and switching it out but he is on the road a lot for business so he needs something that is at least reliable. I tried to sell him on the LS since he was so dissatisfied with the reliability of the Quat, but that wasn't "flashy" enough