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Grimes is a bit of a car wizard in his own right.

When you drive a $100000 car (initial cost), don't expect the maintenance cost to fade away at the same rate as the residual value.

As an MB mechanic my tech brain immediately goes into a list of common issues seeing this W221😂 it’s in good hands with this guy. Very informative and smart as heck

“Land-Lord Beige”, lol.

I call Car Wizard “The Dream Crusher”, because he brings our dream cars on his channel and crushes our dreams of ownership with the reality of expensive repairs. 😅😂

Love how the Wizard gives Grimes his space to talk and explain everything in detail rather than cutting them off like a few other car repair channels.

Next week Tyler Hoovie drives in with a S550. "Weezard look what I bought, an S550 that the owner said it was maintained by you" Can you take a look? 😂😂

How many times has someone at work shown up with a S600 all happy and proud, but within a month you never see it again 😂

My 08 S550 4matic has 281k miles. Still runs like a champ! But is properly maintained.

Buy a high dollar expensive car, get high dollar expensive problems! Insert tiny violins here!!

Most of these around today are owned by people who bought them for $10-$20K. No maintenance other than oil changes. Used till something breaks.

This just screams deferred maintenance tbh, people have passed this on having bought it heavily depreciated and not bothered taking the big bill hit on the maintenance they should’ve done. Seals, CV shafts, coolant hoses and suspension components are all among wear components on any car regardless of make.

The best remedy for an inexpensive used German luxury car is an old Toyota Camry or or Buick LeSabre 3800.

The W221 is one of very few Mercedes that are actually nice enough to deal with their maintenance/repair costs. They're spectacular cars to drive and insanely comfortable.

The wizard needs a laser pointer….

I was driving my Dad's S320 and the alternator went out. Dealer cost? $625 Got the alternator rebuilt for $215. Still expensive, but not horrible. Installed myself so no labor, but I had to disconnect the sway bar to get the alternator out then in, adding more labor if you're paying for it. If you're driving a German luxury car, be prepared to pay German luxury car prices to fix or maintain them.

“These are solid”. “Yeah, another common leak”.

If I bought a car like that for $10k and it took another $12k to get it sorted, I would have nothing to cry about. They are mightty fine automobiles.

I bought my 07 S550 in late 2021 with 79k on it for $12,000 from an estate situation. The owner was asking $16,000 and it was very well kept. So I got a good deal and it's been a GREAT car. Best daily driver I've ever had, hands down. 101k on it now and while i have done a few preemptive things they have all been cheap and easy. It did need a front inner axle boot but again that was cheap and pretty easy. I would absolutely buy another one. My first Mercedes was actually an 04 E55 that I bought in mid-2020 from a guy who also had an 09 S550. When I was about to buy my S550 I called him (it had been a year and a half) and asked about his ownership experience with his S550. He had nothing but good things to say and said he would absolutely buy another one. I am full DIY so that does help. I don't find these cars scary at all. I understand some can be troublesome but on the whole I assess that these are good cars.

"This is when sometimes an inspection for a road trip can blow up in your face" Noted, no more pre-trip inspections for me... 😁

I don't know who is hating who :-) I'm living in Europe. Driveshaft, 372 euro. Radiatorhose 20 euro, balljoint 26 euro, brakes, rotors and pads 160 euro. Carterventialtion 21 euro, the shokabsorber 314 euro. That's under thousend euro (around 1100 US dollar). Discaimer, these are OE parts. Why not, it's not a brand new car. Sorry for my bad Englisch, it's not my native language.

So a proper repair is to bring the car to a Toyota dealer and trade it towards a Camry.

Regarding Mercedes, a Master Tech. at a Major MB dealership said : " Too much engineering, too much money, too many failures...." 😢

If you cannot buy a new one, don't buy a used one- Great video!

I recently took a 4,200 road trip in my 2009 Crown Vic. I did a inspection before the trip, needed nothing. All it needed when I got back was oil + filter change.

I own a 2017 C43 AMG that now has 65k miles, bought it nearly two years ago now at 35k miles. Figured I had plenty of life left before the big expenses turned up. I've had to replace the washer fluid pump, parking brake on one side, engine mounts, three separate oil leaks, a front diff leak, two valve cover gaskets, and all my parking sensors. If I didn't buy an extended warranty with the car I would have had to pay over $25k in parts and labor to fix these issues. Meanwhile my brother has the exact same make, model and year with 20k more miles on it and has had no issues. Sometimes you just buy a bad car.

KZfaq won't be the same when the Wizard retires

Ah, for the days of the 1970's Mercedes. Remember when they were super reliable and easy to work on? Our neighbors had a diesel, D 240 maybe. As a motorhead, half a million was a lot in my mind. I remember him telling my Dad he just hit 500,000 miles. He was impressed. So was I!

I have 2 w221s . Only buy 4matic if you need it. The rwd has far fewer issues , maintenance, and timely service are the key to these . The m273 is a solid v8 engine and can last forever.

For the past 9 years I have owned a 2010 S550. The 2010 was facelifted. It is a better build than the 2007-2009s. It was a one-owner car that I bought off trade from the MB dealer. It was immaculate, and I have maintained it similarly. Judging by what the Wizard said the owner of this car has maintained this car pretty well. This car is worth fixing. You can not buy them anymore. The motor and 4matic Transmission on these cars is bulletproof. The build quality is fantastic. They have almost 400 HP, stop on a dime and have enough technology to keep a person happy without feeling over welmed. The wheel bearings on these cars only last about 50,000 miles. The car is so heavy and roads in NYC are so bad that get eaten up. The motor mounts was a poor design by Mercedes. They incorporated gel into the mounts to cut back on vibration. It's MB over-engineering at it's finest but, they rupture due to changes in the atmosphere. The new design is much better and should last the life of the car. That driveshaft is something special. I'm not sure how long MB used that design for. Hoses, and gaskets are wear ite,s. It wouldn't surprise me if they were all original items. Worth fixing. It will be good for years to come.

IF the car is well taken care of, it's still very good value to fix a $10 grand luxury car for $20 grand as you can't get any equivalent new car for that total price! A new expensive car is simply expensive to own no matter how old it is and will be even more expensive if it's been neglected and/or have cheeped out maintenance!

My father in law has a 2008 ML550 parked in an underground parking about 1000 miles away near his second business location. Everytime we travel, I take it for a spin, and every single time something has failed and needs fixing. He did use it first 2-3 years as a daily and then parked near his second location, as it was too unreliable. It got about 170k km, or about 105k miles, and most were done in the first few years, probably only 10k miles in the last 13 years. The only thing I like about the car - is the sound, sounds amazing, always floor a bit in the underground parking and brings me smiles.

2011 E550 here. It has a lot of the same gadgets and gizmos. i purchased the vehicle with 23K on the odometer in 2018. It's now sitting at 66k on the odometer in 2024. I have every record of service in that time. I take it to a local specialist twice a year for service. Including the wear items like fluids, brakes, tires, air filters, spark plugs, diagnostic costs ect. All major repairs in that time were a new rear air strut, oil filter housing leak, upper radiator hose leak, F32 fuse box and air compressor replacement. Total service and repair costs in that time was $7,329.00 or a little over ($1,200) just in repairs a year to keep it on the road. So yeah, it's expensive to own. Hell of a car though. The list price on mine was $75K in 2011

There is an identical 4matic/Airmatic car parked around the corner from me. Well, not exactly parked, more like squatting... 😖 Someone on the internet had the nerve to state: "The air ride suspension in a Mercedes Benz can last up to 10 years before needing replacement. This is due to the high-quality components used in these cars." Wow, 10 whole years! 👏

"There is nothing cheap about a cheap Mercedes." Kent Burgsma

Why don't people understand this: a 95,000 dollar car that is bought for about $15,000, will still have 95,000 dollar car priced parts

In the last 40 years, the only times I have had cars breakdown on me was while I was on a vacation road trip. In one case our Ford Aerostar minivan overheated on the way to Disneyland. I didn't notice during a pre-trip inspection that a heater hose was rubbing on a bolt head. A gallon of water and a butter knife saved the day. What surprised me is the engine started knocking even before the temperature gauge rose past midway to H. I pulled over right away and let things cool down before doing anything else. Vacation saved! That same Aerostar left us stranded on a camping trip. The fuel pump died 25 miles from the nearest pay phone and there was no cell service in the area. A very nice, retired CHP officer drove us to that pay phone and then drove us back to the van and waited with us until the tow truck arrived. That Aerostar was the last Ford I will ever own.

Indirectly related to this specific car, but here’s how to guarantee expensive power train issues in Mercedes, BMW, and Audi: change the oil every 10,000 miles per the maintenance schedule. That will ensure short engine life. Oil is cheaper than a blown engine; get it changed every 5,000 miles. (A Nissan Z-car engineer went even further and recommended high-performance cars get full oil and filter changes every 6,000 miles and dump-and-fill oil replacement at 3,000 miles in between.)

I’m a Mercedes mechanic and I always recommend RWD variants of the S class and E class. This bill would have been 1/4 as much if it was a RWD S550.

This seems overdramatic to me. Its a 2009 with an owner that counts on a shop to diagnose, and after time these issues catch up with any vehicle. A lot of viewers keep tighter track of maintenance themselves and either proactively address things (like hoses), or check items like the oil separator (pcv), rear cam plugs, brakes etc. Repairs on these items will yield a much better vehicle than the throwaway junk sold today.

I've admired these cars for the longest time.... but I would not be able to take care of the long-term cost of maintenance... glad you had this one on here!

Front drive shaft on my f10 5 series failed without warning, no additional damage thankfully but the replacement shaft is $1500. 2 ft long and 2 small universal joints (non serviceable of course...). Great car but the bmw parts tax is real.

GRIMES!1!! Thanks Guys. You continue to reinforce my automotive philosophy that, "Simple, Boring and Reliable is GOOD." (Even when much older IF properly serviced/maintained.) I see/hear these necessary repair numbers for European imports and I'm reminded of my station in life. And I'm okay with that. Thanks very much again.

GRIMES IS VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE, HE NEEDS HIS OWN KZfaq CHANNEL, TALK TO HIM WIZARD ❤

I'd much rather find out about things like these before a long roadtrip, than after. I've had some very...entertaining long drives in old cars that decided the long trips were a good time to act up.

Heh. We had the same problem with used Range Rovers at the dealership I used to work for. Yes, you can buy a luxury car or SUV for less than a used Camry, but when something inevitably breaks, it's going to cost a hell of a lot more to fix.

Landlord Beige! Love it. I always called it Mobile Home tan. So many houses I rented...

This is why I lease. Two years,give it back, and get a new one. No unscheduled maintenance,no surprises.

I had a W203 Stationwagon. Great car imo. Had only minor issues. The engine is very reliable.

shame these are a nightmare to service, they drive amazing when they are working right. Explains why these cars that sold new deep into the 6 figures can now be had for under 20 grand.

I just dumped 16k into my SL550. Best hated car I own. I have an older Mercedes addiction, and I'm proud of it .

I wouldn’t even be able to afford the sales tax on the total bill!

Run don't jump.. run fast

My FAVORITE GRIMES!!! Love to listen to him speak!

Someone told me to never buy a used Mercedes. Because original owners, "never fix anything." It is too expensive.

So if you bought it for $10k and put $10k into it to make it perfect, it’s still worth $20k for a perfect Mercedes. That’s not bad.

And this is why I have a Toyota Camry as my daily. I have a European car also but only as the weekend car. The Toyota I've put that thing to work. I've driven the Camry to Vegas and back in triple digit heat with ac blasting with no issues and the car is at nearly 200k miles. As for the Mercedes owner just get a Lexus at this point.

I remember my uncle had Mercedes 1987 and he bought the same s class, but it didn't last long and he sold because he preferred the Mercedes 1987 instead.

The S Class is a premium car. Not for the normal man/woman/family. ONLY if you know what you are doing and a lot of DIY or enough money for a mechanic. (Not need to go to a dealer but a good (local) mechanic.)

Have owned two E class diesels and a C class (2011). The 2007 E lunched its trans at 202k miles regardless of the every 50k fluid replacement - I’m told that year was first for the 7 speed trans, issues crept in. The 2011 C300 has had no issues in 150k miles, one set of rear brake pads and one battery. The 2015 E250 had the MB provided recall repairs to the DEF and sensors, plus I received a check for $3700 from MB as a result of a class action suit. Car has never even had brakes replaced in 154 k miles, one battery, and has averaged over 43 mpg since purchase used CPO in 2018 - I’ve put 120 k on it since that time. If you do the PM it’s a fine vehicle. It’s easier to change oil and filter in a Benz than it is in a Camry.

All these years later, the M272/M273 survivors must have had balance shaft sprocket and chain replaced. That was a factory defect in 2007-08 and not corrected until 2009. If you find a car with P0016 and P0017, that means cams are not timed due to stretched chain and worn sprocket. This is a minimum $5k job.

People not doing pre-pruchase inspections works in the Wizards favor

Thats EXACTLY what my last car did. I had everything packed & booked to go on a road trip & it didnt start

The safest bet to save money for a car is lease a new car, after couple years give it back to the dealer, and lease another new one, Then you will have the car all under warranty.

As the wonderful and wise Wizard says, you want reliability, buy a Toyota.

I love the myth of Mercedes unreliability because it means I can buy them cheap. Keep up the good work guys. 😎

Love Grimes, a natural on camera.

No turbo, no direct injection (?), plenty of room to work on compared to some cars. Get some parts from FCP Euro and you're good. That hose leak is probably just the O-ring. Everything else is doable for an advanced DIY'er with a second daily driver.

I watched a person bring one to My mechanic and got pissed off at the estimate he gave him to something similar to his car. And I defended his work since he was a new customer and didn't know about his work and he didn't like the estimate we both told him to take it to the Mercedes Benz dealership 🤷‍♂️ 16:33 anything My mechanic has ever fixed on any of my cars I have never had to bring it back for the same issues.

There's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes. Pay some extra and get a sorted out example and it'll be cheaper in the long run. These are among the best sedans ever to drive.

2010 S550 .....I had a Wheel Speed sensor go out (right front) when driving down the interstate; The only indication on the instrument panel was that the Distronic CC system along with the ABS braking system were non-functional and got the car should go to the workshop ASAP message.....Got home threw the Autel analyzer on the car and discovered in additional to the wheel speed sensor being kaput, there were 27 other DTCs that were generated by the speed sensor failure.....everything that deciphered some input from the turning of the wheel threw a fault code. The car couldn't figure where it was on the planet from the GPS system, had a hard time figuring out what speed it was going when it did move and ABS, ...No way!! ....Plus a bunch of other DTCs that were just bewildering. I got a good lesson on how intolerant the car became from missing just one input ! The good news is that after replacing the wheel speed sensor, I just reset all the other faults and none of them showed up again. It has been 2 years and 15K miles later and still going good. These cars are like bad drugs...once you get hooked, there ain't no going back!

Maintenance is key for these cause that will help you to avoid unwanted bills. But it is a very good car for long distance trips. And once these things are fixed then you will not face so many issues, but some and every year or so. Therefore the better ones are worth the money they are asking for.

This is why I would never take my car to the shop before a road trip.

These newer Mercedes-Benz' are money pits.

Rumors have it that Kent has a kit for that

15k for the car 15k for repair. 30k for a car that drives better than anything new under 200k

Not to mention imagine if it was a AMG package it'd be more 🤑💰

First rule of luxury cars, if it cost 100k+ new its going to have appropriate sized repair bills, you cant get away from it.

I love watching the CarWizard channel whenever I want to feel hopelessness and misery as a car owner.

This video is different from previous one's, informative and useful, Mr.Wizard steps ahead!

Why does it cost so much?? The parts and labor duh

Your repair estimate is very high; you can buy a replacement front drive shaft for $59.99 w/warranty. Cool channel but c'mon man.

got the same w221 `09 but 320 cdi and i love it !

Damn bro I love your videos DONT CHANGE, they feel timeless

All cars eventually leak oil after the gasket dries up.

Where were the serious problems? Everything they mentioned are common “any car” problems at those miles. Also, if you can’t afford the maintenance don’t buy one. Some of us can afford the luxury. No need to judge people based on their budget. If we even cared of what you drive, I’m sure we’d get a nice laugh too. 🤭

These are great cars when you buy after the depreciation, put the 5-10K into them and keep for years. Use them locally, take a plane when you do a long distance trip and rent a car at your destination. That said, my local car would still be probably from the 90's, probably an MB, and just pay the repairs as they come up , and never buy a newer car again.

Solid advise - job well done! Definitely sticking with a Lexus product for much better reliability.

Crossing this model off my used car shopping list

Time to trade it in on a new Lexus.

Original strut is 1200. Equally good alternative is 800. Still expensive, but this is airmatic. What do you expect?

That car has been beaten on. Dont let wizard scare you. They are not all like this.

Any time I had a "pre-trip inspection" ticket, it was 50/50 whether they would approve everything because they really wanted their car to be tip top before a big trip, or they would decline all repairs and accuse us of being thieves and liars. There didn't seem to be any middle ground. Edit: Complaints about the cost of repairs..... This is an S-Class Mercedes Benz. It's the flagship Big Body Benz. It's a millionaire's car. You're driving around in more than most people make in a year. If you can't afford to fix it, you can't afford to own it. Stop wasting the shop's time inspecting it when you're not going to do the repairs, or do them properly when you DO approve things, like ONE strut instead of both sides. Then accuse the techs of price gouging when we have no say in the cost of parts and very little say in labor. Cheapskates. Shit like this is why I'm glad I'm retired from wrenching. This job broke my body and made me hate people.

They can afford it. Get it fixed whilst they take the Gulfstream.

My old 2004 Volvo S80 that I bought for $800 over a year ago would make the trip from Kansas to Texas. I admit the transmission is wonky, but it runs and drives.

Two schools of thought: On the one hand, you buy a nice one for $20,000 and as you drive it a couple years, all this expensive stuff starts to fail. On the other, you buy a cheap one and equal the outlay of buying the nice one, BUT now you know where you stand. You've rebuilt the car and taken care of the issues and now you can use it worry free. I'd honestly prefer to do it that way, but make sure you're aware of the fact that you're going to be doubling your initial investment and be okay with that.

The first problem is it’s a Mercedes

Hate it when you’re looking forward to a big trip and then the last minute you can’t go

I had a 2001 S600 and drove it for 200,000 miles and then donated it. I now have a 2011 S600 with 145,000 miles on it as my daily driver. I do all the work on it. Yes, always some coolant and oil leaks, but you’re never going to stop all the leaks. Just drive and enjoy them. Of course fix any coolant leak or an oil leak that could start a fire, but they are always going to leak like an old Harley. Flush the ABC system every 30,000 miles, change the oil and drive them often.