I heard of the problems M-B had with '01-'02, and part of '03 models, but what problems have the '04s had. I have an '04 and have had no problems to date.

 

I have test driven the '06 S 550 and it drives great with the added HP over the S 500. But, it looks more like a BMW 7 Series to me than a Mercedes, particularly with the trunk and joy stick DVD control. This design almost sunk BMW, and they are now re-designing the entire line (new 7 Series design pictures now shown in Mag's, and sans the dumb trunk). The wheel well flairs on the new S 550 are totally in left field IMO. They are virtually the same as the Chryslers, and have no relation with the flow lines of the car. I'll stick with my '04 thank you.

 

what do you mean by othopedic seats?[&:] Mine has the power adjustable and seat heated seats. Does that Qualify?

 

this is a pretty cool site, too bad there isn't one of these for the new s class.

http://www.mercedesshop.com/s500.htm

 

With the 01-04 probelms i am not just refering to the s-class i am refering to mercedes-benz in general. The ML is the main culprit for most problems but they go back to 98. Like i said the company as a whole went through a slump.

 

The othopedic seats are on page 33 of ur owners manual. There is a air cushion in the back rest. I dont have it was wondering if u did but i guess not. I have the heated and power front and rear seats as well.

 

The reason I was wondering, is that there was only one minor recall to replace an ABS hose suseptable to corrosion. There was only one minor Service Bulletin for some sensor. There were several complaints filed for the S class in general, involving a loss of brakes and transmission power after avoiding two accidents. This was from the NHTS site.

Do you have any links that show that '04 M-B cars are problematic, as I would like to review this information. I was surprised to see so few issues with '04 S Class vehicles. I love my '01 Vette and '02 Suburban and have had no problems with either. But, if you do a search for these on NHTS, you'll find pages upon pages of issues. Not so with the '04 Mercedes S Class.

As far as the ML is concerned, that was a POS since it was introduced. If anything, M-B should be slammed for even coming out with that vehicle IMO. I really like my S 600. If a Lear Jet was a street legal car, it would be an S 600.

 

If u read alot of forums most problems u here about are people that have owned older benzes 00 and previous that have not had anywhere near the problems that the 01-04s had. Also J.D. power ranked MB as 13th however in 05 they were brought back up to 5th i believe The J.D. Power info i got from another person never checked it out myself. As far as ur S600 and AMG models i think they put extra time and effort into those when building know that if something were to go wrong the people that buy them will demand a fix. And like i said not all models in that year span were affected every year.

 

oh ok. I have my owners manual somewhere. I have it somewhere. I wil check it out when I find it.

 

I am active on the Corvette Forum and have just started visiting this forum. I did view many messages in the S Class Section, and did not see many listings for 2000+ model years. I have previously owned a 1979 300D, and a 1987 420 SEL. I have owned many cars including BMW's 320I, 533I, 535I, and 740IL. MY brother has owned many Ferraris, Rolls Royce, Bentley, and high end Mercedes for years. I have a good deal of experience with these cars.

I have to say that my S 600 is an engineering marvel. I preferred the styling and overall craftsmanship of the older Mercedes sedans and coupes (late 70's and 1980's era), but, the quality of fit and finish on my car is real close, and better in some areas. There is absolutely no comparison in road handling and overall performance between modern and vintage, however. Today's cars are much better.

The modern cars have become too complex and offer too many technology toys IMO, and as a result, the more that can go wrong (the BMW lesson). The newer high line cars have also become too expensive as well, and many "new" M-B buyers expect perfection at all times, which is unreasonable at best in a real world.

I think the main reason why Mercedes gets lower quality ratings of recent years, is that they now offer too many cars (57 models), and make too many entry and mid level models. They never did this in the past, and this is what is hurting them now IMO. These cheaper cars are not built in true Mercedes quality tradition, because if they were, they would also be too expensive. Unfortunately, and IMO, the only true Mercedes-Benz of recent years, are the models in the $80,000+ range. All others appear to be in the tradition of Chrysler/Mercedes.