All generations and engines together · 18,806 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 80k
One of the best saloons and estates for its age, though better than most per mile driven. Watch suspension and brakes. A solid used buy, provided its MOT history has no repeating suspension advisories.
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
On the earlier W221 cars (2006 on) fitted with the M272/M273 V6 or V8 petrol engines, a rattle on cold start points to wear in the balance shaft and timing chain sprockets. It's a recognised weak spot in this engine family and it doesn't fix itself, it just gets louder with age. Repairs run from around £2,000 for a balance shaft job up to £4,000 if the timing chain and sprockets need doing too, and since the noise usually quietens down once the engine's warm, it's easy to miss on a test drive and won't show up on an MOT.
The S-Class rides on complex self-levelling suspension: hydraulic Active Body Control on the W220 and W221, air-sprung Airmatic from the W222 on. Owners report suspension pump failures triggering dashboard warnings, and on older cars ABC strut parts becoming hard to source, to the point some owners retrofit conventional springs rather than fix the original system. This tracks with the measured MOT data for the saloon-estate segment, where suspension is the standout fault category, though the data can't tell you which specific part is behind it. A proper ABC or Airmatic repair runs well into four figures if it's more than a leak.
Higher-mileage W221 cars have a history of erratic gear changes and, in some cases, failing to select reverse at all, traced to a worn valve body or failing mechatronic unit rather than the gearbox itself. It tends to surface from around 100k-120k miles; a valve body or mechatronic replacement is typically £1,500-£2,500, more if the torque converter is also worn. None of this fails an MOT on its own, so it's easy to overlook unless you specifically try reverse and a full-throttle kickdown on the test drive.
On the S500e plug-in hybrid, some owners have reported a clunk and vibration from the rear of the car as the drivetrain hands over between electric and petrol power. It's logged as an isolated complaint rather than a widespread pattern, but worth checking specifically on a hybrid since the fix involves the transmission rather than a software update. Doesn't apply to the standard petrol or diesel S-Class range.
Across the generations there's a scattering of electrical gremlins rather than one clear fault: COMAND infotainment squeaks and odd drive-mode display behaviour on the W221, occasional DAB signal dropout on W222 diesels, and a screen described as "a bit glitchy" on the newest W223. None of it is consistent enough to pin down as a single design fault, and owners are split on whether it's a real weakness or just normal wear in a very complex car, but it's exactly the sort of thing that annoys an owner without ever appearing on an MOT sheet.
Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.
Saveable checklistThe physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 9,271 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Same segment (Saloons & estates), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.