Mercedes-Benz S600 (W221) | Spotted
Track cars too extreme? Try travelling in the lap of turbo V12 luxury
In the world of the electric vehicle, and with prices for all cars apparently rising inexorably, depreciation is a hotter topic than ever before. Great news for those buying, or those merely pondering, because there are never-before-seen discounts out there - and nearly new deals that need to be seen to be believed.
But with all the focus on EV residual values plummeting, it’s taken the focus away from what used to be depreciation royalty: the super saloon. A staple of bargain barge threads, SOTW discussions and many a man maths calculation, the appeal of the fast four-door at a fraction of its new cost was plain for all to see: palatial luxury, supersonic speed, space for all the family and the purchase price of a supermini. The running costs of a naval fleet, too, but nothing ventured, nothing gained…
Combine the chatter around EV depreciation (especially when it comes to the practical, performance-focused ones, actually) with a move away from saloons to SUVs and it can feel like there’s less interest in the traditional bargain barge. But not around these parts, especially not when this a Mercedes S-Class this good around for £15,000.
With a new model announced recently, it’s inevitable that the old ones have been sought out in the classifieds. It happens with all fresh metal, but especially with those cars that start out at so much money and end up at so little. In fact, you might even be thinking that £15k looks like quite a lot for a 20-year-old S-Class, but this isn’t any old Mercedes luxury car. It’s an S600, which means a turbocharged 5.5-litre V12, the kind of powerplant that’s now reserved only for very exclusive Benzes. It’s not going to be in the new S-Class, put it that way. Hasn’t been there for a while, actually. And it’s exactly the kind of engine that makes old saloons hugely tempting.
This is no high-mile hack, either. This W221 is a one-owner-from-new minter, with just over 60,000 miles, loads of Mercedes stamps in the history and a fault-free MOT into 2027. Once upon a time, somebody specced this long-wheelbase S600 like an absolute champ, with Travertine Beige paint, Sahara Beige and Black Nappa leather, radar cruise, a pano roof, the AMG wheels and more. In 2006, it was optioned up to £113,000, or very nearly £200,000 in today’s money. It was one of the most luxurious cars in the world back then, and is surely still going to be glorious company now.
Ruinously expensive as well, at 19mpg, but which bargain barge has cost a pittance to run? Exactly. This is par for the course. It’s seemingly been cared for as well as any S-Class could be, and there’s always going to be buyer interest, surely, in a V12 Mercedes as the engine becomes ever more seldom seen. For the price of some of the cheapest new EVs out there, what a fantastic celebration of whisper-quiet combustion an old S600 looks.
SPECIFICATION | MERCEDES-BENZ S600 (W221)
Engine: 5,513cc, turbocharged V12
Transmission: 5-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 517@5,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 612@1,900-3,500rpm
MPG: 19.8
CO2: 340g/km
Year registered: 2006
Recorded mileage: 61,895
Price new: £113,000
Yours for: £15,995
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqr5m4Zz2UA
Suppose anything with 12 cylinders will be packed in there, my own diesel with all the emissions stuff and two turbos doesnt look that much better, saw a video of someone working on a six cylinder W140, plenty of room round that engine.
Have had a go of a CL65 AMG, V12s are just different to anything else.
It isn't one-owner as per the article, it's 'one previous owner', second keeper since 2020.
The service history is 2-yearly; MBs have been annually or 15,000 miles for many years, unless this falls under an older system, although it would be unusual for this to be skimped when new. A good history though, assuming they were as per the schedule and not just lots of oil changes.
This or a used Duster
My S600was fabulous when it was working but it wasn't actually the big things that made me despise it, it was stuffed with features and tech and none of it had been built to last that long. Read any mid 00s ownership thread of an interesting Mercedes and it's a never ending parade of nonsense faults.
7 years ago mine was a low mileage, full history car with a history file 3 inches thick but I don't think I had a single day of ownership where everything worked.
The ignition system is famously costly to maintain but really a pair of refurbed coil packs and an voltage transformer for £2k and that's sorted for another 75k+ miles, it was the breaking air lines for the seats, the dying audio amplifier, random modules just giving up the ghost, sticking heater valves that tried to cook us all on an August bank holiday trip, just constant niggles.
In the end the "bullet proof" 5G gearbox absolutely crapped itself, which is common on the 600s at 70-90k miles. I've never been so happy to see the back of a car.
ETA - This one needs the fridge in the back to be perfect, it was my sensible family car and that was a superb thing to have.
Not that it makes any difference really, but the comments have been far too positive so far, this is Pistonheads and pedantry matters.
Wonderful old boat and I'd be pleased to run it for a bit, right up my street, and evidently well looked after.
Fantastic cars, but both never had a day wihout a fault.
Engine chain tensioner on my friends v8 engine out, coils, air suspension, transmission in mine, seats, dozens of sensors, audio amp, some evap problems, xenon ballast,.... Endless list of faults. Never had and never will have another car with so many problems. We both did.
Never, ever, ever, ever again. Mercedes is dead to me.
Fuel was 99p a litre at the time, which was convenient.
Supersport all day long and twice on Sundays.
It's been faultless for >30k miles and 3 years, it's faster, it's FAR more fun to throw around, the interior is much prettier, the stereo is better, it's miles more exciting. Different sort of car really, one is an out and out Jabba the Hutt floating pleasure barge and the XJ is for Jabba's younger and more rakish brother, but the ownership experience has just made me love it more and more over time whereas the S600 was wonderful to start with and just made me despise it by the end.
Downsides is that the XJ doesn't ride anything like as well and I miss ABC, which is supernatural in operation, and you can tell it's not as well developed (things like HVAC noise etc).
Early into my S600 ownership experience I had to replace a vent that had been broken by a phone holder, I found out that the little roller dial to control air flow didn't just block the flow like most other cars instead it was an electronic potentiometer that told the HVAC system to adjust the internal flap that controlled air flow to that vent, so it wouldn't make a noise having the flow reduced. Spectacular (and expensive) attention to detail, but none of it was built to last. The ultimate disposable car.
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