Mercedes R class: what do we know about them?

I have been somewhat interested in these since they came out. They are getting reaaonably priced. I know they don't get great mileage. What other major issues are there to know; engines/years to avoid etc. Thanks in advance.

The 6.2 AMG motor in them is spectacular.
They're heavy. If they have the air suspension it's prone to leaking and needing replacement. They don't seem to have a ton of problems. The GPS system (at least in the early ones) is pretty terrible. Mine is the best, quietest highway vehichicle I've ever been in.

^^^ What he said. Ours does not have the hand built motor but they are a nice place to cover alot of miles. As far as issues go there really are not that many. The Air springs will start to leak, get all 4 from Arnott for the price of one front bag from Mercedes and call it good. After putting @ 80K miles on ours I would not want one without the air suspension, the regular one is too soft. If you get one with the V6 there is quite a bit of room to work in the engine bay, a nice change from what I have been used to. There is a plastic deal on the front of the intake manifold that actuates some butterfly flaps that are supposed to help increase torque at low RMP that breaks. The intake manifold has to come out to replace it, I just when through this last weekend. Mercedes does not sell the part that fails, from them you have to buy a new manifold which is big $. There are places that make replacements for the plastic part out of aluminum so it is a fix it once and be done thing. Not long after we got ours the compressor that runs the air ride failed, but other than that and the two other things I have mentioned ours had not missed a beat.

General maintenance stuff is easy and well laid out, though I do by my oil filters from an Indi Merc shop because they are cheaper than going to any of the local parts stores. That is all I can think of right now, if you have any other questions post them up.

Any of the infamous ignition key problems?

On the down side, they use space more like a small/mid size SUV than a modern minivan. The passengers are treated very well but there isn't much room behind the back seats and there is no hidden storage to speak of. The back seats fold down easily but they take up a LOT of room.

Thanks for the responses. They do not seem like the nightmare you read about on the internet. I would have to check one out. How about a glass roof, does it have any issues? Gas vs diesel, 3.5 vs 5.0?

So far, major issues:

Intake doohickey

Airbags/compressor

Ignition key?

GPS

In reply to markwemple:

I have not heard of any and ours has not had any issues. The storage thing is the biggest issue with the R. We only have 3 kids so one of the back seats is down most of the time.