Used Mercedes EQS (Mk1, 2019-date) buyer's guide: not the luxury car it should be
A full used buyer's guide on the Mercedes EQS that's been on sale since 2019
Verdict
The Mercedes EQS is an unusual beast on the road and in the used-car classifieds. It’s big, and relatively expensive as a used buy, but when you stop to consider how much car you’re getting for your money thanks to the hefty depreciation, you could argue that the EQS is something of a bargain. Ultra-safe and with a long range, this is one of the most impressive EVs that you can buy. The problem is that, although the EQS is a very impressive car in isolation, its rivals are better all-rounders. Cut a long story short, you’re going to be better off with one of those – or if you must have a luxurious Mercedes limo, you’re better off investing in an S-Class.
When it comes to things like innovation and luxury, Mercedes is a standard-bearer, so it should come as no surprise that this world-leading premium brand really pushed the boundaries when embracing the electric age.
Mercedes showed a concept in 2019 that gave us a preview of its biggest and most luxurious electric car. And when the EQS arrived in 2021, it’s fair to say that it made many of the electric cars already on the market look rather old-hat. But of course this all came at a price, and for many potential buyers that price was too high. As a result, the EQS hasn’t been a big seller, so there aren’t all that many available on the used market.
Used - available now
Hefty depreciation means the EQS is a lot more affordable as a second-hand buy than when new, but is this EV worth seeking out, or should you give it a miss?
History
We had our first glimpse of the EQS concept in September 2019, but the production car didn’t go on sale for another two years, priced from £99,995. Just one model was available: the 328bhp EQS 450+ which had a 107.8kWh battery for up to 453 miles of range.
In January 2022, the 649bhp EQS 53 4MATIC+ joined the line-up, priced from £154,995; the first examples were delivered in the UK in April 2022.
The range continued with just the two models until spring 2024, when the EQS was facelifted and the 288bhp EQS 350 was introduced. This came with a 96kWh battery for up to 407 miles of range, while the EQS 450+ got a 118kWh battery that bumped the range to as much as 481 miles.
On the road
The EQS weighs more than 2.6 tonnes and the EQS 53 up to 2.9 tonnes, while the car is more than 5.2 metres long. There’s no hiding that bulk when driving through corners, although manoeuvrability is improved by the fitment of four-wheel steering as standard.
Although the handling offers little enjoyment, the standard air suspension means poorly surfaced roads are shrugged off, while refinement at motorway speeds is superb. And thanks to the huge battery packs, motorway drives are the EQS’s forte. Incidentally, all EQSs are limited to 750kg when it comes to towing.
Which should I buy?
Virtually all of the EQSs for sale are 450+ editions, although there are a few EQS 53s out there. Both cars have the same 108.4kWh battery pack, but the AMG is far more powerful and therefore much quicker in a straight line.
Still, you’re unlikely to find the 450+ too slow; it’ll cover the benchmark 0-62mph sprint in 6.1 seconds and tops out at 130mph, compared with 3.8 seconds and 137mph for the AMG.
AMG Line cars come with LED lights, an opening panoramic glass roof, air suspension, 20-inch alloy wheels, heated front and rear seats and electric adjustment of the seats, mirrors and steering wheel.
AMG Line Premium adds 21-inch wheels, a Burmester hi-fi and a 360-degree camera system. AMG Line Premium Plus also has remote parking, Luxury has 22-inch alloys and a heated windscreen, while the range-topping Exclusive Luxury has massaging front seats and Nappa leather trim.
Prices
One in three EQSs is an Exclusive Luxury edition, while the other two-thirds are split reasonably equally between the various
AMG Line variations. Most are fetching about half of their original list price after three years, falling to around a third of their initial purchase cost after four years and between 40,000-50,000 miles.
You can buy a used Mercedes EQS through our Buy a Car service, with prices starting at just over £40,000.
Check the price of a Mercedes EQS with our free car valuation tool...
Alternatives to the Mercedes EQS
There are lots of EVs out there, but the EQS has very few direct rivals. However, it does have two key adversaries and we reckon that both of them are better overall.
The first is the Porsche Taycan, which is far more readily available and better to drive, plus it has a superb cabin as long as you avoid entry-level models. Buy too far up the range, though, and you’ll have way more performance than you can use on public roads.
The other key electric rival is the BMW i7, which is comfortable, spacious and refined, but its design is polarising. Or you could buy a regular luxury saloon with an engine, such as an Audi A8, BMW 7 Series or Mercedes S-Class.
What to look for
Reliability
Fault patterns are hard to establish, but anecdotally, some owners have had problems with the MBUX software, while air-con glitches can crop up and iffy cabin quality isn’t unheard of.
Pump it up
Until the 2024 facelift, a heat pump was a £1,000 optional extra on all EQSs. But facelifted cars came with this tech as standard and it’s well worth having because it boosts the range significantly in the winter.
Screen time
The MBUX Hyperscreen that runs across the dashboard was an £8,000 extra at first. But like the heat pump (above), it comes as standard on facelifted cars. It stitches together three screens to make a 141cm-wide display.
Sporty option
The Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4MATIC+ was axed in 2024. It came in Night Edition and Touring forms. The latter had a heated windscreen; any other differences were cosmetic.
Interior
This is a tech-head’s dream cabin, with everything controlled via the huge touchscreen displays. Seat comfort is excellent with ample room for five adults; massaging rear seats are optional with the Rear Luxury Lounge Package. Boot space is also excellent at 620 litres, or 1,700 litres with the back seats folded down.
Running costs
The EQS’s service intervals are set at two years or 20,000 miles, and because there’s no set schedule for the replacement of most parts, the price can vary between £400 and £600 for any service. On top of this, the brake fluid has to be replaced every two years at a cost of £150.
Until a car’s 18th birthday, Mercedes offers service plans that run for between three and six years. The warranty runs for three years with no mileage limit, but the battery has a 10-year/155,000-mile guarantee.
You’ll have to pay £195 per year for road tax on any EQS, and if you buy one registered after 1 April 2025 you’ll also have to pay the £425 expensive car supplement until the car’s sixth birthday. Insurance is likely to be very expensive, because even the EQS 350 sits in insurance group 50, which is the highest bracket.
Recalls
There have been 14 recalls for the EQS so far, plus a separate one specifically for the SUV version.
The first two campaigns were launched in January and February 2022, both because of faulty MBUX software. There was then a series of recalls issued because of communication module software glitches (March and October 2022), poor battery earths (April 2022) and faulty charging cables as well as ADAS software (May 2022).
Problematic towing eyes led to a recall in August 2022, with subsequent campaigns for faulty airbags (March 2023), ESP errors and sub-standard rear seatbelt buckles (both July 2023).
The most recent recall came in June 2024 because of software glitches that could cause the battery pack to shut down.
Driver Power owner satisfaction
The EQS has never appeared in a Driver Power survey and Mercedes doesn’t have a great track record in these polls, because it rarely scores highly.
But there were three Mercs in our latest survey; the worst was in 11th slot (the A-Class Mk4), while the Mk5 C-Class was in fifth place. The best result of all was a top spot for the GLE Mk4, which is superb. There was more success for Mercedes when it was runner- up out of 31 manufacturers in the 2025 Driver Power brands results.
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