Quote:
Originally Posted by rchase
If you can't afford the repair bills on a Mercedes then the only logical choice is to buy something cheaper. I drive Mercedes cars because they are extremly comfortable and well made and last a long time. Your also basing your opinion on an 18 year old car. How many 18 year old Japanese cars are on the road anymore? Once they hit 200K they are scrap metal.
I have owned several Japanese comodity cars in the past and have not been pleased with them. Recently I sold a 2002 Honda Accord Coupe that I bought new with only 17K miles on it when I finally ditched it. This "icon of reliability" car was in the shop several times for issues with its brakes. Various squeeks and rattles and problems with its power sterring system. Honda has several open issues on this car with the NHTSA. One of them I found paticularly amusing was a problem with the sunroof which caused it to squeek. They discovered this in 1998 and did not do anything about it even in my end of production 2002 car. If I had not lost my patience the brakes alone could have qualified this car for a lemon law buyback.
Japanese cars are cheap to maintain but they are not comfortable and not well made. They are cheap commodity cars built for consumers who are don't know any better who want affordable transportation. They are by no way on the same level of engineering or quality as a Mercedes Benz. From my experience with my Accord I would say that ALL car makers are basing their reputations on the past and that ALL cars are being made cheaper to increase profits at the ultimate expense of the consumer.
Its one of the reasons I refuse to buy new anymore.
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The Honda had a few squeaks that needed some 1040 oil sprayed on it, that was it? C'mon man!! I've heard of brand new MB's needing entire a/c systems at just 10,000 miles. You really think the few squeaks the Honda had, is WORSE than expensive gasket replacements, chronic a/c problems, etc. How can you argue with that? Best read my original post again, mate. But, based on what you are saying, I will however, make a mental note, that cars with more problems are actually better. Thank you for clearing that up for me.
Dude, wake up and smell the roses. It's a FACT. MB's have MORE problems, many more, and much more expensive, than Honda's, Camry's, Acura's, etc.
You simply cannot argue that. Here's an example for you...... "10 is more than 2". That's a fact. It cannot be argued with. You're simply living in
la-la land, trying to defend your purchase and your car, because you get an ego boost out of it, and have to justify it. Best for you to re-read my original post and say, "You know what, the guy has a point", than to be so stubborn and fight against facts.
My whole point, which you missed several times over, is that for a "top quality car", they shouldn't HAVE such problems. Sure, they will have problems, but there's no EXCUSE for having so many. 15 year old car or not, the Jap cars would have a/c that still works (maybe you're in a cooler climate, but here in Georgia, it gets damn hot), or need maybe a $100 recharge at most. The MB's are WELL known for CHRONIC a/c problems. Bad fans, bad switches, bad compressors, bad systems. Comfortable in Germany or not, they SOLD them to us here in the U.S., and KNEW ahead of time that it gets hot down south. Yet they let people sweat it out because they were too stupid or too lazy to make them better. We're not talking some silly little inconvenient sunroof squeak here, pal. We're talking about driving in 100 degree and high humity heat and a $1200 - $2,000 repair. But by your standards, that means it's a better quality car, is that right? The Honda's and Toyota's (you paid what, $20,000 for an Accord and you're comparing it to a $50,000 MB) , Lexus, and Acura's (the latter two which more directly compete with MB), have transmissions that are flawless up to about 200,000 miles, just like MB. And when the car is taken care of, the overall car lasts as long as a MB.
Maybe you prefer the ride of one over the other, that's a personal preference. The Jap cars I mentioned are extremely well built. For you to say otherwise is just ridiculous. They compare quite favorably with MB, and for many rich people, they prefer those cars, one big reason is, they don't need repairs. Affordability of repairs or not, rich people (who I do a lot of work for) don't want the hassles of taking a car into a repair shop, and many drive Jap cars FOR that reason.
Am I totally dissatisfied with my 300d? No. I just bought it in June and fixed some problems that I knew it had before buying (a/c chief among them). I'll keep it for now, but I've had to repair other things that I have NEVER had to do with any car, and mind you, I just sold a near flawless 1988 Toyota Camry. That's OLDER, if you'll notice, than my 1991 300d. And suddenly, I find myself coming to this site to get repair info on different things. Radio problems, fuse problems, a/c issues, etc. I don't want to spend my time repairing a car. I also admit that when there are no problems, I "feel" like my car is a nice running car. When there's a pending repair, like most people, my opinion of the car changes.
I'm assuming you come to this forum not for repair advice on your car, but to spread good cheer to others about Mercedes, is that right?
Jeff 1991 300d