Rick, the real feedback Mercedes gets is at the dealerships where people buy the new products and where Mercedes makes its money from sales. Any questionaire I received from an auto manufacturer had to do with cars that were at most two years old. How can anybody possibly assess the quality of a car that is only two years old? It's rediculous. Even a Yugo can receive good marks after two years! To me the real assessment of a car's quality is after five or ten years.

I don't think the average new Mercedes buyer wrinkles his nose at all the gizmos because of the car's complexity and lack of easy repairability. I also wonder how long the average new Mercedes buyer hangs onto his car before trading (or selling). It would be interesting to take a poll, but I believe a lot of posters here are used car buyers such as myself. The sad fact is that we're a distinct group, and there's no incentive for Mercedes to cater to us. It sucks, but that's reality.

I hate to see so much Mercedes bashing in this thread - though much of it is deserved. After all, this problem pervades across all car lines today.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K