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#1
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Pulled in at dealer service and had two wealthy patrons circling my car
I really got a kick out of what happened yesterday.
I pulled into the dealer service counter to get my four wheel alignment done and was sitting outside on a bench waiting with my two year old daughter for my wife to pick me up. I was getting my daughter's stuff out of the trunk and some guy waiting on his new car being brought out from service walks over to mine to check out the German road rallye badges. When he pulled off, I saw the German tags on the back of his car. I think he was German. After he left, over walks this well dressed, apparently well off looking patron driving a W140 to talk to me about my old 300sd. He compliments my car and starts to talk about how he has been fortunate to own these cars for 30 years. He has two W140s and had brought in his wife's SL to be serviced. He says, "Now this was real German engineering! Not the hybrid crap Mercedes is now of German engineering and Japanese bells and whistles." He went on to say that at least this car had real wire and not fiber optic cable. He said, "You ever tried to find a nick in fiber optic cable?" He talked to my daughter a minute and headed off. I guess the moral of the story is that newer is not always better, even if you can afford it.
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1982 300SD Light Blue 2002 Honda Accord SE 1974 Toro Wheel Horse Tractor 2000 Toyota Tundra Pickup |
#2
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I think JD Power
Rated the Korean Hyundai as being more reliable than any new MB. But, of course that is a stripped down econo-box. MB does have some current QC issues.
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1984 300D Turbo Sedan (Hilda) 272,115 miles..... Anthracite Gray/Palamino Leather, I am 3rd owner 2001 Dodge Stratus (Silver) (wifes) 55814 miles... 1982 280TE Wagon Astral Silver Metallic/ Anthracite Velour 260,512 miles (Eva) 1969 230 Sedan Olive Green/Black MBTex 4 Speed Manual 84,213 miles ???? Haus Frau 2004 Boreem Ninja Pocket Bike Highly Modified 49cc (Ling Ling) Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit |
#3
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I think MB reached a pinnacle in design in the 80's, sort of like Chrysler in the early 60's and Cadillac in the 50's, where they seemed at one point to get things really cohesive and reliable. Of course, all companies have made progress since then, but the focus is on other things rather than the best car they could make even if it cost a bunch more
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'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue" "Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." listen, look, .........and duck. |
#4
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MB quality
The latest Automobile has a pretty article on MB quality. Basically said the W140 was the last of the overengineered cars (I gathered that when they said it came out over budget and late to market as it was created by engineers). Then they go on to say later MBs were built to a price, not to a engineering standard. They point out that gizmo-envy / gizmo-one upmanship with other brands have bit them in the rear.
I must admit the glitches on my CLK55 confirm this. Love the power of the '55, but I love my 300SD for it's pure mechanical robustness as well!
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~shell As of 2/2010: 2001 CLK55 0o\=*=/o0 13.6 @ 106mph 10K mi 1984 300SD 260K mi and going and going... 97 S600 46K miles 1991 Sentra SE-R (extremely dorked with) www.se-r.net |
#5
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One of the reasons that I bought my W126 300SDL is that it is (along with the 350SD-L) probably the last of the M-B S-Class Diesels that were practical for DIY maintenance. The W140 is a nice car and was still built by engineers and not bean-counters, but it is overly complex for most home mechanics and the cost of some parts is mind-bending compared to a W126.
I have worked on many cars in my time including BMW's and Porsches, but I think the W126 is probably the best engineered of them all. The newer cars are OK and have lots of convenience & gizmo features, but I certainly wouldn't want to be paying to keep them on the road after 18 years and 200k+ miles.
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1991 M-B 560SEL Arctic White/Grey 99,000 Miles 1987 M-B 300SDL Ivory/Palomino 229,000 Miles (sold but never forgotten) 2006 Volvo XC70 Blue/Beige 1999 Porsche Boxster Arena Red/Savanna Beige 1986 Porsche 928S Goldweiss/Brown |
#6
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sub contractors
One last thing the article mentioned which seemed to make a lot of sense was that Mercedes used to design / engineer a lot of their sub-assemblies (transmissions etc). Now they use more suppliers. The article said the japaneese auto manufacturers have more experience using this model / better relationships with their suppliers and the german maufacturers are just now getting better at it...
I agree the W140 is a huge step up in complexity compared to the W126, but there is something I just like about that car - probably the double wall glass and the car's visual heft that makes me think "vault-like."
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~shell As of 2/2010: 2001 CLK55 0o\=*=/o0 13.6 @ 106mph 10K mi 1984 300SD 260K mi and going and going... 97 S600 46K miles 1991 Sentra SE-R (extremely dorked with) www.se-r.net |
#7
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What is wrong with the gizmos as far as DIY goes? I can still DIY it because I have a scanner that I use for all my other cars. By law, you have to have OBDII codes advailable so what is the difference?
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
#8
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CAN Network
I was more thinking of the "Controller Area Network (CAN)" that I think MB started using after '95. There might be hacks or tools that allow you to trouble shoot this system vs. a trip to the dealer. Just something that your average DIY'er won't have in their trusty toolbox.
http://www.can.bosch.com/
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~shell As of 2/2010: 2001 CLK55 0o\=*=/o0 13.6 @ 106mph 10K mi 1984 300SD 260K mi and going and going... 97 S600 46K miles 1991 Sentra SE-R (extremely dorked with) www.se-r.net |
#9
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Quote:
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
#10
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Quote:
Newer is not always better. However, neither is older. It depends on the circumcisions.
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
#11
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Quote:
The basic vehicle hardware will still be repairable but all the electronics are going to be a real PITA 10+ years down the road. I work with industrial electronics, so I have nothing against high-tech, but the idea of paying a tech 9 hours labour at dealer rates just to re-programme the computers in a BMW 7-Series once they are out of warranty is just plain scary. M-B's current products are no better from a servicability viewpoint and I predict these cars values will drop like stones once they start to exhibit electronic problems. Just my $0.02 |
#12
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Quote:
That is what the old timers have said time and again about EFI. It will be a nightmare to diagnose, how will you know which part failed without changing things till you get it right, etc, etc. I have dealt with some indies that fix cars by trial and error too. I avoid them like the plague.
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
#13
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Oh boy I can tell you CAN diagnosis is fun (!!!!)
to the guy with the CLK55- check your drains under the hood! those cars (and W220 S class) are known for getting them clogged and then flooding out the right side of the car... right where one of the main CAN blocks is. Water + CAN = major problems. ask me how I know this
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1980 500SE/AMG Euro 1981 500SEL Euro 1982 380SEL 1983 300TD 1983 500SEC/AMG Euro 1984 500SEC 1984 300TD Euro 1986 190E 2.3-16 1986 190E 2.3 1987 300D 1997 C36 AMG 2003 C320T 4matic past: 1969 280SE 4.5 | 1978 240D | 1978 300D | 1981 300SD | 1981 300SD | 1982 300CD | 1983 300CD | 1983 300SD | 1983 380SEC | 1984 300D | 1984 300D | 1984 300TD | 1984 500SEL | 1984 300SD | 1985 300D | 1986 300E | 1986 560SEL | 1986 560SEL/Carat | 1987 560SEC | 1991 300D 2.5 | 2006 R350 |
#14
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Planned obsolescence engineering...
Quote:
I have seen many massive system failures in the field, and there is only one fix, replace everything broken. I have been involved with far too many cars where module #1. dies on January/1, module #2. dies on January/15, module #3. dies on February/3, etc, etc, etc, until almost every module and sensor on the car has been replaced, every component was tested and proved bad, a total system test was done after every repair. I see a massive system failure many times every year, all are over ten year and/or 100K. The suppliers are giving the automakers what they ask for, "NOTHING" more, and they are getting better at planned obsolescence engineering every year. All of the cars made today are disposable, and have that design/engineered into them. |
#15
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Quote:
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
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