Mercedes makes cars in China for the Chinese market, not for world markets. Mercedes just started making C-class models in Alabama, but again for the US domestic market, not world markets (SUVs are a different story -- all ML, GL and R-class models are made in Alabama for world markets).

What does Mercedes China and their strict quality control processes have to do with counterfeit/poor quality parts made in said country? That's comparing apples and oranges.

The bottom line is that Chinese-made aftermarket parts DO NOT have a good track record. You can imagine the common denominator between all of the worst quality aftermarket parts ... companies like UROparts, Hamburg Technik, Trucktek, APA, Meyle, FEQ, etc.

I know it is not the brand mentioned here, but I recently bought a supposed OE quality BEHR blower regulator for our W140 chassis...surprise! The box said made in China. The first one failed in 2 weeks. I exchanged it and hopefully the next one lasts a bit longer. It is almost impossible to continue to buy parts with the expectation that you won't find some made in China.

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97 S500 (90,000 miles) - wife's car
87 300D (298,000 miles and a replacement #14 head)
94 Suburban K2500 - need something to haul firewood
83 300SD (343,000 miles) (sold)

Behr, Continental (CRP), Bosch, Lemforder and other brands that were once of iron-clad quality have had noticeable product quality slippage in recent years. Bosch is probably the worst. I have numerous first-and second-hand stories (i.e. I talked to the mechanic) about Bosch stuff being bad right out of the box - a lot of it being made in places like Turkey, Slovenia, India, Poland, etc....not just China.

You REALLY have to be careful out there.

The good thing with Chinese stuff that contains rubber, is that you can usually smell Chinese rubber a mile away. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just walk into a Harbor Freight store, and the smell of Chinese-made "rubber" will just about knock you out. It has a very different smell than US- and European-made rubber products.

I hope you are not using iPhone or other name branded cellphone. They are all made in China, Vietnam or Asian countries. Just look around your dwelling and see how many things are made outside USA. I buy what is fit for the purpose, do not discriminate any countries.

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Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

Indeed, let's not make the Chinese (and the Indians, the Vietnamese, the Slovaks, etc.) into the goats of this piece.

The companies that contract out to these countries have every opportunity to put quality control protocols in place at time of manufacture (inspectors on site, random testing of product pulled off the line, etc.). Likewise, they can monitor quality post-sale and take action based on complaints and premature failures. Automakers buy OE parts on this basis -- they have an acceptable ceiling for failures built into the contract.

If Lemforder, or Meyle, or whomever chose not to, then the fault lies at their door. Do not blame the Chinese for the corporate greed of the company that specs then buys the product.

The Chinese are at least as capable as anyone else, of producing quality products. They produce all manner of products, large and small, from blenders to bullet trains and they are carrying out infrastructure projects in their country that would make your eyes water on the scale alone.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

I agree with you, particularly with companies who have good quality control processes in place.

The other aspect of this, as painful as it may be for this audience to acknowledge, is that in part, what we see as a quality slip is actually a migration of parts for our old cars, to the standards of parts now being supplied for new cars. At least where longevity is concerned (I am not implying the new cars are full of parts designed to fail prematurely... by new car standards).

A while back, in reading a big feature in Mercedes Magazine where they got a few old-timer Mercedes employees near retirement (assembly guys and mechanics) together and had them drive an oldtimer and a new car (IIRC a w115 and a C Class), they of course said all the nice corporate things, then one made a remark (and full points to the magazine for printing it) along the lines of:

"Of course the new cars are great... but we are replacing parts like bushings at 25k that used to last 100k or more."

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22