Is it true that Mercedes-Benz quality has declined over the past 6-7 years?

I DO have a '97 E420, and I think it is a solid car. The quality in materials is not the same as in older MB's, however. I will admit to that. But it handles better than the previous E420 (W124), and gets better fuel economy. Oh yeah, and it's much more resistant to rust.

__________________
1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

I've seen a number of posts that show the w210 model being more prone to rust than the w124

This topic has been trashed again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again around here...

__________________
1995 black pearl/black Mercedes-Benz E420 :

If the W210 is original, I'm sure it holds up better than the W124. At least in New England.

I remember an '87 300E that was in my family for 6 years. Started to develop rust inside the trunk perimeter on the sides.

The W210 has those sides sealed with plastic so no water can get through and cause rust. Very convenient idea.

The W210 also has no antenna. Thus the common rust that used to break out around the W124's antenna will never happen on the W210.

The fender wells are sealed up properly, the body is as well protected as it can be from rust. The only way a W210 will rust is if somebody had bungled body work done to the car. Or if it was in a flood, dumped in a lake, etc., etc. Anyways, it takes extreme measures to rust out a W210.

A lot of the newer cars, including the W210, have problems with rocks chipping the hoods, though.

*I also have NEVER seen a rusty W140 S-Class! And I live in New England!

__________________
1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

An example of what I am talking about.

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/c...rum=1&topic=312

the reason I even mention it is that I have been shocked to see W210's listed on Ebay with rust at the bootom of the doors.

BTW I think that the W210 is one of the nicest styled MB sedans ever made.

It says in the BusinessWeek a coupe weeks ago that W210 and ML-class are the 2 most problematic cars of M Benz. Last year's M Benz quality has been declined far below BMW and even below some of the U.S. auto manufacturers mainly because of these two cars.

The newer the cars get, the more electronically oriented they get.

I do not know about the '00 + W210, but I know that the '99 and down models were good cars (with an air mass sensor, here and there:p ).

__________________
1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

Second only to the oil threads

Since MB is no longer run by engineers and is now run by number crunchers, the price of a MB has declined along with quality. After Chrysler got it grubby hands on MB I could only suspect quality will continue to go downhill. Everyone that I know that has owned a Chrysler product has had more than their share of problems steming from initial quality defects to things that just plain fall apart.

__________________
DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

I sat in the back of a W220 S-Class. I was very dissapointed.

INTERIOR
Although there was plenty of legroom and headroom, this was only achieved by making the seat much thinner than the older cars. On top of that, the car had ALMOST NO WOOD in the backseat. Instead, it had cheap, flimsy plastic doors. The wood it did have was not in much of an abundance. The cupholder's plastic tabs break off if you're too rough. The instrument cluster looks like something out of a Chrysler, oh wait.. Daimler-Chrysler!

EXTERIOR
The doors are ill fitted, they are also light, the bumpers do not absorb much of an impact, those xenon headlamp assemblies cost a fortune to replace(and they go, believe me I know; '97 E420), the wheels are ugly(but the AMG monoblocks are nice).

MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL
The air suspension fails often, the seat insulation pops out of the stitching in the seats, the air mass sensors go bad whenever they feel like it, the catalytic convertors go bad after 40K miles, and the list goes on and on!

***
No thanks, I'll stick with the old battletanks. Mercedes are not going to last as long anymore without any major headaches. They're not worth shelling out money to get to 200K miles.

__________________
1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

"After Chrysler got it grubby hands on MB"

Chrysler didn't buy Mercedes,Its the other way around.
Actually "Daimler Benz" bought Chrysler,and the ruined their name by calling it Daimler-Chrysler

__________________
'60 190b
'77 300D
'78 240D
'82 300TD

I stand corrected.
One thing though, who is running the "store"?

__________________
DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

GERMANS

__________________
'60 190b
'77 300D
'78 240D
'82 300TD