This is a controversial thread so WATCH OUT!!!

[tkd_M119]

I also noticed the Mercedes Benz owners were more knowledgeable about cars and quality in general.

Much like VW owners who are often on a first name basis with the personel at the parts department because of the frequency of repairs.

I think your comments speak more to the type of person i.e. ethusiast vs non enthusiast. And yes Lexus are boring (NO SOUL)! And there interiors biodegrade with age. But Mercedes wiring/electrical seems to biodegrade with age, so I guess one has to be clear on their priorities.

I think people who are fed up with the quirks of MBZ migrated to Lexus (and now Infiniti) and the enthusiats are buying up the "left overs."

BTW, my W124 is not great when it comes to NHV. Our 92 Q45 is SUPERIOR in this regard.

W124's are old cars. The E500 didn't do so badly with value I got a $46,100 settlement for my 1994 E500 which I owned for about a year and paid $48,000 for.

. 300E's and 400E's got hit harder. I just picked up an E420 with 1994 with 43k for $11,000 darn wish I paid more. Lol.

hey it's all in fun....but I really don't see the fuss about Infinity and Lexus. I do understand that MBZ owners have had wiring harnesses ever since they MBZ tried to use environmentally friendly harnesses as opposed to ones that NEVER degrade. Also MBZ dealers need some kicks in the ass to get their customer service to where it once was.

They need that special guy who wallks around from dealership to dealership posing as a customer- everytime he gets rooked he says to the guy...."Here's your box....got get your stuff- you're through."

If a dealship hires more than 4 of those employees and doesn't weed them out by firing them himself- the dealership looses the brand.


Lexus as a newer brand doesn't ahve all those crappy dealer dinosaurs hanging on.

I have a great mechanic though. Paul Lussier at foreign Motors west. He owns a w124 E500 and truly loves these cars.

[suginami]

Originally posted by tkd_M119

I think people who are fed up with the quirks of MBZ migrated to Lexus (and now Infiniti) and the enthusiats are buying up the "left overs."

As surprising as it may seem - with all of the quality problems that Mercedes has been having - they are selling more cars now than they ever have.

I think the vast majority of Lexi and Infiniti owners have migrated over from Buick / Oldsmobile / Cadillac / Toyota / Honda.

- and why is that?

I mean I love especially the S class of the -90. But we currently have 2 S-classes from -86 and -89.

I really would wish MB had kept their reliability reputation. I mean wasn't that a part of the smartness of buying a MB in the first place.

The fact that I have to admit to envy the reliability of Japanese cars (Lexus) irritates the hell out of me.

MB, what are you doing about it?????????????

- A troubled believer.

I think that Mercedes Benz now is concernd with getting the cars off the boats and sold.

With so many people leasing nowadays- and the ability to write off some of that. Mercedes high end customer realizes that they may only keep the car for 4 years.

For that 4 years MB warranty covers them.

Why should a Mercedes Benz inital buyer care? Besides long term value goes out teh window when you lease a new car every 4 years- and as prices continue to increase- leasing may be the only option for some.

Besides after the car is purchased- MB has their money...now they can go after the second buyer with the lucrative service business and parts. Look at how ridiculously expensive Honda parts are compared the the cost of the whole car.

Mercedes might soon follow suit.

And Mercedes Starmark? I'm not sure but I think a company that the owner of the Miami Dolphins, Wayne H., owns underwrites that- so again it is nothing off of Mercedes bottom line.

Mercedes makes profit on the C-class cars. The downward stampede cheapens the brand.

Mercedes is banking that the affluent upper market is buying for prestige and no longer for thrift (We all know how cheap Mercedes Diesels are to run in the long run) .

So where is the Mercedes affluent customer to go anyhow without moving downward? Bentley??? Hardly- now the reliability of those Bentleys and upkeep is out of many of the Mercedes Owners reach anyhow.

Mercedes is simply abandoning some of its original goals those being- the best in:

reliability
long term value
Car for those who can aford the best
Build quality

(I believe Build quality has slipped more than anything else...one only has to look at the M-class- many people in MB service thought that some of the New M-class body panels gaps were so large and uneven after assembly that the cars had been in accidents!) The New C- Class cars have American economy car cloth interiors.

Realistically the topic of this is pretty juvenille. We all know why we purchased Mercedes, and for the most part we are trying to hold onto a quality level that was established by a company that has joined another with much lower quality standards. Talk about polluting the base stocks.

I'm no more envious of Lexus than Honda- but I am sorry to see things of special quality fade from our culture and just become more of the mass of things we call "stuff". As humans we should aspire to make things better- not just the same.