i stopped into my closest, but least favorite, benz dealer today to buy a part. while there, i decided to visit the showroom and eyeball the new models. i was especially trying to learn if the COMAND system was being forced on all models.

looking around, there were no customers in the showroom, i was eventually confronted by a sales guy. he should be at the chyrsler store - aggresive but ignorant.

eventually, i was able to determine that E, C, CLK, SLK models offer the Comand system as options. but that S, CL series have it as standard. the way this was said, i was supposed to like that idea. when i replied that i would prefer that the Comand system be an option delete, because until it was, i would be buying no S, CL level Benzes.

after having said this, i was essentially thrown out of the dealership. i got the feeling that benz is very touchy about this system.

there was one very supercilious salesman who responded to my comment by telling me that i could always turn off the screen if i didn't like it. i said it wasn't completely the screen, it was all the electronic glitches associated with the system. i was then coldly informed that the Comand system had never had any problems - that my information was incorrect.

finally, i guess my question is, why won't benz allow its north american customers to tailor the vehicles to their individual sensibilities?

all the same, i really don't want a new benz with that dealership being the closest one to me by some 60 miles. i know the new autonation service personnel well enough to know that the service operation is not the most conscientious or knowledgeable. and i know from the ex-service director that the electronics in the new models are overwhelming the service department.

viva 126's, 124's

You will take the COMAND system and LIKE it, dammit!!!

Gilly

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The COMAND unit isn't usually the problem on our cars. It is usually the associated amps, cd changers, voice control
modules, tele-aid modules, and phone modules all on the fiber-optic data bus that causes issues and gremlins.
The COMAND unit is just a radio head with a screen and cd/dvd
drive.
Most of the problems in the systems are caused by communication
difficulties between different manufactuer's products.
Like the Harman-Becker head unit, Bose amp, Alpine CD, and Motorola phone systems. Throw in the Maybach and you have parts from Sony and Pioneer as well.
Until all of these companies can agree on a common communication network and speed, there will be trouble,
Even with just a standard old tape deck.
The new MOST fiber optic system in use since 2003, is a step in
the right direction since it is shared with several other manufactuers. We can suffer the common problems together.
Just ask a BMW tech, He will tell you the same story.
DR.D

Yep, they've got glitches alright. Ninety percent of the D2B COMAND problems were fixed by replacing hardware, with only a handful of software issues. With the MOST system, found on all 211's and '04 215/220's it's the other way around. We've got software updates galore! MB sends me several updates every month for a variety of issues. It's more client-friendly now than in the past. Software updates can usually be done while the owner waits for the car, and there's no dis-assembly of the car required. S.W. updates don't require parts either, so no stock/wrong parts isn't a problem. Regarding albert champion's concerns, it should be noted that non-COMAND equipped vehicles suffer from the same "glitches" as the COMAND cars as stated by DR.D

(Hi Mike, how's it goin'?)

The only real benefit (or disadvantage, depending on how you see it) is that COMAND offers the Nav system. I don't really understand why they think all high-line owners really NEED COMAND. I kind of like it. In a discussion we had back when the 220 chassis came out, it doesn't make a whole lotta sense, unless you are really travelling by car long distances or to many different addresses. But the point was made that the kind of people who own these cars don't really travel that far with the car as much as hopping in airliners and going long distances.
Something to chew on anyways......

Gilly

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Mercedes has a certain stubborness that takes time to get used to.

Years ago when the W210 was rolled out, there was a special even at the dealer. Present were a couple engineers from the home-office with thick accents and stern looks for the customers touching their precious cars.

I mentioned to one about the fact that our lowly Mazda had variable intermittent wipers, while my Mercedes, though newer, did not.

He stated that the five second interval for the wipers was "correct" and that there was no need for other settings! Heck, they didn't change it until they added the rain sensor, which allowed for variable intervals, but as determined by the engineer when programing the rain sensor!

They get stuck on a path a refuse to admit it was a goof. Then, in an effort to show they were right all along, they hammer away on the stupid thing.

__________________
John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

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yes, i enjoyed these comments. tell me, am i correct when i think that this Comand system can be deleted from euro-market S, CL benzes?

if that is accurate, why can't benz customers in the north america receive the same consideration?

and, i care to say that it is accurate to say that not everyone needs a nav system. i sure don't. my benzes spend 99% of their time travelling the same routes, going to the same destinations. and when i travel outside of houston, i am going to be travelling via backroads. and to do that, as a rule, a specialized gazetteer is more accurate than any nav system.

as i view it, these automotive nav systems are equivalent to teats on a boar hog. i don't need it. i don't want it. what i want is the simple dash and controls of my 560sel, 560sec, e320cab. even my s500c.

and when traveling to LA, i have encountered nav systems in my hertz rentals. i have them turned off, but my nieces[13,16] always turn it on and try to make me respond to its directions. oddly enough, the routing the hertz system provides is never the best routing. so of course, i do not follow its directions. driving it and my nieces crazy.

and sometimes, the hertz system gets it so wrong that it is laughable. to me who knows that it is getting it wrong. but god help the tourist who believes in it and finds himself in very strange places.

my 4 cents.

My understanding is that the cars are actually spec'd out by a "tiny little division of Daimler-Chrysler" called MBUSA. I assume you've heard of them. THEY are the ones which tell MB what they want brought into the US, and with very little intervention D-C will happily oblige. This is the way MB/MBUSA has operated practically since the end of WW2, except in the early days it was this one individual, I believe in NYC (Max something?) that called all the shots. Sometimes Daimler-Chrysler will step in and say "nein" to a request, such as the feet-dragging over Diesels the past 4 or 5 years (Daimler-Chrysler no longer wanted to get involved with bringing in vehicles that couldn't be sold in all 50 states, particularly when one of the states is California, which is a big percentage of overall North American sales).
I am really unsure if they can order these highline cars in Europe without COMAND, my guess is that they can, not sure though.

Now in regards to the operation of COMAND, or the nav system in the Hertz cars, if you chose to "go your own way" and disregard the nav instructions, at least on COMAND-equipped cars, the nav system will recalculate the route for you. INITIALLY it tells you to do a U-Turn, but once it figures that this manuever is not forth-coming, it'll plot a new route, and most cases I've found that the recalculated route is just what I was planning on doing.

Gilly

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I had the pleasure of purchasing and owning two 2001 Mercedes with the Comand System. Ordered them that way so my wife and I could enjoy the convenience of an in-dash cd player instead of the trunk changer. BIG mistake. The CLK's Comand unit was replaced three times under warranty (totally failed once and failed to eject the cd when required) and my E class was replaced twice (unit totally failed once and same cd ejection issue). After each replacement various screens in the text in the display located in the instrument cluster wasn't centered (perhaps a minor point). After several return trips to the dealer to download new software, replace associated hardware, etc., the display could only be re-centered by replacing the entire instrument cluster. On the next replacement after several attempts to get the display re-centered I just gave up and lived with it. BTW, I checked the replacement cost on the Comand unit for the 210 and was floored to learn it was $5,700. Outrageous. What do you do when the warranty has expired and Comand does too? I definitely would not order the Bosch made Comand unit--hopefully the Harmon Kardon DVD based unit is better. Better still, Mercedes should give one the option of having an in-dash cd without having to order Comand. BTW, I no longer own either 2001 (only persistence remedied lots of problems with both vehicles) although I recently (stupidly?) purchased a 2001 E320T without Comand. Love the cars, question MB's commitment to quality and long term reliability.

The $5700 sounds like the price to buy a (new) COMAND unit outright. In "the real world" they'll sell you a reman unit, which will have a very steep core charge on the unit, but you do the exchange and the actual cost will be more reasonable than that. not CHEAP, but not $5000+ either.

Gilly

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i hear that no one can believe that a benz dealer, owned by autonation, would try to duck starmark warranties.

well, it is true. it is so outrageous what this crowd does that it is beyond belief. what makes it so odd is that the head of this unit is the former head of mbusa. it is as if he is working for bmw or lexus or infiniti.

anyhoo, all the former employees of the dealership that autonation seized have moved to another new dealership. they say that they will honor my starmark warranty. so, the autonation ripoff is within 20 miles of my car. the anti-autonation is 80 miles away.

the anti-autonation will be seeing my c140 this week.

i shall tell you how it works out.