Newer Mercedes Quality
 

If you think that they don't build MB like they used to or are thinking about a newer one, read some of this owner feedback. It will get your attention real fast:
http://www.mercedes-benz-usa.com/c_class.php

Ah,.... thank you very much for opening the same old can of worms again. ;)
On a side note:
I love my 2000 C 230 K, and will probably never buy anything but M-B. ;)

Could this be related, possibly, just maybe, to their merging with Chrysler? Maybe the employees at the factory are involved. Does anyone remember the Harley Davidson fiasco in the '70's, when they were bought out by Volcano (I think), and all kind of sabotage went on in protest at the plant.

Oh no, here we go again.

Larry Bible has had lots of good things to say about his w203, I have nothing but good things to say about my w202.

I am sure that there are similar stories with ANY brand car that has ever or ever will be built. I don't know what the production numbers are now, but out of such a large number there HAVE to be situations like this.

How many people who are happy with their car ever go post anywhere? It's been my experience in business that good news travels like a turtle while bad news runs at warp speed.

I'm happy with mine and only hope that everyone can enjoy their car and get as much good use as I have gotten from my C Class and most all my MB's for that matter. Even my 300E that tries my patience sometimes beats the heck out of lots of cars that I've driven and lots of cars owned by my friends. I won't start naming them, but most of them are not made in Germany.

My $0.02,

MB Quality
 

Larry - don't get me wrong but I am refering to MB from 98 on and only compairing it to the older MB models and/or newer models of cars in it's comparible price/luxury class. You won't find these types of continual in the shop month after month complaints (ie: electrical) on Acura or Lexus. I love my older Benz but I wouldn't touch a new one with a 10 foot pole. Let's face it - since the take over of Crysler by Diamler the car quality has gone down hill, the cars have too many complex systems that break down and the bean counters are in charge. Get that stock price up no matter what. They WILL have to pay big time before they get it right again with recent ratings below GM and Crysler. http://www4.fosters.com/autos/articles_2003_new/auto_0725_03b.asp.
They can't fool that many people for very long with a name and they can't hide from the internet. I'm old enough to remember when Cadillac was the "best" car you could buy. It's hard to imagine that now!

My $.03 worth. Craig
PS - I do all of my own repairs, otherwise I probably would have a really boring Camry

This is interesting.

"Sarah writes:
I feel for you I have owned Mercedes for 23 years and Im on my 7th Mercedes. I own a the following cars, 82 300TD, 86 300SDL, 88 560SL and a 99 E300. The 99 E300 was by far the worst car. Because of the 99 I have decided to never buy another Mercedes. I had owned an Acura Legend for 5 years and the car was in the shop once in 5 years, besides normal service. Do you have to guess which manufacture I will purchase my next car form? This is truly a shame. In the J D Powers survey for new car satisfation Mercedes was tied with Cheverolet at number 13. As I said I have owned Mercedes for 23 years and the customer suport and quality of manufacturing has deteriorated over those 23 years. I wil contunur to keep my 82 wagon and the SL only because they were built when quality was high. They have become our daily drivers. Good luck with your efforts. but realize that sometimes you beat your head against a wall and all you get is a sore head. Myber you should get rid of the car and move on to say. Acura or Lexus. Hopefully Mercedes is aware of your site and will do something. But my guess is that nothing will happen. "


This was me!!!! not "sarah". So the site lies, steals posts and really has no moral values. It seems its all an agenda.

What a shame. I did write this and stand behind it. But don't lie to the public so he can get his damage in.

Dave

PS spell check would heve been useful

I would have hesitated to buy a 2001 C-Class since I'm just not a fan of the first year of production by anyone. But, that's me.

There are tons of web sites lamenting the terrible decline of quality at Honda. Hhhhmm.

In my own family, the worst car experience we ever had was a lemon Acura that literally fell to bits in three years.

I think the main problem over at MB has little to do with the cars, and everything to do with volume of sales and lack of understanding in their own reputation. Anyone recall all the 3.5L six-pot diesels MB fixed way after the warranty had expired? Same with many wiring harness failures and M104 head gaskets. Many MB customers had their cars repaired outside of the warranty period. Find me another maker that has done that...

Well, those days are probably gone. Too many new cars out there, too many new MB customers. Leasing and lower MSRP's have changed the make-up of the customer base and MB is having some problems finding their way.

Read through the comments. One fellow did a u-turn and tore the tire on a curb. How the heck is that the car's fault? There is a long list of comments that are similar. Some people with cars with 17" tires complain that they wear out too fast. Duh.

As MB strains under the pressure of the rapid growth and never-been-MB-customers-before crowd, they are apt to goof.

We have had our own bad luck with the 1998 E300, but the other late model MB's in our extended family (including a few W203's) have been great cars.

dmorrison

Bravo, for having enough intelligence, to NOT believe everything you see or hear. ;)
As Larry stated before, some people have a real knack for " making noise ".
As for myself, give me a product that does not live up to my expectations, and I will NEVER buy it again.
I honestly believe, that some people expect Perfection from a product, at the time of purchase ( a fools dream ), and just go ballistic, when it does not live up to their expectations.
Oh man, have had enough of this post already ( indigestion ). ;)

Jeez. Was that in a post here? Cripes. Wassup with those 98-99 E300's anyway? (hijacking the thread...guilty)

Anyway, I'm not surprised by the pilfering of material.

I was TALKING about my '01 C240. It has been a MUCH better car than my daughters new '03 Honda. The Honda has fried two computers and one catalytic converter. Since we live 90 miles from the Honda dealer this car has been a nightmare every bit as bad as the ones posted on the blast MB site.

As I said before, these situations are present with ALL, repeat ALL brands.

Have a great day,

Here's a postive post about MB's to try and even the score. I've owned almost 45 cars in my life and since I've bought my two MB's, a '94 E320 wagon and a '99 E300 Turbodiesel I've replaced many well documented parts and fixed many well documented problems but I love these road worthy cars and I will never have to buy another car. They are not disposable around 180,000 miles like other cars I've owned including some high end Japanese cars. Bottom line: all cars are - and will continue to be - a PITA. Choose your poison. It's nice to see Larry posting often again too.

i find all of my benzes to be the best vehicles on the road. and i have found the good service directors at honorable dealerships and my indy to be the best car guys that i have even encountered.

in fact, today i drove 60 miles to put my 1997 c140 into the hands of the newest dealership in town with the service director i first met on the day that intercontinental motors opened in 1976[some starmark issues that the autonation store closer to home prefers to duck]. that was the day i initiated a relationship for my family's fleet[2 450sel's, 1 240d, 1 220] so as to escape the only other game in town, Norman " i am selling you a new battery no matter what" Scott.

he, in conjunction with the owners, have created a great shop. the location is horrible in sugarland, texas. but daryl has hired most of his pre-autonation crew from m-b houston north[formerly intercontinental motors]. i had stopped doing business with daryl in 1999-2000 because the owners[schnitzers and autonation in a continuing ownership shuffle] started to energetically screw their service customers. he told me to go find a good indy because the service department was no longer under his direction. i followed his advice.

do you think that other car dealer personnel ever establish these kinds of relationships with their customers?

anyhoo, perhaps because i am an engineer who manufactures parts for recips, i was given an entree into intercontinental motors from its opening day that few customers ever had. i knew most of the mechanics and other service personnel. i was allowed to access the shop when my cars were being worked on.

i shall probably never own another new benz[hold that, now the e320cdi is scheduled for the usa, i may acquire one - it is a great car]. and this c140 with 23,000 miles will only see even this friendly dealer for starmark issues.

but m-b sugarland will be the reason that i even think to stay in the benz fold - and that is because of the individuals working there. had this dealership not opened and hired the right people, i would feel out in the cold.

i had it too good in the past. those standards continue to be my standards. i am not getting into the mud to deal with an autonation dealership.

we do a lot of driving in texas. until i moved here, i didn't care much about cars. doing lots of high speed miles on back roads traversing the oil patch reconfigured me. my experience has been that the benzes have been the most dependable, most fun to drive cars that i have ever encountered.

my 4 cents.

these are what i own and operate today:

1979 6.9[52,000]
1986 560sel[254,000]
1987 560sec[93,000]
1995 e320cab[13,000]
1997 s500c[23,000]

I completely agree that MB quality has taken a plunge. This is not just a few isolated incidents. Lexus does not have the same issues and look at ALL the quality ratings of cars. MB has dropped and dropped FAR.

That said I still love MB cars and will continue to buy them. Despite the fact they are not as 'bulletproof' as they once were, they are still reliable, well engineered cars. I just hope that they get on top of the issues and start manufacturing to lexus standards.

Let's not overlook the "hidden" quality in a Benz, which for my $$ is the most important, and which I hope remains today in late model MBs. Ever been in a head on with an MB?

Two weeks after her 17th birthday, my daughter t-boned another car ( a lightweight Japanese sedan) at about 35mph. And like a cue ball hitting it's object sguare, that 190e stopped dead in its tracks while the other car did a 180 and was so crumpled that the passenger had the be "cut out"of the car.(no serious injury.)

My daughter and her passenger? They unfastened their seatbelts, opened the doors and stepped out unharmed.

Why? Because the energy of the crash was contained entirely between the front bumper and the front wheel well. The rest of the car was entirely undamaged, inside and out. Even so, the car was totaled!

The moment I saw that car, I knew I'd never own anything else but a Mercedes Benz. Now about the only thing on four tires I'd be leery about lockin' horns with in my 1988 300CE would be an Excursion. And no, the girls will never get behind the wheel of this one! You just gotta feel safe, really safe, in a Benz.

Just my $02.

And in reply to a previous post, it was American Machine and Foundry (AMF) that bought Harley Davidson in the 70's and actually made significant investment in the company when it was dead in the water. I believe it was during the AMF years that the York PA assembly plant was purchased and R&D began on the Evolution engine, which when introduced in 1984 restored quality to the HD line. The rest, as they say, is history.



:D :D