I have found the quality of my 1999 E430 to be very poor for a car of its supposed class. I have had continual ABS/BAS problems, a catalytic convert issue, ignition key actuation problems, a gear shifter shift gate issue, very poor AM/FM reception, power windows and moon roof which occasionally decide not to open or close fully and finally the specter of a spring perch collapse while my family is in the car doing 65mph on the highway, which happened to my brother in his '98 E420 due to the under-reinforced sheet metal frame the front springs rest on; Luckily he was doing 4mph in a parking lot when his front end dropped to the ground. Those complaints aside the car has been a dream. I have owned many cars in my life some as new most as used and I can say without hesitation this car has had more problems than any other car I have ever owned. If I didn't have so much repair money "invested" I would trade it in tomorrow. We had a 1960 220S which was driven for 21 years before we junked it due to rust and over 400k miles on the gas 6 cylinder. This car is not nearly as reliable. For those "nuts" who need everything to be in perfect working order at all times, I cannot image how much time and money they must spend at the dealership. It is no wonder the Japanese cars have overtaken MB in customer loyalty. MB is a shadow of its former self. They seem to be concentrating on marketing more than quality and it shows. Judging by the posts, they have a long way to go to win me back. BTW, anyone want to buy a '99 E430? Write me.

Great sales pitch! BTW your brother couldn't have had a 98 E420 - no such thing - had to be either 97 420 or a 98 430. The remarkable thing about the spring perch issue is that they always seem to fail at low speed - which I'm sure played into MB's decision not to recall.

I feel you pain, and in all honesty, the 124s' we own have definatly had their share of problems, which have all been documented by most everyone who has owned one. They still, even with their woes, far exceed the quality and reliability of any other 12 to 14 year old car out there. And then there is always the ownership of a vehicle that you see very seldom, in these parts anyway. It is a real advantage to be able to do a lot of the wrenching yourself also, and this forum alone has saved me thousands of dollars in repairs. I still love our cars.

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

Sorry to hear your perches.

I firmly believe that all these RWD W210's will have their spring perches fail someday. Just look at how thin the original perches are and then there is no rust proofing of the welds. The soft sealant will crack someday and it does not necessarily takes the snow belt for them to start rusting. All it takes is a little moisture.

So what happened to your car at 65 MPH? Did you lose control? Anyone hurt?

Now is a good time for MB to replaced your perches for free. Once they are done, PM me and I'll fly to NJ and drive it home.

According to my friend in Germany who works for DB do not buy any car from the mid to late '90s up to 2003. Those cars have the worst build quality and the most design flaws of anything Mercedes has ever put out. He says that things have been getting better since 2003. I can understand people's frustration with the cars from the '90s. If I had paid as much for a car as I did on the down payment on my house and the spring perches failed I would be flipping out!


He actually told the people he works with that he would never by another MB as his 2001 S-class has been in the shop more than on the road (and it is serviced at the factory!)

He blames a lot of it on the decision to cut costs that they made after the W140 came out. They have been buying a lot of parts made in Turkey, Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic and it has taken a long time for these suppliers to get up to the quality we expect in a MB. His job is to go from factory to factory in the Czech Republic and Hungary to monitor quality.

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"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

My condolences. This is exactly why I will continue to keep my old '77 280E in good shape. New cars - and unfortunately MBZ as well - are made with built-in obsolesence. Once the 126 model appeared on the sceen, the handwriting was on the wall, starting w/ the plastic bumper covers. From that point on, it has been just one gimmic after another to create car sales. The sad thing is: MBZ now copies Jap cars. Up to the mid 80s, it had always been the opposite.

The good thing is: there are still plenty of old, quality Mercedes cars out there waiting for an owner to appreciate them.

I turned 16 in 1973, so my introduction to cars involved cars from that era. My neighbor back then was a Brit and the best mechanic I have ever known. He really was a wizard and he really did not like German cars. Looking back, I don't know how much of his distaste for German cars came from the Germans bombing the heck out of his hometown during WWII and how much was based on an objective view of cars. It took me years to realize that German cars were not crap, at least not all German cars.

He did make some persuasive arguments against cars of that era from Benz and BMW. Those were some very high maintenance cars, so maybe the late 90s and early 2000s were not the only Mercedes cars with quality problems.

I'm on my last Benz. Changed out the wire engine wire harness last month, now the other shoe has dropped and the A/C evaporator is leaking. There's no effing excuse for it other than DB decided to save a very few Marks and passed the savings on to me.
It's pathetic.

I fix cars and sell them for a living. Me too, I will never ever touch anything MB made after 1985. I may keep my '87TD, but that sucker needs engine wiring harness and (of course) a new turbo. none of my pre '85 benzes have major isssues, and they have loads of miles on them.
I say if you want a newer nice car, get a BMW E36 body, or a civic. that's good stuff.
Every time I'm at MB of Nashville there will be someone with a newer Benz with alignment issues. Their 3 point alignment is nice if you wreck your car, you can always get it straight. but it's really just a PITA because every older benz eats tires etc.

I'm just getting started!

Persevere!! We are with you all the way, never mind those nattering nabobs of negativism!!

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Then simply ignore us Hopeless,hysterical hypocrites of history!!

New MBs come with a big financial hit when they're resold, usually after the owner gives up because of reliabilty issues. A busted car is a PITA, warranty or not.
I have never paid for car repairs. I owned a repair business for 25 years and Benz was one of the few makes we worked on. Component failure, which is different from wear and tear, was never the problem it currently is.

Like I said above, I know a lot of happy late model MB owners.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I have a 1998 E430 that I bought new from one of the local dealers. It's been a great car with very few problems.

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Bill Wood - Retired Webmaster
My Personal Website
1998 Mercedes E430
2010 Toyota Sequoia
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