Because suckers like us keep buying their cars of "high maintenance, poor quality, expensive electronic/computerized parts".

Where do you think MB's rust/corrosion warranty stand in the industry? You won't believe this. It is the lowest in terms of number of years and mileage. Take a look at the attached.

So far as safety, performance, handling and economy, I think the newer Mercedes are better built.
In terms of quality of materials and craftsmanship, like the type of wood, leather, and chrome interiors seen on the '50s - '60s cars, no.

In terms of reliability, Mercedes has over the past 10 - 15 years been rated pretty low compared with leaders such as Honda or Toyota, due to things like wiring harnesses that biodegrade, harmonic balancers that fly apart, Spring perches that dissintegrate, or power steering hoses that blow off the radiator because some engineer forgot that brass fittings for rubber hoses should have a barb or bead made onto the tip!
I have heard rumors that, perhaps, Mercedes reliability has started to improve on the latest models.

As for the excuse I've heard that one should expect teething troubles with cutting edge technolgy - I say a customer who pays the price to own a Mercedes, shouldn't expect to be the test driver for the carmaker.

And if we are to compare durability of recent Mercedes, to those of 30 or 40 years ago, perhaps we should hear from people that owned those past Mercedes when they were new.

Finally, as someone already mentioned, I believe it's going to be tough to keep much of todays overly complex electronic technology working when it gets to be 20 - 30 years old, regardless of whether it's a Mercedes or a Toyota.

Happy Motoring, Mark

That about sums it up. Damn the new ones drive nice, and have a ton of power. You also don't have to work on them every weekend, or much at all really.

If I could afford a new MB thats what I would drive, hopefully when I get out of school.

Personaly I don't want a 20 year old daily driver. Why waste time that could be spent on better things messing with an old car so you can get to work the next day? I rather have 20 year old cars as weekend toys.

This is a good thread.

I have asked myself a similar question. Assume I'm planning on buying a new MB and have the following two options: Option A, go to the dealership this afternoon, pick out the MB I like, pay the nice man a fair amount of money and drive it home. Option B, (and this one requires a bit of imagination) step into my time machine, set the date back 15 years, and go to the same dealership. Pick out the MB I like, pay the nice man a fair amount of money, and drive my new MB into my time machine. Set the date forward 15 years to now and finish the drive home. Which is the better option? By the way, the time machine has a small quirk--any money transported through time is automatically adjusted for inflation. So to have $45k to spend 15 years ago, I'll have to step into the time machine today with about $66K in my pocket.

J. M. van Swaay

I know three people who bought W126 diesels new. One was a cop, who hated it to death, because it never would start when it was cold. For example he went out to dinner in the winter and the car would leave them stuck in the parking lot..this was a brand spankin new 300SD. Dealer couldn't figure it out, kept it for only a year and traded for a 300E.

Another was an attorney, he liked his. Bought a 1984 300SD. Drove it for three years and about 40k miles never popping the hood.:D It started to knock, traded it in.

Lastly was an owner of a trucking company. Bought it for his wife, wife hated, drove it for a couple of years and sold it to a dentist. Dentist sold it to me a couple of years ago, and now its gone.

The lesson is? The original owners couldn't care less they were just cars and dumped them quickly. Not all thats different from what they are doing today.

I'm probably qualified to comment on the subject: I have always done my own work. I owned a 220Sb in the 60's and a 230SL in the 70's. Now I have a W113 280SL and just bought a '95 E320 wagon. The older cars were simpler. As a result,when stuff went wrong, they are easy to repair. The newer cars ride nicer and have more power and lot's more gadgets: Do you really need 8-way adjustable seats powered by electric motors? Do you need a fully automatic climate control system? Do you need a "sound system" or would be a radio good enough? Do you need power windows and Airbags? An electric sunroof ? Isn't the purpose of a car to get you from here to there? My W113 has a manual soft top & manual windows. But let's look at it from the manufacturer's point of view: They can out-do the competition by offering a fully automated coffee maker built into the armrest and sell more cars because of that, or just get a glowing review in Car&Driver. The dealer doesn't mind and the repair show likes it too. And if you buy the car, you deserve it.

I commute 45 minutes each day in traffic. At my disposal I have my 82 300SD my 99 S320 and an 88 Volvo 240 wagon. I pick the 140 most of the time because of the extra creature comforts. When your driving a short distance the extra options don't matter. When the distance increases they become more important. The 140 is quiet as a tomb inside and has great A/C and a comfortable ride. I can talk on my mobile phone and people don't even realize I am in the car. You can't really do that with an older car.

There is a big difference in design and technology for cars. The newer cars have an advantage of technology. Electronic ignition and a myriad of other technological innovations that have made them easier to own. The older cars have design advantages such as the lack of built in failure. Quite honestly modern cars are designed to break no matter what lies the corporations spread to cover up their trickery. The simple reason is an economic one rather than an engineering one. Mercedes depends on customers buying new cars and servicing old cars to stay in business and to make their stockholders happy.

The older cars lack of technology supplied this revenue previously. Oil changes every 3K miles and spark plugs and other A and B services pay for a lot. The newer cars have 100K plugs and longer service intervals meaning less money. The money is really in that $700 computer module thats made from $20 worth of electronic components that they only have the information on.

As a car buyer you have to look at what features you value the most and the cost factors involved. I decided to go with a 140 because it was a good balance between some of the things I liked and did not like. While some of the features of the 220 and 221 appeal to me the repair costs and lower build quality did not. And of course the new 221 is really easy on the eyes!

The newer cars in general are probably not going to survive the test of time because of design issues. They have engineered failure in them. In my opinion the 1999 model 140 and the 2002 129 and the 1995 124 were the last well made Mercedes cars ever built. If you notice a lot of changes in technology appeared afterwards and a lot of recycling emblems started appearing on the parts. The "disposable era cars". The newer MB's are nice but they have a future date with a recycling bin.

Fully agree. But I do belive the new cars will let you down significantly more often than the old ones. The retirment of 126 in 91 was the last of MBs reputation of ruler or reliability and durability and I will also say styling. Although thank god, styling has comeback with a vengance at MB in the last 5 years. But lets face it MB's customer base is not the person who runs a diesel to 1M miles, those are the second hand MB owners. The trend today is toward disposable cars. Buy on warenty sell on warenty.

And what is the value of all this new technology? An 89 107 will out sell a 90 129 of equal milage by a fair margin, despite the significant improvments in performance, fuel economy, having a real sound system, power roof and other modern features.

Today there are only 2 reasones to buy a Mercedes

1st reason: You look good
2nd reason: You look good

That will be my sales pitch when I retire from Sikorsky Aircraft and start selling MB's.

John Roncallo

The earliest electronic fuel controlled systems that I'm aware of were the early D-jet analog systems - some of them date from the late 60's and I'm not aware of any significant number of failures and you can still find loads of parts from junkyards and FI control units are still available from MB.

BMW and Porsche started to use integrated fuel and ignition systems (MOTRONIC) in the early 80's - millions of these cars are still on the roads after nearly 30 years with no problems at all. I suspect the majority of the early E30's that are now entering junkyards are doing so with their factory installed MOTRONIC control units still in place and untouched since the day they were installed in Germany 3 decades ago.

I don't deny electronic engine controls can be difficult and expensive to fix but the fear of "black boxes" is a bit overblown IMHO.

Let's see if anyone else would join me.

If MB still makes and sells the 1991 - 1992 300E new today for $50k, I am in for 2. It might need a head gasket but that is only about a costly service of the new cars.

Newer cars breaks down more often or they just limp home or stay at the dealers, LOL.
Newer cars cost more to diagnose when they break down.
Newer cars rust more easily (compare W210 to W124 to 1993).
Newer cars depreciate much more than the older new cars (early W210 price is approaching later W124 now).

In the mid 1990's, one buys a 5 year old MB for about 1/2 the new price. Nowadays, one can buy a 5 year old MB for about less than 1/3 of the new price. For example, many 2002 E320's are in the low and mid teens in price they cost more than $50 new with options. The market knows what is good and not so good.

I think you will start to see the cars past 1990 ish time frame will be less likely to make it past 25 years mostly because of there complexity and lack of parts support. Just think about it you need a new computer for you DAS equipt 1996 SL600 in the year 2021. Go to yopur local dealer part has been discontinued. You can buy one but you cant start the car with it because its coded to some other car.

Aftermarket injection systems are going to become a big seller when OE injection parts become obsolete.

On the other hand corrosion protection has become better in most cases so the usual age killer will allow these cars to live on longer.

John Roncallo

Currently you can go to a Mercedes parts counter and get anything as small as an ashtray or trim item on any post WWII Mercedes. It might cost a small fortune and have to be sent in from Germany but how much is that worth knowing you can get anything for your car? American and Japanese makers are the ones that turn their backs on their cars when they are a facelift or two old.

Parts support is one of the reason's many owners like us keep these cars around for so long. Its easy to drive a 25 year old car when you can do small repairs and keep it in good cosmetic condition. When your japanese car's seats are threadbare and you have lost a knob off of the A/C its junkyard time or just put up with it time.

There is also supply and demand. Look at production numbers. When you have a glut of used units on the market and not a lot of buyers the price goes down. Most people buying an E class buy them new and dump them after a few years when it no longer impresses the neighbors. People like ourselves that admire the quality of these cars are few and far between as most owners buy the cars just for the name and ego boosting powers. How many self respecting mini mansion dwellers could deal with the humiliation of being seen in last years model E class? Let alone one that was USED! :)

cdplayer
 

I agree. They should be reliable. But my personal experience has told me otherwise. Both my cars are in my sig. My daily driver (1984 500SEC and 2001 S500.)

Keep in mind the newer cars have far more tech equipment. Hence far more problems will occur. But the quality of the manufacture in the newer MB has really put me off. Especially in the 2001 to the 2004 products. Many threads in this forum have suggested this.

I have spent roughly $7,000(not including tires and wheels) on my SEC replacing and repairing because I wanted to in aprox. two years.
Repairs on the S500 has topped $11,000 because I had to. I.E. collasped suspension two days after I bought it. Failed K40 relay. Failed navagation.
Failed ignition. Failed gearshift position sensors. On and on.
Search "S500 home at last" for more.

I love 'em both though. And, knock on wood, the S500 is now running beautifully.:)

I see enough posts on these forums from people having to deal with ailing D-Jet systems, and many years ago my parents were afflicted with an unreliable D-Jet equippeed VW Squareback so perhaps I'm biased. It's one reason why my latest Mercedes purchase was a 240D.
Now my daily-driver, a '98 Nissan Altima has electronic fuel injection (recently treated to a $300 mass airflow sensor) twin airbags and an electronically-controlled automatic tranny. But I still prefer to keep my vintage vehicles simple.
And it's not just the electronic fuel-injection systems, but the proliferation of all the other 'black boxes' for airbags, antilock brakes, stability control, navigation systems, security systems, etc...
Cars that still have decent bodies and interiors will be junked because the cost to diagnose and repair these systems will exceed the cars value.
And finding someone competent enough to properly diagnose these electronic systems is already a problem. Ask my neighbor, whose relatively simple '96 Corolla took two tows to the shop, where the 'mechanic' finally got the car running after installing two distributors, one ECU and a crank angle sensor, to the tune of about $800!

Happy Motoring, Mark