Newer Mercedes Quality - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

tecqboy · #16 03-04-2004, 11:42 PM

I bought a 1973 AMF HD Sportster in '73 when I came home from Veit Nam war. Drove it for 20 years without problems and when I traded it in on a new 1994 HD, I got more $ for the trade in than I originally paid in '73. Wish I could say that about my cars. Off subject, but AMF really did turn HD around. That and the import duties placed on imported ( Japan ) cycles.

MBDad777 · #17 03-05-2004, 06:17 PM

In my 25 years of driving I've owned at least 11 cars, including Volkswagen, Ford, Buick, Toyota, Chevy, Hyundai and Mercedes. The only car I've ever had as much trouble with as my '99 C280 was my German-built '75 Volkswagen Rabbit. What a strange coincidence!

The quality and design of the electronics don't hold a candle to the Japanese. Nor does Mercedes seem to even know how to make decent ABS plastic. One of the doors closed on my elbow and shattered a nice hole in the trim! I could go on and on, but everybody reading this probably knows what I'm talking about.

I keep the car because it's black and fun to drive. Not only that, but it would cost me more to get rid of than to keep for a while. Will I buy another MB after this one? Not likely.

DslBnz · #18 03-05-2004, 11:01 PM

Here's what happens with a truck and a Benz

Stupid aluminum hood...They're just so fragile.

A little scrape...

.

That's what happens when you hit a Benz.

#19 03-06-2004, 02:19 PM

Blackmercedes.

You didn't read the post correctly.
It said.

Quote:

My dad drove the car around the block and the car started to accelerate when he is making a U turn

Louis.

blackmercedes · #20 03-06-2004, 05:46 PM

No I didn't. Ask Audi about "unintended acceleration."

There is no such thing. It's pretty much a given that if a car "accelerates on it's own" it's the driver mistaking the pedals.

Many of the complaints are trivial. Many are downright moronic. It would seem they have not been submitted to the site, but gleaned off other sites, which makes my highly suspicious.

Sure, there are owners of MB cars that have had problems. It happens, and it might be happening with a higher frequency with later model cars. However, it is difficult to trust ancedotal evidence that has incorrect sources and for all I know is just plain made up.

The incredibly poor literacy of many of the writers also sets off my "spidey-sense."

#21 03-06-2004, 07:59 PM

The car in the picture did EXACTLY what it was designed to do. That is crumple to absorb the engine to save lives. Cars can be replaced, people can't.

The whole "Mercedes quaility is going down the tube" thing is laughable. I remember when I bought my first 123 car in 1977. People were saying EXACTLY the same thing as many of you are saying now. People told me that the new Merecedes were just no good. I've heard that with every new model for almost 30 years now. While in reality they get better and better in many ways.

I'm really not sure what drives this kind of thinking. It's really strange. Cars are more complex these days. ALL brands of cars are more complex. For this reason there is more to go wrong. At the same time it's absolutely amazing when you think about the advancements we've seen. Our cars now days just don't use oil. They get great fuel economy. Make more power. Their smoother, quieter. And there's no "tune ups" every 10,000 miles like the old days.

I really got a chuckle out of the response that said that the Japanese electronics are superior. I LMAO! Are you talking about the Japanese electronics like in my daughters new '03 Honda Civic? It blew not one but TWO Engine computers and as a result toasted the catalytic converter. Yeah, now there's some top quality for you.

My $0.02,

DslBnz · #22 03-06-2004, 09:15 PM

Larry, you're right. Time will tell indeed. But the more stuff that goes into a car, the more there is to go wrong. By the time these newer Mercedes are ten years old, their technology will be simple in terms of diagnosis. I just don't care for certain models in the Mercedes lineup. I do like the 203, I think its a real good-looker, and the V6 should last absolutely forever. One thing you can say about Mercedes; when they make an engine, they make it right(with a few exceptions in diesels).

#23 03-07-2004, 12:54 AM

Blackmercedes.

A stuck pedal while turning will give
you a nasty surprise and could be
seen as accelerating on its own if the
intention was to go 20mph and it accelerates
to 40mph.

I had it happen to me once and I can tell you that
it shaved 10 years off of my life.
It is an experience I don't wish on anyone,not even
my enemy.(exept maybe bigbaboon).

And most likely that is what the person meant but
didn't formulate it correctly.

Louis.

bluerhino · #24 03-07-2004, 04:19 AM

Safety wise MB is still there on top but the quality is now at the bottom..oopps , this is not me talking, it's JD POWERS.

In some cases though, just like our wife, we love MB but we fantasize if not prefer other exotic breed..now this is me talking.

#25 03-07-2004, 08:53 AM

Back in the seventies I read a very interesting book. The name was "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." It was a novel that had little to do with motorcycle maintenance.

The author and the main character had been a college professor. Throughout much of the book there was great discussion about defining the word "Quality." He made a great case for the fact that this word could not be defined. Quality meant something different to everyone.

The "Quality" that J.D. Powers measures is based on very broad categories. As an example if there is an electrical failure there is no distinction between a switch that failed or if the entire wiring harness and everything in the whole car burned out, both occurrences get the same statistical weight.

Even so, within their parameters, MB does not come out the very worse.

There are many, many parameters not measured by their statistics. Do they measure performance? Do they measure comfort? Do they measure safety? Do they measure ergonomics? Do they measure structural integrity? Do they measure how difficult a car is to repair? Do they measure ride quality? Do they measure long term engine life? Do they measure long term reliability? Do they measure resale value? Do they measure upholstery and seat construction quality? Do they measure the statistics of how many people are killed or injured in an accident as a percentage of accidents?

Choosing a car by the J.D. Powers ratings would by like voting for a politician on ONE SINGLE ISSUE! The sad thing is that many, many people do just that. They don't look at the overall picture.

This shortsightedness carries over into much of the Harvard MBA style of business thinking of the last 20 or so years. They can't see past the end of their nose, only looking at this month, this quarter, or at the most, this year.

Look at the big picture in life and objects in the world.

Have a great day,

manny · #26 03-07-2004, 10:10 AM

Geee Larry, you're right again!

I believe the kind of people that make a vehicle purchase, based ( sadly ) solely on what J.D. Powers says, tend to know very little about vehicles in the first place.
While it may make some interesting reading at times, I tend to be suspicious about the accuracy/integrity of the information presented.

Rockman59 · #27 03-07-2004, 11:51 AM

A stuck pedal while turning will give you a nasty surprise and could be seen as accelerating on its own
___________________________________________________
Gas pedals do stick...it happened to me years ago. I had just purchased a new 1960 Chev Impala with the 348 engine, 335 horsepower version, with factory tri-power (3 carbs) and factory 4 speed. I pulled out of a parking space on a narrow side street and punched the throttle a bit. The car took off and I took my foot off the throttle......but the pedal went all the way to the floor and by the time I realized what was happening the car was over 70 mph. I reached up and turned off the igniition and brought the car to a stop. Scared the hell out of me. The problem was in the carb linkage. Chevvy had gone to a vacumn operated linkage system as compared to the good ol' mechanical linkage. For some reason the linkage opened to full throttle for all three carbs. Only happend once but I made sure never to stopmp on it unless I was on the open road or at the race track.

JimSmith · #28 03-07-2004, 12:56 PM

Guys,

I have noted this before - we have turned automakers into a dysfunctional group who thinks their mission in life is to provide a means for those making any and all sorts of electronic/electrical gadgets no one would normally buy to put in their home, to sell their junk to the public. Automakers hardly ever really concentrate on making a great car now. They are universally distracted by the desire to sell us electronic crap, the latest of which are embodied in these touch screen navigations systems that also talk to you and further distract the drivers. Mercedes-Benz resisted this for quite a while, with manual mirror adjustments, manual seats, etc. but has also recently succumbed. Since Mercedes-Benz generally got a late start in this capability, they seem to be playing a serious game of catch up and have made some additional mistakes due to their rush to fill their cars with this junk too.

From my experience there is little that goes wrong with the Mercedes-Benz safety related electronic stuff, as well as the engine controls and emissions equipment. It is the other junk that I would really rather not have that is the problem. But that stuff is here to stay because as a whole, we will spend more money for an electric seat with a nifty adjuster, or a navigation system that we most likely do not need, than we will for the basic bits of the automobile. And God forbid, we would never buy a car without as much of this junk (automatic wipers, headlight adjusters, mirror glare shading, seats with air flowing through them, and so on) as we could check off on the order sheet.

Under all the crap, Mercedes-Benz cars are still very good cars. The safety systems on Mercedes-Benz cars are better integrated than any other manufacturers. Additionally, virtually every major new safety system with honest improvements in safety comes from Mercedes-Benz first (from the front and rear crush zones, to ABS to ESP today). And Mercedes-Benz usually lets Bosch or some other joint partner in the system development, sell the equipment to any and all other manufacturers shortly after Mercedes-Benz introduces it because it is a safety issue. Unlike Lexus, who has an add running where they allude to having invented headlights that aim in the direction the steering wheel is turned (I believe this was standard on a Citroen SM in the late 1960's), and who has brought next to nothing to the industry to add to vehicle safety, Mercedes-Benz is still pushing the envelop of vehicle safety.

So, I hope Mercedes-Benz gets better at the integration of junk into their cars because without it they will go out of business and with unreliable electronic junk they will also eventually go out of business. I also hope they continue to make the basic car the point of the exercise though, as there is much to be improved and their competition has not seen fit to take up this cause just yet. Jim

#29 03-07-2004, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Unlike Lexus, who has an add running where they allude to having invented headlights that aim in the direction the steering wheel is turned (I believe this was standard on a Citroen SM in the late 1960's),

I think TUCKER was the first car to have this.
The late 40's I think.
I could be wrong,too.

Unfortunately the make never took off.
The car was "modern" for its time.

Louis.

bluerhino · #30 03-07-2004, 02:08 PM

Mercedes I think should reevaluate their dealership/customer services strategies. It seems like customers concern/problems are not handled properly by MB in the last decade or so. Design flaws particularly the infamous oil leak on some models, the wiring harness to name a few should have been acknowledged and corrected by MB a long time ago, yet, they continue to insist a no problem attitude. Other cars have similar problems and perhaps worst but this is Mercedes Benz we're talking, there's a name to protect, a reputation, price that entitles us, customers, a better deal than this, don't you think so?

Perhaps we just expect too much from MB (though rightfully so for the price,name). But in my opinion, the quality is on a declining stage. But for some reasons, I decided to hang on to it instead of trading it with a new car...love is really blind.