For thoses who think Mercedes last forever, what do you think about these articles (linked below)?

Question

These are recent articles, at least recent enough that it applies to recent cars.

http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1254812004

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1538401,00.html

http://www.barringer1.com/jul04prb.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2002/03/18/mercedes.htm

http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/08/pf/autos/cr_auto_reliability/

For: HappyNow...

I have said this many times. Look at my other answers and questions. If you are looking for real reliability ratings, look at Consumer Reports (it rates cars up to their first few years and rates Mercedes' reliability worst than a Hyundai. A 1998 Lexus LS400 has fewer problems and better reliability than a brand new 2006 Mercedes ML500!). J.D. Power, I have known too well (obviously more than you). J.D. Power only rates a car's reliability for its first 90 days ONLY! I don;t know about you, but I wouldn't buy acar only to have it work for 90 days. There are also those that say their 1970's or so Mercedes is still running. Well, that is a little more believable. I am saying the present Mercedes, or after mid-90's Mercedes are the ones who have problems. Would anyone be willing to say that their post mid-90's Mercedes has better reliability or quality than...let's say a Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Acura, or even Hyundai and Kia? Look in Consumer Reports for the answer.

Answer 1

i know they don't last forever ,i know where a brand new one is right now that wont start,almost a 100 thousand car ,and the dealer cant figure out what happened to it,its hard to tell people this though after they go out and spend all that money on one,i lost a good customer over this,but all i done was told them the truth,that Mercedes wasn't as good as they thought they was,its a well known fact though that they do give problems,people get mad though when you say something about their car,its the same with Honda,s and any other kind of car also,all of them give problems,good luck.

Answer 2

I have a 1983 380SEC and it has never failed to proceed. It has had it's problems but none that could not be fixed within a day or so and almost none of them were not due to age. It has two rattles in the interior, one is my fault. The ventilation fan is intermittently noisy, the interior light is a bit odd in it's behaviour but still works and the seat belt presenter on the passenger side has gone nuts but still works. The front right brake disc squeals after I got new pads a while ago. Every accessory works.

As you might have gathered for some of my earlier answers, I am perfectly well aware the MB has had big problems with quality from about 1993 when they were landed with engine wiring harnesses that had faulty insulation.

However it is said by those who might know that the company has done a turn around on quality. I prefer to reserve judgement. Maybe they have. Maybe they have not. Dodge Man mentions a recent car that refuses to start. I have heard of either that car or one or two the same. Any attempt to get it going results in the alarm going off and the immobiliser kicking in.

I am a member of a local M-B club. Most of the members drive cars from the 1950s to the late 1980s, some into the 2000s. There are dozens of 1970s E and S class M-Bs running around in this town and even more from the 1980s. I have heard that some executives from Stuttgart were hammered by the leaders of the Mercedes Benz Club of North America a year or two ago over new car faults.

My personal opinion is that there is far too much "technology" in M-B and other cars. When this stuff goes wrong the computer throws it's hands in the air and basically gives up.
You only have to look at the general part of "Cars & Transportation" on this site. Every day we see people asking why their "check engine" light is on. Oil, water, battery etc are OK and it turns out someone hasn't replaced the gas cap fully. WTFH? Why do we "need" this kind of garbage? And all those who need their car radio recoded after they replaced a battery. WTFH? Who needs that kind of aggravation? I don't.

BTW, it is not only M-B. There are dark tales of a BMW that refused to start because a headlamp was smashed. Result -a 450 kilometre recovery round trip and the driver and passengers spent 6 hours on the roadside waiting for the recovery vehicle. The much vaunted i-Drive has been thoroughly slammed by most critics mostly because it is counter-intuitive and just plain awkward to use. Most recent BMWs are rated "Avoid Like the Plague" by the 2006 Dog & Lemon Guide and that includes current models.

I am not committed to M-B, my previous car was a 1976 Toyota which also never failed to proceed, and I would recommend them to anyone looking to buy a car.

Mercedes don't last forever? I'm shocked. Shocked and stunned. And not a little surprised. Who'da thunk it?

Answer 3

I've owned Mercedes cars for years, but the E320 that I bought new in '99 will be my last. The difference in quality from the earlier cars to this car is amazing. My twenty year old 190D has less rust, runs better, and has spent less time on a flatbed than the "new" car.

That said, I think these articles, as well as some of the comments here, are misdirected. Mercedes quality didn't suffer because of Chrysler, or because it was pandering to the Power survey, or because Americans like shiny paint, or because the technology was too advanced. Mercedes quality suffered because it's management chose to cut corners in the engineering and design of the cars. Preventing rust isn't leading edge technology. Making an alternator voltage regulator isn't rocket science. Making A/C systems that don't leak doesn't require space age sealing systems. Making suspensions that don't fall apart isn't like building a space shuttle. My car was built in Stuttgart, on an assembly line that had been operating since long before Mercedes put it's mitts on Chrysler. If Mercedes needs to point blame for it's problem, all it need to do is look in the mirror.

Answer 4

I have a 2002 CLK320 and the ONLY thing I have had to change or fix on it is the oil filter and oil, tires and brake pads and rotors. I have 100,000 miles on the car, it is running great, have not had to change the plugs or wires yet or anything else. The dealer covered ALL the repairs and oil changes for the 1st 50,000 miles. No, it won't last "FOREVER", but nothing does, not even me!
Best car I ever owned, bar none, including 2 BMW's, 2 other Mercedes and a Porsche and 2 VW's.
Nothing beats German engineering. NOTHING! Mercedes, BMW, Koenigg, Volkswagon (they own Bugatti!) Audi (same company) what is better than these cars? Race proven, track proven, highway proven, parts for every car they make, leading edge technology that your Japanese friends are actively trying to steal as we speak...
How many of those early Lexus models are still on the road today, compared to Mercedes?

Answer 5

I won't argue with you that MB has definately fallen from grace. Basically any car made from 1995-2005 is gonna be crap because they stopped spending the money for quality and still charged a premium based solely on their name. However, the boys in Stuttgart have wised up and decided to start selling good cars again before the consumers lose all faith in them. As of last year, MB took 2 billion dollars worth of profits and reinvested it back into regaining the vehicles heralded quality. The cars they are making now should (I say should because I worry they may have forgotten how to make good cars) be on par with Lexus again or at the very least, above the industry average for quality. As for J.D. Power, yes they do the initial quality test which measures problems encountered in the first 90 days but they also conduct their long-term quality test which is a test of cars that are 3 years old. The long-term one is the test to look at as well as Consumer Reports as they are also a quality source as you mentioned.

Answer 6

Don't need to read any articles. Owned 4 Mercedes cars (have 2 of them now.) Never had any problems with them.
You get your "knowledge" from articles, but how many miles have you put on YOUR Mercedes?

Answer 7

Give me a newer article from a reliable source and I will answer your question. By the way I have a 2001 C320. It still runs and commands more respect than a 2007 Toyota Camry. Go figure.

Answer 8

My 24 year old 300SD everything works,46 mpg city,38 mpg hwy on diesel wvo mix.
I would not sell her for a $100,000. The new ones are all small,and you have to crawl in like Hondas ( THAT GOES FOR ALL CAR MAKES).

Answer 9

Great point!!! I was so tired of going back and forth to the dealership and tired of Mercedes Nickel and diming me that I traded my Mercedes CLK 320 for an Acura TL type S and I don't regret it for a second.

Answer 10

Are you someone that believe what people said and steak your head out for it?
There are millions of articles in 10's of languages have you read them all?
I think you are cornered.