Anybody owned more than one Merc.

B

BlueGriff

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Has anybody on here actually bought more than one Merc? having come from years of BMW ownership I have found the entire Merc experience desperately disappointing.

I have found the product to be OK rather than premium, the dealers to be close to useless once they have your money and Merc themselves less than helpful when it comes to a warranty claim.

Perhaps my experience is unusual but I really can’t believe anyone would voluntarily suffer the trauma of Merc ownership more than once
 

Naraic

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Your Mercedes
2005 CL500.
I've had 3. And 2 BMWs.

But mine have all been 2000 or older...so a different type of quality. I don't use dealers.
 

Gkinghorn

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E350 CDI Cabriolet - 2011
on my 3rd ..all different models..wouldnt swap it for your top of the range BMW if you paid me.... Had BMW too and very very disappointed in them... hard rides even the non sport variants .... and the BMW dealerships are all so far up their own bottoms all you see is feet and ankles in their showrooms...

Wont ever buy anything else now and even tell the kids they are better off with an older Merc than a newer Ford (Found On Road Dead)
 
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Corned

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2005 S211 E320CDI Avantgarde
I am not planning on repeating the experience more than once.

I have found Mercedes to be an extremely over-rated brand. Talk about resting on past glories... :shock:
 

WG M-B

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C63 Wagon in black
BMW offer a different driving experience to MB
They are just different cars IMHO. It's a matter of personal taste I guess.
Maybe you are just not suited to the step up in class? ;)
 

television

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2002 SL500, 216 CL500, all fully loaded
I am not planning on repeating the experience more than once.

I have found Mercedes to be an extremely over-rated brand. Talk about resting on past glories... :shock:

But I have to have one or my STAR will get wasted :shock:
 

tode

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Your Mercedes
S350 btec 2011
Has anybody on here actually bought more than one Merc? having come from years of BMW ownership I have found the entire Merc experience desperately disappointing.

I have found the product to be OK rather than premium, the dealers to be close to useless once they have your money and Merc themselves less than helpful when it comes to a warranty claim.

Perhaps my experience is unusual but I really can’t believe anyone would voluntarily suffer the trauma of Merc ownership more than once

On my 3rd car now, and before that we had a dozen trucks.

Yes, you can get silly problems on the Mercedes now, but as they have become more complicated, That is part of the price to pay.

When you say that MB is OK, I would agree with you, but then what is "premium"? Bentley ? Rolls ? An Italian job ? --- fine, if you've got the cash.

Compared with other makes, they do make a good car. Just don't expect perfection: it doesn't exist. :D
 

taxii

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Bristol
Your Mercedes
c200, 1996, 2000
Is this a new Merc versus a new Beemer or any like for like age and model? I used to do a bit of exec private hire stuff a few years ago and had the choice of whether to but a 5 series or a T.Diesel E.class and having road tested them both I found the E.class (in T.D form) all but undriveable around town due to the fact that it was also an auto and when ever the turbo kicked in it would change up a gear and then you would have to wait for the lag again. Although after having the E36 323 coupe and now running a C200 the Merc def makes a lot more sense as a motorway mileage muncher whereas the Beemers a lot more fun around town and both seem reasonably reliable with decent build quality for the age of car. On a newer model range I would be stuck with reliability worries as there have been build issues brought to our attention by the likes of May and Clarkson who both own big expensive Mercs but seem to still buy them over Beemers.
 

drmw

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Your Mercedes
M6 Cab - prior to that, SL63 AMG, A-M V8 Vantage, SL55, SL500 and many more
It's in part down to the luck of the draw.

I've had 4 Mercedes (500 SEC, 300E, SL500, SL55), 6 BMW (318, 628CSi original, 750iL, 740, 840 & 645 Ci new) - some had issues, some didn't.

First principle is befriend the dealer service people - they can fight the good fight on your behalf if so inclined. Second principle is not to blur the lines between the dealer & the manufacturer - two pretty different animals.

Nothing is perfect - I got an Aston V8 Vantage two months ago, 17k miles, immaculate. It has the questionable Sportshift transmission and as is apparently common if it had been driven in "automatic" (yeah, right) mode, it had a complete clutch/flywheel & hydraulic valve replaced just before I got it.

A week ago Friday just gone, 1000 miles later, the hydraulic release bearing let go big style, spraying fluid everywhere onto the exhaust (spectacular) and unable to change gear, so stalled at the roadside.

Hopefully I get it back tomorrow night - however, having befriended the dealers, all sorted out, won't cost me anything and I've been driving an Audi Q5 for the last week (nice to be gamekeeper turned poacher for a change!!)

I'm sympathetic to your issues, but more or less every model from every manufacturer will have some issue at some point - they can all be sorted - the main issue is to get the dealer on your side
 
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jberks

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Your Mercedes
Jaguar XF 3.0 S, LR Freelander 2, Fiat 500 & Fiat Panda
Yes, on my 3rd and will get another one if I ever do change. Mine's so good that after 7 years, I still have no great desire to change. The old man's been running them since 1980 and wouldn't consider anything else.
Beemers are great but in terms of quality and reliability, they're no better (or worse) than mercs.
Things may have been different though. Back in the late 90's I was looking to get a decent car for the first time. I'd always fancied a 5 series so made a bee line for the local dealer. I collared a salesman and asked about a used 525i. His reply astounded me. We don't have any - and with that, walked off.Stuck up $%!*. I guess as I wasn't wearing Gucci I wasn't worth talking to.
Rang a few MB dealers and they all offered to bring cars to my office for me to look at. That's despite them being able to sell everything they could get their hands on (at that time). So I bought a beautiful C class and never looked back.
Point is, I've had good and bad experiences with BM and MB dealers and all cars have their foibles so to criticise any one vs another is foolhardy and naive.
 

hairyg

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Your Mercedes
R129 (1994) SL320
I've owned one other Merc before the current SL. Both were bought second hand and I quickly learnt to avoid main dealers. Like Naraic, both mine were pre-2000 cars. Our son is on his 2nd Merc and is hoping that the latest is a better experience than his 1st after he only managed to get it repaired under warranty by pointing out that as it was leased directly from MB it was their problem not his.
 

NMac

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Tarves, Aberdeenshire
Your Mercedes
CLK320 1998, ML320 1999
I've had thirteen.

I probably have a disease...


Yes a serious mental disorder :lol:

I own two at this moment a 98 CLK320 and an 2001 E320CDI I have driven many different cars in my time and when the decision between an X type AWD 3.0 V6 Jaguar and my CLK came up as one had to go the Jag lost as the Mercedes power delivery the comfort and the overall general feel of the motor cemented its long term position in my garage and my big diesel Mercedes is to cover the 80 mile / day round trip for work with ease, such a pleasure to drive, I also drive a big full custom Harley :shock:
My experience with Aberdeen MB dealer has only been a pleasure and thats with me rolling up on the Harley for spares for either Mercs :D
 

hawk20

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Your Mercedes
ML250 BlueTEC Sport
Worth reading the J. D. Power survey, the biggest UK survey of owners. The E class finishes way ahead of the 5 series for customer satisfaction and MB dealers are rated much better than BMW dealers.
 

SSR S500

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London
Your Mercedes
S500/2002/V8
On my second S class after owning a 740i in between. The BM was nice to look at and drive, but simply too many problems. 1st merc was totally reliable and this one has had very minor issues, not bad at all after putting more than 55k on having bought it at 47k
 

Gary Hanson

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Your Mercedes
A Jag. Jags are my favourite.
I've had two different versions of the 230E.

The first was a W123 and was nicknamed the Exxon Valdez on Wheels, due to a severe autobox leak. In fact it was so bad that the owner after me took to using cheap engine oil to top it up. It was leaking about 3 litres per day.

The second was a W124 with the sunroof motor disconnected because it kept opening by itself, especially in cold weather, and the heater didn't work. Which is why I bought a Jag. The heater works, even when it's set to cold. Such is life.

Had various BMWs over the years, never had any breakdowns with them. Found them extremely durable and reliable. Had to replace an ECU on a 5 series due to a fault which caused it to occasionally stall in traffic jams but found one on a 3 series in the local scrap yard which seemed to work well.

Had several Rovers, most of which broke down.
 
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television

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Daventry
Your Mercedes
2002 SL500, 216 CL500, all fully loaded
I have had a 123 280TE no faults, 124 300TE, just a water pump, 129 320SL no faults, 230 SL500 many faults, 140 CL420 a few faults, and a 216 CL500 with just 1 fault. I had another for a while back in the 70's so 7 in total from my 470 cars that I have owned
 

brandwooddixon

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Wolverhampton
Your Mercedes
S63 Coupe 2014
Onto my third.
All my cars have been second hand.
The first two around 3 years old when purchased.
Number 1 (1994 E320) 145k miles in 3 years without problem.
Number 2 (1998 E430) 140k miles in 8 years (gearbox, CPS, MAF) and a few other problems.
Number 3 (2004 CL500) owned almost 2 years now. Ac ouple of problems.

From what I see MB isn't the only manufacturer skimping on build quality. My brother-in-law had a focus diesel that destroyed the manual gearbox at 2 years old and 26k miles as well as needing new driveshafts and front springs in the time that he owned it. He now has a Skoda.
 

ianrandom

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Berks & South Devon.
Your Mercedes
1986 420SE, 1990 420SEC, 1989 2cv6.
Mine are oldies from the '80's, so perhaps they dont count. But I'll keep them for as long as humanly possible! Both are rock-like in their reliability and behaviour, whatever the circumstances or weather, love 'em, they give me much pleasure.

I wouldn't consider a Merc from more recent years, until the newest ones and then only if I had money to burn. Too complicated, very very nice though.

My MB dealer is lovely, but thats the spares bit. Not sure I'd like to sample the sales part at all..
 

mikestrivens

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Stockport
Your Mercedes
1995 W124 320TE, 1998 R129 SL500, 2016 Triumph Tiger 800 XCx
I still own the last three I bought, but then they are the classic overengineered models from the 90s. And I tend to keep cars for decades rather than months. Rather the beast one knows etc.
 
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