ABSOLUTELY FEDUP WITH MERCEDES CARS !!! Will only buy Japanese from now.

[faz2704]

Having owned a number of Mercedes saloon/sedans over the last few years, both petrol and diesel I have decided that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! I am fed up of the low cheap build quality of Mercedes. Why? !!

All the rust issues, all the stupid little electric problems (like ignition barrels sticking) this is from my experience with owning several w210 both petrol and diesel models as well as to Mercedes G wagens (OK the Gs were old but thats no excuse - if I wanted rust I would have bought a Land rover)

I have never owned a W124 but I have read a lot about them and how they were built to last and surviving a million miles etc so I might just try one of those....but one thing is for sure ..... I will NEVER buy a post 1995 Merc again !

I have an old 1996 Toyota carina which does not have a spec of rust on it, it starts everytime and I can drive it any distance without thinking twice, its super reliable. I have had several Landcruisers, even 25 year old Landcruisers do not have as much rust as a 6 year old W210.

Am I being unfair?

 

[PanzerMcGrory]

Not unfair regarding the decade of sh#t mercs from the mid nineties but they have been on the up sinse halfway through this decade.

Honda is the best car money can buy but unfortunately it doesnt have a three pointed star sticking out of the bonnet.

 

[Blobcat]

Unfortunately I don't think you are being unfair, having said that I did ~400 miles in my E one day this week and got out at the end of the journey with a smile on my face. I've driven many other cars and non have done that.

 

[BillN_33]

sayonara

sayonara .....................or buy a W124

 

[anyweb]

i'm still driving my 13 years old W202 C series with rust, but its a great car and i love driving it,

i still think it looks better than anything thats come out of japan design wise for its age,

but I do understand your feelings about this

cheers
anyweb

 

[roofless]

my wife has a honda & it's noisy & bumpy & things do go wrong but not major things ..her last car a toyota was faultless over 100k mls when sold & never put a part other than standard servicing parts on it .....but it was dull as they come to drive

 

[Richard Moakes]

W124's are very good, mine is over 20 years old and still giving good service.

BUT, it requires maintenance and the old replacement for broken parts, the odd track rod end, broken spring etc....

Toyota is the way to go if you want utter reliability, but you might die of boredom driving it ;-)

 

[PeterCLK]

We have a Rav 4 as well as the 209.

Toyota have had lots of problems on the diesels with DMF failure. Like all motor companies, they get out of this one when they can.

Our petrol Rav has been fine so far (18 months) but I know the 4 oxygen sensors are prone to failure and some recent reports of auto box probems.

Never any mention of rust.

Nothing is perfect.

The 209 which I've had from new has only had electrical problems :-
Headlight washers (replaced)
Steering column (numerous visits with eventual replacement)
Drivers door mirror (replaced)
Switch cluster for aircon etc. (replaced)
Cabin temperature sensor (replaced)

If I had to choose one it would be the 209.

 

[teddycatkin]

FAZ You are very spot on with you assumtions and experience --Having driven and owned MBs through 70,s till now (1st a ponton) W123 -W124,s and 190 still owned--the brief encounter with a W210 cost me 5k in depreciation--!
If you find and try a W124 -you will enjoy it and not need to spend a fortune either.

 

[keith100]

I've only owned a merc for 16 mos, but in that period I have rented for a week to a month, and thereby got to know them fairly well:-

A Ford Navigator - good workhorse.
A Camry - dull.
A Ford Edge - actually pretty good - I liked it.
A Vectra - big trunk. Stable at 100mph
A W203 wagon - so-so.
A Hyundai Santa Fe - good panel fit.
A Chrysler Sebring - F-me. Still, it didn't breakdown.
A second Vectra -solid build, very nice wipers.
A Hyundai Sonata. It didn't breakdown either

Sometimes, after a few days rental, I have thought "hmm is the MB really that much better. Then, when I get home and drive off in it, I say "YES, its worth every nickle extra".

So the cure for MB blues is maybe to rent a Hyundai for a week:lol:

 

[teddycatkin]

Kieth it depends what you want from your car ?--dont knock the Hyundia too much though ? I agree 100 per cent with what you say--however last year while staying in Holland I rented an i10--just as a means of getting around that week--after 2 days I called back at Europecar in Utrecht to inform them it had a faulty fuel guage --stuck on full and I had covered a good few klms and wondered if it would run out on me? they noted it but said just carry on and see --after 4 days the needle began to move slowly down and after 7 it was just under 1/2 full when I took it back--? I calculated it was doing a good 60 mpg or more and it was nippy and very roomy for a small car--the only other small car that impresses me is the Fiat Seicento sporting ! amazing performance and good mpg to boot! and fun to drive.
I love they "nippyness" of these new small cars --but I would not like to be in a big shunt in one ? Reminds me of driving my first mini cooper in 60,s too and the first time in a BMW 2002 turbo being thrown back in the seat and the handling was so impessive and new for road cars in those days too.
I have my old MB,s to polish cherish and as a hobby--the fact the build quality is so good and they are a joy to cruise along in is just a bonus and why I have them I suppose.?

 

[gbtyke]

My main gripe is the extras.

I have just moved from an RX300 (My wife wouldn't drive it because it was too big) to an A180 Avantgarde which is supposed to be top of the range but has virtually nothing included. About £800? for Bluetooth install when literature says Audio 20 Bluetooth interface. No footwell lights, no vanity mirror lights, no folding mirrors etc. All standard on Lexus mid range.

I appreciate that the 300 is not a good comparison to the A180 as it is a totally different car and it feels it. I thought the Lexus was superb.

Too soon to tell for me about reliability but servicing costs seemed a lot lower on the RX.

Obviously petrol costs much higher on RX.

 

[GRAHAME2001]

This thread makes me feel very apprehensive about owning a Merc.. Having just got one for the first time (clk 230k cab. 2001) am i forever going to be driving and expecting to breakdown (the car thats is not me LOL). Looks like i am going to have to join a breakdown company?? ... now which one?????

 

[type49]

Honda is the best car money can buy but unfortunately it doesnt have a three pointed star sticking out of the bonnet.

Depends on what you mean by "best". Looking for a new car for the wife ( 4/5 years ago now), we test drove a new Civic for 15 miles. It drove OK & had a good use of space but there was so much road noise compared to German cars that we were used to, we didn't buy one. Ended up with a Seat Leon instead, which was faultless for the 2.5 years we had it.

 

[PanzerMcGrory]

Depends on what you mean by "best". Looking for a new car for the wife ( 4/5 years ago now), we test drove a new Civic for 15 miles. It drove OK & had a good use of space but there was so much road noise compared to German cars that we were used to, we didn't buy one. Ended up with a Seat Leon instead, which was faultless for the 2.5 years we had it.

reliability and durability,

If you are keeping a car for a long time then honda is the one to get.

You see vastly more old hondas running around than the overated VW group (VW/Seat/Skoda) who appear to built cars in the ford mould of looking good for five years then nosediving towards the scrap yard over the next few.

 

[faz2704]

OKAY! I will confess that driving an E is amazingly relaxing and the engines are robust and powerful, I really enjoy driving the car and even after 400 miles in a day you dont feel tired etc BUT I will change over to Honda Accord ICDTI or a Camry diesel .....if one is available only because of reliability issue.

I am still considering a W124 as my run around, I went to see one 1998 model yesterday claimed to have done only 72k miles .....but starting from cold it had a clonk for about 20 seconds, the stiches on the steering wheel had broken leaveing the steering leather split in places, he then told me it was imported from INDIA! ??? W124 built in India?? I just walked away without even a test drive.

 

[television]

OKAY! I will confess that driving an E is amazingly relaxing and the engines are robust and powerful, I really enjoy driving the car and even after 400 miles in a day you dont feel tired etc BUT I will change over to Honda Accord ICDTI or a Camry diesel .....if one is available only because of reliability issue.

I am still considering a W124 as my run around, I went to see one 1998 model yesterday claimed to have done only 72k miles .....but starting from cold it had a clonk for about 20 seconds, the stiches on the steering wheel had broken leaveing the steering leather split in places, he then told me it was imported from INDIA! ??? W124 built in India?? I just walked away without even a test drive.

The last 124 built finished early 1996, as the 210 had been announced for 09-95

 

[Aviator]

Mercedes have had too many problems but you have to take a balanced view.
A friend has a Honda accord diesel the timing chain broke at 90k just out of warranty, the cost of repairing was very high but Honda did make a contribution. The engine has since suffered another major fault, the turbo had an oil leak and he was unable to shut the engine off major damage again and high cost with another contribution from Honda. I believe the total cost so far was in the region of 8k. All cars have problems even Jap. ones was this just a one off, I don't know!

 

[gre1591]

I see where your coming from with the post 95 Mercedes issue on build quality etc . I bought new a 95 C200 and it has been an exceptionally well built car ,especially the bodywork which has no rust. I still own it after 14 years and over 100K.
I would love to buy a new Mercedes but fear it will be an expensive disappointment .
There seems to be a whole raft of problems out there with especially post 2000 Mercedes which seems to be when things really went wrong. It would seem that Mercedes have tried to build cars at Ford like volumes and everything has suffered.
The cars have also become highly technology based and when they do go wrong electrically (often by all accounts) dealers struggle to fix the electrical gremlins.

Somehow the accountants have allowed lesser quality materials to be used throughout which just don’t stand up to high mileage or have the durability of the old models.

Sad really I love heritage and Prestige quality reputation of Mercedes but unfortunately in reality it is a thing of the past that Mercedes would have us believe is still there.

I would love to hear from owners of recent model Mercedes especially C& E class models that all the reliability issues have been dealt with on their cars and they are proving to be reliable and well built again which is what Mercedes would have us believe on post 2006 models.

 

[Rory]

A friend has a Honda accord diesel the timing chain broke at 90k just out of warranty, the cost of repairing was very high but Honda did make a contribution. The engine has since suffered another major fault, the turbo had an oil leak and he was unable to shut the engine off major damage again and high cost with another contribution from Honda. I believe the total cost so far was in the region of 8k.

That's the difference with Honda though - they will help out. There's a recent story on HonestJohn from a guy who had an engine throw a rod at 5yrs, and his last service was at a non-franchised dealer, but Honda paid for a new engine. They also replaced an auto-box in a 7 year old car, with no drama or fuss, saying "our auto-boxes don't fail". I think we all know what MB UK's response would have been in those 2 situations.