Mercedes is no longer a proper premium brand

[Peter C1974]

When my W123 was new (1985) it cost £10k, a great deal more than mainstream manufacturer's equivalent models and as in those days cheap and easy finance was not available Tom, Dick or Harry couldn't afford to get behind the wheel of a Mercedes. 30 years ago Mercedes cars were reserved for the well off and priveleged of our society.

Not today. With FWD base models on offer, cheap finance and mass production and sales, there is nothing special about a new Mercedes (unless it's a high spec SL, S, etc). Have you seen the sort of people that drive around in new C and E Classes? Common folk!

The same goes for AMG. 30 years ago an AMG car was special. Today you can order a C180 adorned with AMG wheels, styling, badges, etc. I had an "AMG" Coupe C-Class last year, a 220CDi and the only thing AMG about it was the badges.

Modern Mercs are no longer premium products. They don't stand out from their competitors like they use to, they rust, they break down and I wouldn't buy one. In late 2011 I bought a new BMW 520d Touring and haven't looked back,

Rant over!

 

[npuk]

Maybe your better off on the BMW owners forums which must be full of 'well off and priveleged' members of our society as none of the above obviously applies to them.

 

[klenzza]

did you realy say "common folk" lol not sure where you live but on the south coast BMW is a more popular car than mercedes not sure about where you other common folk live though

 

[Developer]

When my W123 was new (1985) it cost £10k, a great deal more than mainstream manufacturer's equivalent models and as in those days cheap and easy finance was not available Tom, Dick or Harry couldn't afford to get behind the wheel of a Mercedes. 30 years ago Mercedes cars were reserved for the well off and priveleged of our society.

Not today. With FWD base models on offer, cheap finance and mass production and sales, there is nothing special about a new Mercedes (unless it's a high spec SL, S, etc). Have you seen the sort of people that drive around in new C and E Classes? Common folk!

The same goes for AMG. 30 years ago an AMG car was special. Today you can order a C180 adorned with AMG wheels, styling, badges, etc. I had an "AMG" Coupe C-Class last year, a 220CDi and the only thing AMG about it was the badges.

Modern Mercs are no longer premium products. They don't stand out from their competitors like they use to, they rust, they break down and I wouldn't buy one. In late 2011 I bought a new BMW 520d Touring and haven't looked back,

Rant over!

Fab - I love slow telly nights :lol:.

 

[Miffy]

*passes* john the popcorn

 

[Oarsman]

*passes* john the popcorn

Can I have an ice cream please Dad?

 

[LTD]

Lets all rush out and buy a BMW 1 series then ...

Peter. If you are so special (as per your W123 claim), what colour is your, cash paid, Bentley Mulsanne ? I trust you took the £30k option pack at point of purchase ?

... or do you service photocopiers ? The guy that services mine has a 520d estate .....

 

[Clkrichard]

A diesel estate owner ....... how common !

 

[Clkrichard]

No offence John ! Just kidding

 

[turbopete]

i will admit, im as common as they come, but our family has worked ****** hard to be able to own a Mercedes, so why shouldnt we?

my car was bought as a finance reposession (by a toyota dealer to sell on which is where we got it from). the original owner ordered the C220 CDi elegance with the 6 speed manual gearbox, audio 10 radio cassette with 6cd changer, auto lights/wipers etc (not sure what was standard and what was options) but, in all, the original invoice was £35k!

it was bought by the toyota dealers when it was 11 months old, and dad kept admiring it, and seeing if a deal could be done. a year later, the car was 23 months old with 7200 miles on it, a deal was done (cant remember the exact figure but under £20k) and off it went to dads garage where it spent its nights and idle time for 8 and a half more years, before he had to get a mobility car due to MS

dad couldnt bear to sell his faithful companion of 8 and a half years and 100k miles, so as i had no transport, it came my way where it sits on my drive when not in use waiting for its 10th anniversary with us in november, and the 12th anniversary of its original registration in december.

its no longer JUST a car. its been with us so long its now a part of the family! so yes, mercedes might be driven by more 'common' people, but then again, Audi's are now driven by yobs and BMW drivers are the stereotypical 'drug dealer' car, and both of them were equally expensive compared to the more mainstream cars 30 years ago too!

 

[Tazz666]

When my W123 was new (1985) it cost £10k, a great deal more than mainstream manufacturer's equivalent models and as in those days cheap and easy finance was not available Tom, Dick or Harry couldn't afford to get behind the wheel of a Mercedes. 30 years ago Mercedes cars were reserved for the well off and priveleged of our society.

Not today. With FWD base models on offer, cheap finance and mass production and sales, there is nothing special about a new Mercedes (unless it's a high spec SL, S, etc). Have you seen the sort of people that drive around in new C and E Classes? Common folk!

The same goes for AMG. 30 years ago an AMG car was special. Today you can order a C180 adorned with AMG wheels, styling, badges, etc. I had an "AMG" Coupe C-Class last year, a 220CDi and the only thing AMG about it was the badges.

Modern Mercs are no longer premium products. They don't stand out from their competitors like they use to, they rust, they break down and I wouldn't buy one. In late 2011 I bought a new BMW 520d Touring and haven't looked back,

Rant over!

What's wrong with someone trying to better themselves ?, You should never judge a book by its cover. And have you seen the amount of Drug dealers that drive's Boring Man's W*nktank. I am so glad I am common.

 

[Ductman]

The last car I owned before buying my first Mercedes in 2002, was a BMW 520 Touring and it was, sadly, the very worst car I have owned in 47 years of driving. It was good to drive, until it broke, which it did with annoying frequency until I eventually had enough when the cylinder head cracked for no apparent reason, so it had to go!

By comparison, and I'm probably going to regret saying this, the 4 MB's I have owned since then have never let me down and have all been great cars to drive. Never regarded myself as a common oik either.

 

[Remenham]

I agree with the threadstarter inasmuch as cars are not expensive enough to be status symbols any more.

 

[roop_the_loop]

I don't know if this was said in a sarcastic tone or serious, so not quite sure how to respond...

On one hand I quite agree. I'm (just about!) old enough to remember a time when MB was pretty much the top marque, and a sure sign that you had 'arrived'. With some exceptions, I don't think that's the case any more, and hasn't been for a while (so in that sense you're right). Case in point: my E220CDI has a 4-pot plain vanilla engine, an interior that looks and feels like it's from a big VW or a Vauxhall, and monthly payments that are essentially the same as what I paid ten years ago for my V70. Nothing luxurious or premium about it, that's for sure.

On the other hand, I disagree with your comments about BMW being more premium - I actually think it's the other way around! Especially the 3-series has become such a sales exec's car, and the 1-series is even worse, that I don't think there's anything premium about the Beemer either. (Of course, that's not to say that BMW drivers can't *THINK* they're better than us mere mortals. )

Then again, who cares about any of it? I certainly don't choose a car in order to feel 'above' the rest; for me a car is a way of getting from A to B in comfort and safety and ideally with sensible fuel economy and emissions. If you need to stroke your ego with the car you drive, I think you've got far bigger problems than MB's fading star...

 

[EmilysDad]

.... 30 years ago Mercedes cars were reserved for the well off and privileged of our society.

.....

Modern Mercs are no longer premium products. They don't stand out from their competitors like they use to, .....

I disagree with most of your post, however you're correct re the relative price of a Merc compared with A N Other manufacturer.
By chance, my Mum recently gave me a copy of a local paper from when the world, as well as the papers, was black & white because I was in one of the photos.
The 2 yr old Merc is twice as expensive as the best of the rest.

 

[Peter C1974]

Oh dear. I've touched a nerve. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a Mercedes man (my wife drives the 5 series more than I do) but my observations are valid, whether you lot like it or not.

Do you not see what I tried to suggest? Do you really believe that new Mercedes cars are as special now as they were in the past? What makes a C Class better than a 3 series BMW or an Audi A4? For that matter, is a Ford Mondeo an inferior car? They are all driven by photocopy machine repair men!

I wanted to highlight the FACT that Mercedes cars were once special, they were machines coveted by their owners, loved and cherished. My company (firm of chartered surveyors) runs a fleet of C Classes and most of the twenty something drivers don't give a **** what they drive.

By all means mock me, this is a public internet forum after all! You think that I wasn't ready for abuse? Ha!

But think about it, think back to how things were a few decades ago and you will agree that our favourite marque is not the icon it once was.

BMW or Audi are not the answer. Market conditions have changed and enabled everyone to get behind the wheel of an executive German made car. To stand out from the crowd you probably need a Bentley or a Rolls. I doubt you'd see many photocopy machine repair men turn up outside your office in one of those.

 

[Peter C1974]

I agree with the threadstarter inasmuch as cars are not expensive enough to be status symbols any more.

Thank you!

 

[turbopete]

MB, BMW, Audi, even Jaguar etc all had to open up to a more affordable market, or just pack up and the last one out switches the light off. if you are too exclusive, you dont sell enough to survive. MB were determined to survive.

the REALLY expensive stuff also has a bigger market than we perceive, although it isnt in the UK

 

[Remenham]

I disagree with most of your post, however you're correct re the relative price of a Merc compared with A N Other manufacturer.
By chance, my Mum recently gave me a copy of a local paper from when the world, as well as the papers, was black & white because I was in one of the photos.
The 2 yr old Merc is twice as expensive as the best of the rest.

Interesting old ads. I wonder how they could supply the German cars within 10 days in any colour. Did they re-spray used ones?

 

[EmilysDad]

I agree with the threadstarter inasmuch as cars are not expensive enough to be status symbols any more.

I don't drive a 'status symbol', just a car that's not FWD and now there's little choice.