off to bmw.......

[robinh20mrv]

just a quick thanks to all who have helped me with info with my clk430,
but i have had enough with the rust and things stopping working......

so i have traded the merc (at a 6 k loss in 4 months) for a 04 bmw 330d sport,

i hope i have more luck with the bmw than with the silver rust bucket!!

thanks again, robinh20mrv.

 

[Morzine]

Hi,

I hope you have written to Merc Head Office and told them of your decision and why.

I don't blame anyone for abandoning the Merc brand especially if they have suffered with lousy quality and poor dealer backup. The big question is will the BMW be any better, I hope you'll let us all know.

Good luck.

 

[peterchurch]

Shame have you done the deal yet? I am about to place an order though a company called broadspeed they have saved me 5K on a new 2.8 v6 Saab!
All the purchasing is done through a Saab retailer in the uk and they just get the best price for you, they saved me another 2.5% on the finance as well :!:

Im very impressed. My only barrier now is my trade in which is proving tricky, and may yet burst the deal

 

[ddentrec]

Hi,

I hope you have written to Merc Head Office and told them of your decision and why.

Why should he do that? Based on my experience of the Mercedes marque, DCUK couldn't give a *&^% if you complained.

Once DCUK and the stealer have your money they really aren't that bothered: they love to hide behind the M-B brand image that brings in the suckers like us.

I know that BMW take customer complaints very seriously: they are known to sack dealers who do not deliver the goods. Love them or hate them, BMW know what they are doing.

This months Autocar has a very interesting article about the M-B brand: basically it is style over substance: the old M-B values of quality have been eroded by the accountants.

Good luck to the new BMW customer! I am not far behind....

 

[Morzine]

Why should he do that?

I was perhaps writing how I would react, I guess your reaction differs somewhat.

Each to their own.

 

[nicky]

I have been driving an 05 Range Rover for the past few months with no problems ,,and it comes with all the toys that are extras on a merc....

I personally think merc is loosing its status.......:Oops:

 

[peterchurch]

I have been driving an 05 Range Rover for the past few months with no problems ,,and it comes with all the toys that are extras on a merc....

I personally think merc is loosing its status.......:Oops:

I Couldn't put it better myself

All these years, the other car designers have tried to capture that X factor that MBs had. The trouble is that just as they started to get close, MB went on a cost cutting spree and blighted the range with silly reliability issues that should not have been there, while dealers behave like they are gods gift...
So now if you want a car that drives like an MB there are serveral makers that can take your cash I for one was stunned at the difference between
the old Saab 93 and the new one... MB are in for a tough 5 years or so as they struggle to get their image on track while the crap that they put out between 96 and 05 ages and trashes the reliability image

 

[Ramius]

Said it before and will say it again and again

" W124 is the last of the true and solid Mercs....."

Saying that however, would rather drive a VW than a BMW!

 

[Akers Ridge]

Said it before and will say it again and again

" W124 is the last of the true and solid Mercs....."

QUOTE]


Hear hear!!!!!

But i'd like to beleive that the company's tryin to make somewhat of a comeback...
don't lose hope yet... the new designs and ranges seem to be better planned...
Here in Southern Africa, they're getting good reviews from magazines that otherwise hog at Mercs..
Let's hope these South Africans are right when they claim the tri-star has put a lot of effort into re-raising the standards.

 

[pascal]

Well as most of the models with quality issues are put together(OR NOT) in SA , they will have to do something.

My opinion would be to bring back all production to Germany, and charge the extra on those cars.

 

[eyelight]

Did a bit of a double-take there on reading that Mercedes are being manufactured in South Africa. A quick Google search came up with this
http://www.daimlerchrysler.co.za/corporate1 /OurPast.asp

Highest production record achieved at East London plant with 47 665 Mercedes-Benz C-Class and 8 488 Mitsubishi Colt vehicles.

Mercedes being made in South Africa in a plant with Mitsubishi Colts ???
What's going on ?
I thought it bad enough that the M Class was built in the US.

 

[sunking101]

Yes MB has tarnished its reputation with the rust issues and general cost-cutting but I still think it's a more prestiguous brand than either BMW or Range Rover. Which company, not just confined to the automotive arena, hasn't cut costs over the last decade? I see it everywhere, everything I buy seems shoddily built these days. Having said that, MB owners were happy to pay a premium for a well built motor and they just haven't been delivering of late. Having said that, I will never be going back to BMW. Their image was irrevocably tarnished in the early nineties more by the type of person who started buying their cars than through fault of the products themselves.

 

[robbo]

Well as most of the models with quality issues are put together(OR NOT) in SA , they will have to do something.

My opinion would be to bring back all production to Germany, and charge the extra on those cars.

Trouble is my W203 was built in Germany and it has had loads of quality issues and faults. Unfortunately, the problems are more widespread and not confined to a single factory. I think MB needs to stop cutting corners and spend much more time testing and developing models before they are launched. to be fair, they probably realise this now.

 

[Unleashed]

Did a bit of a double-take there on reading that Mercedes are being manufactured in South Africa. A quick Google search came up with this
http://www.daimlerchrysler.co.za/corporate1 /OurPast.asp

Mercedes being made in South Africa in a plant with Mitsubishi Colts ???
What's going on ?
I thought it bad enough that the M Class was built in the US.

They also make the new Nobles there, in my home country.

 

[ddentrec]

Did a bit of a double-take there on reading that Mercedes are being manufactured in South Africa. A quick Google search came up with this
http://www.daimlerchrysler.co.za/corporate1 /OurPast.asp

Highest production record achieved at East London plant with 47 665 Mercedes-Benz C-Class and 8 488 Mitsubishi Colt vehicles.

Mercedes being made in South Africa in a plant with Mitsubishi Colts ???
What's going on ?
I thought it bad enough that the M Class was built in the US.

Answer: Daimler-Chrysler do not own the C-Class factory: it is owned by a sub-contractor who also builds Mitsubishi's (the owner's name escapes me, but it was in Autocar last year..) It is the way of the modern manufacturing world: it is cheaper to contract the work out than actually employ workers.

VW is the same: Golf and Touran are built by a subcontractor--and not VW.

 

[ddentrec]

Said it before and will say it again and again

" W124 is the last of the true and solid Mercs....."

QUOTE]


Hear hear!!!!!

But i'd like to beleive that the company's tryin to make somewhat of a comeback...
don't lose hope yet... the new designs and ranges seem to be better planned...
Here in Southern Africa, they're getting good reviews from magazines that otherwise hog at Mercs..
Let's hope these South Africans are right when they claim the tri-star has put a lot of effort into re-raising the standards.

W124 and 123 series: Best mercs ever: I have owned both old and new and my current W123 280TE is light years away from my wife's tinny, rattly, new
C-Class complete with bare screw heads and plastic catches. Ugh!