Why do we buy Mercedes

[chrisy5555]

Just thinking about it and all the problems i have had with mine and looking through the forums why does anyone buy a merc they are so unreliable, no different from a car half the price just cost double to get them put right or maybe im the only one who thinks this

 

[anyweb]

no no no

not for me !

most reliable car ever.

only problems i've had were age related (12 year old car)

* faulty original battery @ 10 years
* some rust

and some other minor issues documented here > http://www.niallbrady.com

any car can have major faults and can lead you to believe that the whole brand is useless,

i've seen our chrysler voyager in and out of the local indie getting

* cat replaced
* both front wheel stabiliser balljoints replaced twice in a year
* handbrake constantly losing any usefullness
* hydraulic valve lifters problem requiring head removal
* timing belt

in the last two years, my 1995 mercedes C220 has cost me significantly LESS in repair than the 1997 chrysler voyager,

and it has passed every MOT no problem

cheers
anyweb

 

[television]

Most MBs drive better than any other car, less fatigue. OK I drive a top end one things do go wrong, but so does everything else. I find that I can do a long journey, and when I arrive I am sad to get out, I find them a pleasure to drive and well thought out. But then I have never owned a cheap car, I have traveled in many

 

[Legoman]

hehe tbh you came on the wrong forum to say that thought , its like going to ireland and telling them guinness tastes awful.

 

[television]

hehe tbh you came on the wrong forum to say that thought , its like going to ireland and telling them guinness tastes awful.

 

[A210AMG]

Hello,

In our 'family' we have owned all manor of cars, meaning dealing with all manor of garages. Most on the whole have been very good. Have to say one of the best was my wifes MX5 which we bought new, only ever needed 3 services in the time we owned it and the dealers were great.

I think all cars have their problems only some are worth the hastle more than others. With a brand such as BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar etc its that 'special' feeling you get driving it that you cannot put a price on.

Sure there are cheaper and possibly better cars for the money but its the feel good factor when your driving them that 'other' cars don't have.

I think you will find what ever car you own if you go on the forum for that make there will be people who have friday afternoon ones.....

Its a shame you have had a bad one..

 

[jberks]

I have to agree with the above. They feel good factor just isn't found elsewhere.
On the reliability side - ok mine hasn't been entirely trouble free but at the same time, the issues I've had would probably be ignored by your average Ford owner. Certainly I've never been left at the road side and everything works, if not the first time, then on the second (rain sensor for example) - ok annoying but not desparate.
Quality isn't simple any more than reliability is just about whether it starts every morning. The quality aspect of a merc is that at 100k and 5 years old, when a Ford feels tired and used, it will still be fresh and just getting into its stride.
And - do remember, whilst perhaps expensive, they are a lot cheaper than they used to be.

 

[BlackC55]

I look after a 400,000 mile E-class (211).

Only the gearbox has been re-built; nothing else has gone wrong.

Amazing

 

[television]

I have to agree with the above. They feel good factor just isn't found elsewhere.
.

Thank you Jberks, thats the phrase that I could not think of

 

[angus falconer]

I chose mine over equivalent Audis and BMW's for a couple of reasons; relaxing ambience, RWD and space. I don't think Merc problems are worse then the others - just have a look at the websites and see similar gripes about auto boxes, electrics, etc etc

Mercs tend to have fantastic auto box and offer very relaxed cruising. They encourage me to drive in a very relaxed manner which means journeys in the congested South East are a breeze. The suspension is pretty firm on mine but not bone-jarring as in the equivalent Audi. The steering on a Bimmer is light years better but I can live without it. It just makes me try to drive like Carlos Fandango. This is (a) not relaxing and (b) gets me in trouble......

The fact that they are RWD is great for me. Getting my C43 in and out of tight spaces in London is often much easier than doing the same in the wife's Clio. FWD and AWD cars all have awful turning circles. Sounds like a small point but every time I try to park the Clio I find it really annoying

Thirdly Merc's tend to be much better load luggers. BMW spend a lot of time optimising the rear suspension to shave a seond of the lap time round some mythical circuit. It's prioritised over load carrying so the boot is much smaller that mine. The Audi is even worse for some reason.

So there you go - they are relaxed and practical. I would never have had one in my twenties, used to take the p**s out of Merc-owning mates in my thirties but then hit my forties and kind of grew into them.

My next car? A C class or E class estate of some description

PS

 

[BlackC55]

I like driving MB's because it mmakes me feel good. Simple.

 

[8~)]

"So there you go - they are relaxed and practical. I would never have had one in my twenties, used to take the p**s out of Merc-owning mates in my thirties but then hit my forties and kind of grew into them."

I've been ambling around in old W123s since my mid 20s... haven't had major issues with any of them. Don't think I'll be moving any newer than a w124 or W126. Any later MBs just haven't felt different enough or had that non-tangible quality feel to consider over other marques.

 

[philharve]

Hi All

Longevity and overall quality were the criteria uppermost in my mind when I settled upon a Mercedes. But I could just as easily have chosen a BMW. I 'knew' my next car would be German because of their reputation for build quality and longevity. The later being particularly important to me because, as you will see from my signature, I keep my cars a long time.

I also had a hankering for a supercharged vehicle and I promised myself that if one came my way I would put it at the top of my shopping list.

On the 22nd January 2005, 4 days after my previous car developed a serious engine fault, I stumbled upon my present car parked, almost hidden, behind a couple dozen other cars. It was 4.5 years old with 89,000 miles on the clock. Two-and-a-half years on and we are still together. It has now covered 115,000 miles.

I have the full service history and very little has gone wrong with it. It has started first time, every time, except when the battery died during a cold spell: a dead cell. There have been no engine or transmission problems and it is almost silent even when cruising. There have been no electrical problems other than the battery dying suddenly.

However, it does seem to require new discs every time the pads are replaced. I don't know if this is a trait with this model? Pad life is unexceptional at 2 to 3 years. Tyre life depends upon how it's driven.

There have only been two events that have made me bite my tongue and caused me to question my decision to buy a Mercedes: wiper motor failure and rust. Both events cost me a lot of money and, in my opinion, should never have happened.

I was totally oblivious to the single wiper issue that was a known weakness in this and other models. Fortunately by this time I had found a good indie and the car was duly repaired. Thanks to the indie my costs could have been considerably higher.

Rust. This was the biggest surprise of all. Mercedes don't rust, or so I believed. I am now much the wiser but it has been a 2 year struggle to get the car sorted. I still need the B pillar trims sorted and, of course, the alloy wheels need attention.

But if I were to compare my C230K with my previous Toyota Celica during the first 2.5 years of ownership I would have to say the Celica was much the better car. The Celica didn't develop serious rust until 17 year old and then it was only cosmetic; and the wipers never failed. The Celica was faster due to better handling. Fuel consumption was about the same. The Celica was fun to drive.

If I still own the same Mercedes 10 years from now I might well come to a different conclusion. I think the Mercedes is better built (leaving rust aside) and will be on the road long after 171,000+ miles when my Celica died.

My C230K doesn't handle as well as my Celica but it is just as comfortable and much more quiet. The materials are better. Servicing isn't cheap but it requires fewer of them compared with the Toyota. Insurance is much cheaper, surprisingly, and running costs (fuel, oil) can, if driven carefully, work out cheaper too. I wouldn't describe driving the C230K as 'fun', I think 'very satisfying' is a better description.

So why did I buy a Mercedes and has it met my expectations?

It should be long-lived providing the rust issue doesn't resurface, no pun intended. The quality of the materials is unquestionably better because at 7 year old it still looks new. It goes and stops and hasn't broken down and I get the feeling that it will keep doing this for 100s of 1000s of more miles. I suppose in quality terms it will remain fresher, younger and reliable for longer than most other makes of car and that suites me just fine.

REGARDS

Phil

 

[grpar]

Euro NCAP

I bought my C-class in 2004 because it was one of the few saloons at the time that had 5-star Euro NCAP crash safety. I also thought I was getting a solid car after the concerted face-lift of May 2004, despite knowing that the C was still manufactured in S.Africa rather than the fatherland.

Whilst it's been ok, and nothing more than ok, it's the silly things that have marred the ownership experience, like ratttles, blown bulbs, painfully thin paint finishes, unevenly wearing tyres, leftwards drifting .... need I go one. The MB main dealer experience was also abysmal until last year when I first started noticing a concerted effort by them to be more customer friendly.

But for me, it's too little way too late. I won't be buying Merc again. Next dealer will be BMW, and if they're no good, I will simply have to settle with Lexus.

Shame really that MB has so tarnished themselves during their 8-10 years of cost-cutting and penny-penching they finally acknowledged a couple of years ago. Problem for them now is that BMW is always comfortably ahead in the consumer surveys, and Lexus comfortably ahead of them.

"Way to go MB", but not in the American sense of the expression.

 

[arm 33]

All i can say is yes they are nice to drive and you feel good driving it, but that soon fades.

They are nowhere as good as they used to be and are never out of the garage for stupid faults! And as for the dealers well the less i say the better! my car needs a new catalytic convertor now do to them not diagnosing a fault properly! They treat you like an idiot then try and add parts to your bill they havent fitted! I am not impressed at all with the newer mercs and the dealers and the only thing that is keeping me driving mine is the badge, What do you drive? - you say a merc and everyone thinks "oh how posh and flash!" really though we are all getting taken for mugs with putting up with their now unreliable cars and paying top dollar for them then you take it into a dealer and get charged £90 - 100 an hour labour for some idiot ( who is meant to be a highly trained mercedes technician) to make your car worse and hand you a massive bill!

Enough said

Andy - 02 CLK 320 CONVERTIBLE

 

[mnk303]

Its Merc getting there? Especially from 06 onwards

I have come to this forum, because I have sold my everyday car an Alpina B5, 2nd one I had and want a change, and I really do feel the Mercs look better than almost any other everyday car.

I drifted away after owning about 10 different Mercs, from the pre 1990 E class right up to my last an 02 S class C320CDI because of the absolutely rubbish service. I could have lived with the faults if it was not for the crappy service I got, sure the older cars were very reliable, but the last straw came when I was left on the side of the road in Chichester while they picked up my Merc and told me they could not take me and my 4 kids home, I did complain and so at that time was J Clarkson, we all got the same result from the MD, cars are great its just a one off…NEVER more like a 20 off. I have done work for Merc over the years and have meet with many Merc people, it really does seem that the problem lies in the UK, before when Merc dealers were independents you could get a good job done, but once big brother took over it has lost ground (it was told by everyone at the time it would). I went to Lexus...and wow what a service, cars a bit bland, but nothing was ever too much, but guess what the car did have to go back for a few repairs, but the way the dealers treated you meant it was ok...when will Mec learn, we can al live with a few niggles but we want good service, I then went to Porsche excellent, but cars too small, then back to BMW, cars great especially Alpina B5 that I had, but guess what 11 faults in 2 years...no better service than Merc. So because the Mercs are some of the best looking saloon cars on the market I thought I would look on the web at the price of a AMG CLS, seem about my budget, cars seem a match for the Alpina, but please please tell me is the service getting any better? Please tell me it is? Otherwise I am going back to Lexus, cars are okish, service still the bees knees. I am really looking at 06 cars 10-20K miles, lots of spec. Looking for feedback, Do you know it appears to me Mercedes have it all in their hands, great spec, great AMG division, good F1 cars, only need good service and they are back. I am not here slagging off merc, but don’t want to throw away 30K in deprecation in 2 years if the service is still down the tables.

 

[Legoman]

im of the opinion all cars , not just mercs are less reliable than the 80's-90's , were slowly heading towards the same attitude as america , 3 years and throw away , a similar thing is evident with electrical goods , a perfect example is washing machines , remember when they lasted 10-15 years? , 3-5 years max these days. hence why i prefer the older cars and wont buy a new one unless i win the lottery and have money to waste

 

[Schtum]

Why did I buy Mercedes?

Why buy blend when you can have malt ; -)

Also the price, colour, history and spec were just right.

 

[jberks]

They say a reputation is easier to lose than to gain and its true.
I completely agree - 199-2003 ish cars were badly bult (mb admit this too) and the dealer service collapsed when they got rid of the small dealers and at the same time trippled the range.
I was involved in the 80's with my Dads mercs so remember how it used to be. I bought my 1995 merc in 1998 so experienced the excellent service and quality for myself and have continued till today and experienced the deterioration.
and I can say - It's a lot better than it used to be and is still improving. Sales are still crap for the most part but the service I've received from 2 separate dealers in the last few months has been excellent. Good communication, immediate call backs, ok big, but not outragous prices, and the work done right first time. It was obvious to me that they are fully aware things had slipped and are working hard to put things right. The old 'nothing is too much trouble' seems to be creeping back although wth accountants in charge it will never get back to the heights of the 80s and early 90s.
I even have a satisfaction survey on my desk. Ok - it could be cynically ignored but I prefer to believe that they are aware they cocked up and are trying to put things right.

Sadly as the poor era cars go through the mill, the reputation amongst those who run older ones and hence still have a high opinion of the marque from their 202s and 124s will fall too, and it will be a few years yet before the efforts they're making now, filter through.

 

[gordofski]

But then I have never owned a cheap car, I have traveled in many

What was your first CHEAP car that you owned?