I just had a discussion with a friend of mine regarding the first year the C's came out. They seem to have a lot more issues than the 2002's. Another friend of mine got the 3 series the first year it came out (in the early 90's) and he had a some prbs too.

He told me that in the first year of the car, it is normal to have issues and the next years, they get ironed out.

my question is, is there somewhere we can see this for sure or is it just hear-say... like does this come up in all the surveys or consumer reports...just wondering if anyone has seen anything....

 

There were some issues with the very first cars that came out. I ordered mine in Nov. 2000 and picked it up in March 2001 and have not had an issue yet. Problems with the first model year of a car are common for all brands, and are usually taken care of within the first 3-6 months. I remember when the first Lexus model came out, and it was recalled within the first month. No one really questions Lexus quality at all anymore so it just goes to show that even the best of them have problems. I have read a lot of posts, however, regarding MB quality as a whole going down. A lot of people seem to be companing that the build quality and quality of materials has gone down. Since this is my first MB, I have no reference point, except my dad's old 240D which I was too young to remember. I would like some comments regarding this with specific examples. Thanks

 

There appeared to be several problems with early production (only) 2001 sedans. I posted a survey about 3-months ago on this subject... maybe it's still in the old posts section.

I asked for the date of production (from driver's door placard) and a count of the number of times the owner had been back to the dealer for quality issues. In short, cars produced in 2000 as 2001 models appeared to have more initial quality issues than cars built after Jan-Feb. 2001.

I agree that initial quality issues are a fact of life with new models, despite years of pre-introduction testing, and despite the make of car. The good news is that MB has appeared to get its arms around the issues quite early (months)... some manufacturers never solve their flaws throughout a model run.

 

I was just wondering more alone the lines if this information on cars of first years having issues recorded anywhere...

basically a comparison to german first years and japanese first years.

TIA

 

I had a 1977 Honda Accord 5spd (second year of production). Great car, but...

1) The A/C fuse would always fail when you needed the A/C most.
2) The electrical system would all but shut down on a rainy winter night: the heater on high, lights on, wipers going and then you decide to flash your turn signals while stopped at a light... NOT!
3) The solvents in the plastics outgassed all over the windows for all 7-years I owned the car.
4) The dash panel top cracked mercilessly, and
5) the carpeting in the hatch floor disintegrated into dust.
6) And, for lack of fender liners, the tops of the front fenders rusted through after 5 years (eventual Honda recall)
7) The head gasket failed with only 60,000 miles on the odo.

I think Honda universally ranks near the very top in quality today, but did it have first year teething problems? YES!

 

A comparison between 1st year production of Japanese, German, or any other grouping of cars would be very difficult. That's because you'd have to make sure to find cars that are equally as new.

What I mean is that no car is ever 100% new. Manufacturers use parts, electrics, systems, A/C, radio, seats, etc. from existing cars. "Proven" parts to minimize the amount of change in a new car. It is better to introduce systems gradually, to prevent yourself from ending up with a car in which "everything can go wrong". For example, the C-Class carries electronics, braking, electrical, engine, transmission, etc. from previous/existing Mercedes-Benz. Even the 1st year the Lexus was introduced it carried a large number of components from the Toyota line. Why re-engineer everything, right? New Lexus models carry this to the Max. All their new models are rebadged Toyota's that have been in Japanese manufacturing lines for years.

So if you were to compare the 1st year C-Class to a 1st year car from another manufacturer you'd have to choose one that has an identical percentage of new engineering.

That said. It is common knowledge that new cars have a higher rate of problems. Biggest reason is that the manufacturer can only test SO MANY possibilities. It takes getting 5,000 or more cars out there as 'real world test cases' to truly see what needs fixing. As a side note, MB claims to have crash tested 27 C230 Coupes... that's a lot higher than the typical 2-3 most manufacturers crash test on a new car.

The good news is, that so far, everything that people have been complaining about the new C-Class is amazingly minor. Individual little problems that are most likely due to variations in manufacturing. No big recalls like you see in other 1st year cars. Most of the stuff you read is trivial. It might be inconvenient trivial (like your SmartKey stops working), but it is not life-threatening or safety related.

The common complaint that MB quality isn't what it used to be revolves around these trivial issues. In years past, when the cheapest MB was double the price of the C230 Coupe, even these minor trivial issues did not appear as frequently. However, from what I've personally been reading, the new "low quality MB" is still way ahead of everyone else, yes, even the esteemed Lexus or Saturn. This year the new IS-300 has already been recalled to replace tires (which could kill you), and I remember how initial Saturns were recalled because their brake lights melted the car's rear end (potential fire hazard). I haven't seen any "it could kill you" recalls yet for the C230 Coupe.

 

This car takes things from older C series as well as other MB models including the CL. This, as mentioned by Flashman, makes for a very reliable and stable vehicle. You will still have growing pains but they should be minor in perspective. These cars are still very solid and although they dont feel as though they have the sturdy build of older model MB.s, they most certainly do. Technology is a wonderful thing and the advances in automotive technology has been amazing.

 

I have the first year production on the new Volvo S60 24T and with 12000 miles not one problem. Think they found most of the problems on the earlier Models 850 s70, changed the body style and fixed most of the problems. Our dealer has yet to have a mechanical problem repair. Think most people see Volvo short on quality, but for the money, like my C230 coupe, it's hard to beat.
Tom

 

I can bet that your Volvo runs great now Tommy since they had the S80 to use as a guinea pig. I had a '99 S80T6 and it was actually a very good car considering it was a new model. I heard very bad stories about them but personally I had nothing really terrible. They replaced the tranny (at 6K miles) but other than that it is relatively error free and I have 37K miles on it. My new C has about 1500 miles and not a glitch yet. Im expecting something although so far so good.

 

We've got an early C, bought Nov.1 2000. We have had no problems in about 13k miles. Awesome car! Dealer sucks however!

 

Really? Like what parts? The only parts it carried over from the previous C was the lug nuts.

What other previous MB parts are used in the C and where did you get that information?

 

I cant remember where I read this, but in more than one article I have read that many of the parts were carried over from previous models. Such as the rear brakes are from a previous S series. COMAND, rainsensing wipers, and the various other wonderful electronics.... many of these came from other models including the wonderful CL.

 

Do you really think MB sat down an engineering team and told them to come up with an engine, tranmission, electronics, abs, frame, brakes, seats, etc. from scratch? "Oh, and by the way boys, make it as good as all the other MB stuff we've done..."

A specific "part" might not be identical to another model's part (small manufacturing/design changes), but most of what is inside a C230 Coupe is pretty much right off the MB parts shelf. Engine, tranmission, electronics, braking, steering, interior, frame, etc. It is just modifed/tweaked/customized to fit the new use. It is the only practical way to insure a certain level of quality, refinement, and to keep the development costs down (which in turn keeps the cost of the car down).

 

If you have the specifics, I'd like to know them. For example, what other previous MBs used the drivetrain, brakes, etc.

I'd like to get manuals that are applicable, for example, if the engine and trans, brakes, etc. were used on other earlier models, I'd like to try to get manuals for those models.

I'm not aware of any of the new C sedan parts being used on any other MB. You say they were. Is that just guessing because it "sounds right" or do you have any concrete info?

 

double post