heat010

With problems that have been plaguing some of you (i.e. pulling issues, creaks and rattles in the roofs etc.), do you think Mercedes will resolve those problems in the upcoming model year?

I can't imagine Mercedes not receiving feedback from their dealerships about these consistent problems across the coupe. It just goes down to whether they can address in time.

I hope they do especially since I haven't purchased mine yet and overall I think they know it's been a sales success.

Buellwinkle

I think they will fix some and create serious new ones with the new motor.

viper

You have been lurking around here for a long time heat010. Maybe you should just wait for the 2004 model.

Buellwinkle

I agree, the 2004 models will have all the issues with the new motor worked out and performance mods will be starting to trickle in by then.

Fuzzo

wishful thinking...hopefully the problems are being worked out....

viper

As I said many times before if you look hard enough you are bound to find something that you do not consider perfect. The problem is that many of us have a different tolerance for imperfection. Something that bothers you immensely like a misaligned panel may not bother someone else. Its all a matter of perspective.

avlis

So true.

Keep in mind that the number of owners represented on this board are a small percentage of overall owners. Just beacuse "Joe MB Dude" (not a real member- I hope) posts 101 threads here complaining about his "blinker fluid pump" (not a real part- I hope), doesn't mean there is a consistant problem. I'm sure the manufacturer compares the cost of fixing problems under warrenty vs. retooling a production line.

For example: Let's say 500 out of 20000 cars have problems with the "blinker fluid pump". It costs $500/car to replace the pump at the dealer but it'll cost "only" $50/car to retool the production line. That means it will cost $250,000 to fix the cars in the field (500 x $500). It will cost $1,000,000 to fix the cars as they're produced (20,000 x $50). It would be $750,000 CHEAPER to leave production alone and fix the defective parts in the field! If you were an executive at MB, what would you do? Ethics anyone...?

Now, if 100 of those 500 owners of the bad pumps come to MBWorld to complain and repeatedly post the same complaint, it would sure seem like a "consistent problem" wouldn't it? Would you subtract the $750,000 from your companies profits to retool the line just to shut them up? You'd have a tough time explaining that one to your boss.

dmichael

Avlis - I see your point, But how much money will the company lose in future sales because their customers are annoyed with having to bring their cars in for unscheduled service, and you assume that all dealers have competant technicians who can get it fixed right the first time, which in my experience, that word competant would be quite a stretch. How do you think that affects their bottom line if a customer says next time, I will get a more reliable car. If 500 customers buy Lexus instead, I'd think you would be adding up much bigger numbers than 100's of thousands of $$. My opinion is that it would be bad business and short sighted to allow a known quality control issue to continue in production.

avlis

I agree. But I'm sure more business decisions are based on the short term bottom line rather than future considerations. Remember the "internet bubble"? Money talks....

I wish there was someone "in the know" that could post some insight on how such decisions are made at auto manufacturers or other high volume production. My guess is that potential lost sales don't play a large role in the decision because there are so many variables. As long as the company stays ahead of the competition (ie: leave the customer no choice) then a sale probably wont be lost. I also guess that repeat sales (of the same model) are a small percentage of overall sales.

revstriker

Alvin, I agree with your post. However, I do think that lost sales would be part of the equation. If 2.5% of all cars off the line had a problem (from your example), then what percent of these owners would make the decision not to buy another car because of their experience? How does this final number compare to sales, and how would it effect their planned sales growth? This would be compared to cost of re-tooling, and a decision would probably be made. The choice may still be to fix it in the field even if it meant walking away from a certain percent of future sales.

tommy

Should I get mine looked at tomorrow when I go in for my first A service?

Duffer

Just get an '02 on a 39 month balloon while interest rates are low and in 3 years you can decide whether you want a new one or not.

That's what I did.

Nooooooooooooooooo problems after 1000 miles (knock, knock)

Lynn

You bet you should. And don't forget to have them repack the muffler bearings.

viper

You are of course assuming that tommy had muffler bearings to begin with. I think they had one week of production where the muffler bearings were omitted.