Germany vs. South Africa...
 

Does it change your buying decision?

If it's good enough for Caroll Shelby, it might be good enough for MB too.

where is the info on where the build comes from??

Well I guess the question is...is it still a German car? If yes, then I'm ok with it. Most Japanese cars sold in the US are built here and many American cars are built in Canada or Mexico so that's just the way it is...

Still, I hope mine comes from Germany.

True. A Bosch washer is made in US while a Kenmore washer is made in Germany. So would you buy a Bosch or Kenmore?

Since the e46 days, the smaller engined 3 series has been made in SA, and the SA plants have continually been given outstanding quality awards over the german factories.

For what it's worth. I don't know what the awards are based on. But in the years since, there's never been any evidence that the SA cars are any different than the german built cars.

Is this just another way to get cheap labor? If so I hope the quality doesn't suffer.:bs:

the ironic part for us Australasian buyers is that W203 used to be built in SA for us, where as it was germany for you, and now it is a swap.

Quality wise they never seemed to be any different to germany built cars, but you have to take into consideration that the design of the car itself may not allow the quality or reliability you expect.

on a side note, lots of cars come from strange places. Ask your local porsche dealer where the boxter is built....

Built where?
 

<<Well I guess the question is...is it still a German car? If yes, then I'm ok with it. Most Japanese cars sold in the US are built here and many American cars are built in Canada or Mexico so that's just the way it is...

Still, I hope mine comes from Germany.>>

I presume you know that New Beetles for the US market come from Mexico, MLs and Gs (and Rs?) come from Alabama and Boxsters for the US market come from Finland. And my Porsche 944 was built in an Audi plant. And that BMW has a US plant.

Get a grip.

I agree, this is matterless. MB seems to have gotten their act together on quality, but I can understand the concern....just a bit.

M

[QUOTE=RLE;2368555
I presume you know that New Beetles for the US market come from Mexico, MLs and Gs (and Rs?) come from Alabama and Boxsters for the US market come from Finland. And my Porsche 944 was built in an Audi plant. And that BMW has a US plant.

Get a grip.[/QUOTE]
I think you missed my point.

My BMW Z4 as all other Z4s was built in South Carolina and it is of great quality.

As well as my Z3 M roadster! And my Toyota Sienna was built in the US as well.

We are talking SA not SC...

FYI....Canadian cars will ALL come out of Germany....

I understand, the point is that cars are made where the manufactuer has the greatest cost savings. The quality will not be affected by built location.

Unless there are crappy quality controllers there.

Wherever the car is made it all adds up to being the same thing the Germans designed, developed and engineered, in Germany.

Where do you get the confirm? Glad to hear that but not 100% certain if US gets the SA we may get same too.

It may not be that vital, but I like the idea of my Mercedes conceived, designed, and assembled by Germans in Deutschland. I will certainly be looking at the sticker to see where it is built when I buy mine either this year or more likely next year (since I want to see if they add more options for 2009.)

Does anyone know which ones will be built (4Matics, only sports etc etc)

DC's South African site did not shed details on what models or options will be built in SA.

How many W203 are sold in US each year?

I just know stuff...US is getting SA production for sure, canada is 100% germany...at least for MY08

Australia get the German built car and I'm happy with that, for the dollars we have to pay for a MB in Aus I personally want it built in Germany not SA, I have ordered the below and it's costing me $80100 all up which is a lot more than it would cost in the US or several other country's. My 2 cents worth. Cheers.

C200 Avantgarde Auto Saloon
Iridium Silver Metallic
Black Leather
Birds Eye Maple Wood Trim
Comand Aps
Vision Pack includes (Glass Sunroof, Bi-Xenon lights, Harman/Kardon LOGIC 7 Sound System)
Tinted windows & Mats

I think they sold about 30,000 - 40,000 W203s in the US each year.

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