blastit

so cruising around the forums again i have noticed that there are 2 builds for this vehicle one in Germany the other in South Africa. i would assume that the German build would be better? or am i out to lunch on this one.

are there any other canadians that have purchased a 350 4matic on here that know where there car was built??

MBTex

Regardless of where it is built it still has the MB name on it so the quality is the same due to their internal QC standards.

Of course, most people have it in their heads that their MB should be built in Germany. It is just a perception of superiority though, there are no statistics that say the cars built in Germany are actually better.

Still, I'm glad mine was built in Germany.

Krytech

I wanted my first German car to be built in Germany, so I made sure the one I got was, but other than that regarding build quality, the SA plant ranks just as high as the German one. I read somewhere that starting this Spring, ALL W204 will be built in SA. Not sure if that true, but....

blastit

Tex did you ask the dealer where the car would be built or was it just handed to you from the german plant. for some stupid reason i fall under the category of people that thinks the car should come from germany. hey i would never ask a chinese guy to cook me italian food (i can say this since i am chinese)...hahahaha

Star & Laurel

Speaking from my experience with VW. I know the mid 90's VW's were built in Mexico and Germany. Of those cars the German made cars (Wolfsburg Editions) were much better built cars. Less rust, stronger engines and so forth.

Now with all that being said this is Mercedes, and 15 years later. So as mentioned before quality control is at a higher standard both due to manufacturers and because of the time. So even further I haven't seen any major problems with either South Africa or German cars.

vcruiser

all 4matic cars are built in germany for now!

so your car is being built in germany

im in canada ( montreal )
and also ordered a c350 4matic.
i ordered it in october and its still not here yet.
im growing impatient.. but they say end of february to mid march i should get it

blastit

thanks vcruiser..nice to know im not the only Canuck waiting. i feel your pain though. i just talked to my dealer via email and they told me that my car is an april build. !@#$ me that means that i will not be seeing this car till may at the earliest. What freaks me out is that by that time the car will only be new till sept/oct at the latest. i am sure that they will be taking sales for 09 by then.

Derspeed

[QUOTE=Star & Laurel;2648686]Speaking from my experience with VW. I know the mid 90's VW's were built in Mexico and Germany. Of those cars the German made cars (Wolfsburg Editions) were much better built cars. Less rust, stronger engines and so forth. QUOTE]

I remember those days. I read an article in european Car waaaay back about the MKIIIs and how it made no difference whether Hans or Jose put the car together, the engineering was the same. I did not agree with that at all.

9elf S

QC is only as good as the guy doing the checking. So, I'm with you. I'd rather have (and will have) a Germany build. BTW, I agree with you on the cooking comment, but I can say that because I'm Italian.

blastit

9elf touche.

can the labour cost be that much cheaper in South Africa??? I hope that Vcruiser is right and my car is being put together in Germany. Does any one know why the build dates are so far apart? I am guessing that the sales department has to fill a quota before head office will start production for that geographical location. when i ordered the car i thought the C would be a dime a dozen. now it almost seems like its harder to get than a S.

mleskovar

I read in a post a few years back that the Right Hand drive cars are built in SA.

amdeutsch

There was also a post/link to an article a few month back stating that SA won the internal bidding war and won the right to build LHD cars. I would presume that anybody wanting to do an ED would have their car built in Germany as it would be double shipping for MB. But then again who really understands that fuzzy math called accounting.

uhear

My company does business with Honda, MB, Toyota, Ford, and Hyundai.

I can definitely say that perhaps we should say "assembled in". Most Tier 1 suppliers will produce many of the parts and ship to both assembly locations.

As for assembly it shouldn’t matter who mates the pieces, tightens the bolts or connects the harnesses.

Oh, and the warranty is the same too.

Edit - BTW mine is Germany, for the record.

blastit

amdeutsch what do mean by do an ED? this will be my first Benz and to think that it would be made any where else but germany would be a let down.

itcrashed

ED = European Delivery

djf1

my C2304M was built in Germany a month ago.

aansonsit

I purchased C350 4matic C350 4matic C350 4matic C350 4matic C350 4matic C350 4matic C350 4matic C350 4matic C350 4matic C350 4matic C350 4matic .......is built in Germany ,European Delivery to Hailfax port, and then transport by train to everywhere in Canada area!

i'm canadian i'm canadian i'm canadian i'm canadian i'm canadian i'm canadian
Toronto Toronto Toronto Toronto Toronto Toronto Toronto Toronto Toronto

kfm999

whats wrong with ur keyboard?!

chilledbenz

As the others posted, all 4matic cars are built in Germany and now all 2 wheel drive C300's are built in South Africa. I looked over a South African car in the show room and can say it looked really good. Good panel gaps, good paint, interior looked put together quite well, so as far as looks you can't tell...as far as how well it was put together only time will tell but from my understanding they have been building MB cars in that plant for other countries for quite some time.

narky

As others have said, 1. Most parts are made by various suppliers anyway. The M-B plants mostly just put them together. So, as long as the bolts are tightly screwed in, the cars should be the same. 2. Same Mercedes QC holds in both factories.

Honestly, I don't think anyone could objectively tell apart two identically equipped cars from two different plants: 1 in SA, 1 in Germany. I challenge anyone to a blind test! (You provide the cars and all that... )

Even so, when a dealer told me that my car is from the SA plant, I was very disappointed. Then a second dealer told me that he thinks it could be from either plant. So I just dropped it there. I don't even wanna know the truth.

Ajjra

Anyone know where the C350's are built?

jrct9454

I'll repeat two points [this subject seems to come up every few weeks for some reason]:

-Either you trust the parent company or you don't. If you have doubts that they can maintain the level of quality at any plant outside of Germany, then don't buy the product. If you trust Mercedes to do the job properly, it shouldn't make any difference.

-BMW has been making a substantial portion of the 3ers for the US market at their SA plant for a number of years. Most American buyers are completely unaware of the origin of their car, and no one seems to care. The QC scores of the 3ers made there compare favorably to the ones coming out of the EU.

Get used to it. You can't have stable pricing on any EU product, with the dollar going down the toilet, unless the German car makers take active steps to do something about their costs.

Txhurdle

Originally only in Germany, now they are built in SA as well. If the 7th digit from the end of your VIN is an 'R' your car was built in SA.

EDIT: If it's an 'F' your car was built in Germany.

MBTex

I didn't ask, but since I ordered in August I knew that it would have been built in Germany since the SA plant didn't start producing W204's until Nov.

blastit

i dont think its a matter of trust for me. i have no basis to compare. as mentioned this is my first benz. the thought that a german based car is made anywhere else is upsetting. if cost is the major issue (which it most likely is) why not just put the plant in the states and keep all north american sold vehicles here. that would reduce the cost of shipping. since the plant would be the same and QC would have the same standards.