Sportstick

C Class is now #1 in the segment....where are all those BMW/Audi folks who troll our forum now???

http://www.jdpower.com/autos/ratings...ry-premium-car


Also found this quote: Cheers, Glyn!

The Daimler assembly plant in East London, South Africa, receives the Platinum Plant Quality Award for producing vehicles yielding the fewest defects and malfunctions worldwide. Averaging 28 PP100, the plant produces the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

MBnewby

PROUD OWNER OF A SA C-CLASS :o)

lewylou78

Wow, I'm glad I got a C300 now. It's surprising to hear how good the South African assembly plant is.

Spec_Davis

that is why i love my car

Krytech

That is indeed great news for C Class owners. Even though we've known it all along, it's nice to have it be official from a reputable agency.

As for 3 Series, Audi 4/5 & G series owners, OUCH!!

C300Sport

No doubt! I have to say I am more and more impressed with the efforts, and results of the US brands as well...keeps things interesting anyhow.

C300Kid

It's about time..I'm so f'in sick of hearing about how much higher quality asian cars are.. as a whole, GM and Ford are building better cars than Toyota/Honda/Nissan imo. Hell, even Hyundais are nicer than Toyotas now.

I also found it amusing that Mercedes beat Lexus..very amusing.

RLE

Keep in mind that Mercedes are Mercedes whereas Toyota, Nissan and Honda cars are simply places to sit in out of the weather while travelling from point A to point B.

C300Kid

I wasn't comparing Mercedes to Toyota/Nissan/Honda. I was comparing Mercedes to Lexus. I've often heard the misconception that Mercedes are glorified junk and Lexuses are the pinnacle of quality so I found it funny that Mercedes ranked so high.

RLE

You have missed my point entirely.

I am not comparing but rather pointing out that Daimler AG stands alone in what it is whereas those others, while all very good cars these days also, are mere appliances.

So, while today's reliability measurements are icing on the cake, they are not the reason I drive Mercedes-Benz. Those other makes are for whose who still do not "get it". And that's a good thing for us, perhaps.

One last thing, the 1990 LS 400 was the car that forced MB to raise their quality, reliability and service even though it took fifteen years plus to get there.

cx876

does anyone know if they assembly the C63 in the same SA plant too ?

C300Kid

Then why was MB quality terrible during much of the 90s into the early 00s?

Sportstick

For those who know the company, it took the departure of Schremp and fast and intense efforts of Zetsche since his return to Daimler in 2006 to set the new direction, now bearing first fruit. With Bernhard taking on his recent role, expect only additional improvements. He is wonderfully obsessed with quality.

C300Kid

Sounds good to me. Honestly owning this car has taken me from MB hater to a huge fan of the company and a possible repeat customer. I was BMW all the way, bought the C300 on a whim..best decision I could've made.

I've since lost most of my faith in BMW. If I were to go elsewhere, it would be Audi or Porsche..or even Cadillac.

C300Sport

Takes a lot of time and water to turn a ship around.
You have a few years before they accept that Lexus makes a better Merc than Merc does. Then a few years to finally agree to, and how to, move back to quality vs. profit margin, market share, etc. Then a few years for the product development cycle to begin reaping the benefits of an emphasis on improved quality.

Sportstick

IMHO, based on quality and considering potential for performance, the rank order for high perf 4 doors, other than MB, would be Porsche Panamera, give BMW another chance, Cadillac (CTS V Series), check out the new Volvo S60 (seriously...read the first road tests), Taurus SHO, the new Saab 95, 300C SRT8, then, maybe, Audi. I just can't get past my own and others' poor experiences with Audi reliability and durability...but they sure look great and drive well when they are working.

C300Kid

I just like the company a lot. I'd take my chances with reliability.

Sportstick

That pretty well sums it up!

C300Sport

Good Lord, ain't that the truth...our 09 A4 decided we didn't need our AC on a 95 degree day heading over to the coast a couple weeks back. Made an appointment at the local Audi dealer for the next morning as we really didn't feel like sweating the entire weekend. Sure enough the AC was working perfectly the next morning and has since gone out twice but never leaves any evidence of what's going on...just another issue with her car....uggghhh

Sportstick

O.K., here's my unforgiveable Audi story:

There's a part, which looks something like a spark plug, which is the pressure sensor in the oil sump, which sends the signal to the warning light in the instrument cluster. One day, it decided to crack while I was traveling on I-80 in the middle of Pennsylvania. It wasn't quite a B*st*rd Polluter (BP!) level of oil spill, but in the cloud of oil spray behind me were some very unhappy drivers. Car was towed to the nearest town with an Audi dealer who replaced the part the next day. So, a once in a lifetime event, right? NO!

Happened again in my home town, but the tow to the dealer was shorter. I started carrying spares with me, and sure enough, a gas station had to help me out replacing the same part again! By now, my Audi had become an environmental hazard. That was my last Audi, and will always be my last Audi.

I didn't even get into the driveability problems, which eventually led to a retrofit repair kit from Audi which.......DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM!!!

Enough! Never again!!

FrankW

can't say I'm surprised since my 204 has be problem free so far other than a faulty moon roof switch and a squeaky gauge cluster trim.

jon3sh

Just got my C300 4Matic last week but been looking since 08. I tested Lexus IS 250, BMW 328i and Audi A4. Smooth acceleration nice interior and body style got me the most. Mercedes Benz always turns head when you pass by or stop.

RLE

I said it took fifteen years and MB quality was up and down until about 2006.

RLE

If it's in the sump, it was likely the oil level sensor. If it's the oil pressure sender, it would be in an oil gallery.

BTW, MB had plenty of trouble with oil level sensors when they started using them in the '80s.

Sportstick

I would defer to your knowledge on the distinction.........were MBs also spraying road surfaces like a road tarring project? If so, glad I didn't have one then, as I would likely not have one now!