I bought my first Mercedes in my life in 2022. I was happy and excited. However, this car just a piece of junk. I don't remember how many times I went to the dealer to fix the problem. This car is not made by metal, but made by trash. Here are the list of the problems.

1: Rattling noise from a speaker. (I had this problem from day one. I had back to the dealer four or five times to let them diagnose and replace the speaker.)

2: LR door seal feel off. ( it took a couple months for the parts. after I waited a couple months, they found out the part they order just don't fit!!. They will have to order another one and let me come back again. junk!)

3:LF door scratch the LR door. (I had told them the problem and asked them to adjust the hinge. Dealer won't listen to you. They replaced the belt molding, but the hinge did not adjust. After a couple open and close, the new belt molding was scratched again)

4: Fuel Door Actuator Failed. (I can't open the fuel door. It turned out the Fuel Door Actuator was failed. 1 year and 8 months since I bought the car. The quality is just a joke.)

5: Skipping wiper. ( The wiper was keep skipping after I replaced a new pair on service B. Then I went back to replace another pair, but the problem was still exist. I changed another pair on my service A. Let's see how it goes)

6: Finally they admit the hinge problem, they adjusted the door hinge, but those scratched moldings did not replace.

7: Funny part, the RR door seal feel off. That means I have to drive 50 mins to the dealers again.

Overall, This car give me headache instead of joy. There are tons of problems, and you will have to spend so many time to drive to dealer. I did tried to contact Mercedes HQ. They just don't care. They don't care about the quality, and the time you spent. I think I made the worst decision in my life. I should go for BMW next time.

 

There was just another similar thread yesterday I believe. Can't find it anymore, but basically similar complaints. Rattling from the interior trim etc. I hate to say it, but you chose a bad time for your first Mercedes. The quality has gone downhill. I said it from the very first time I sat in a new W206. The cost cutting and cheap materials such as hard plastic is obvious in the W206. Some people kept arguing with me and trying to ridicule what I said. I don't put a lot of value in the surveys from Consumer Reports etc., but FWIW, Mercedes is at the bottom of their reliability lists these days.

All the recent MB loaners I drove when my AMG was in for service had glaring software defects among other things. MBUX kept crashing and such, CarPlay frequently disconnects. All issues I don't have in my C205. That's in addition to the cheap feeling interior materials and the modern approach to car interiors of just slapping down a big touchscreen and cheap capacitive buttons for a fairly generic looking interior. Ergonomics have suffered and we now have to deal with accidentally triggering something because you happened to brush up against one of the capacitive buttons on the steering wheel and changed something.

Car manufacturers thought that turning cars into smartphones on wheels was a winning strategy, but it's backfiring, and quality has suffered in general, because all the EV R&D is burning lots of cash that has to come from somewhere plus Tesla has set a precedence for not giving a hoot about build quality anymore. Most luxury cars are leased, so they drive them for 2-3 years and then return them for the next model.

If I was leasing normal commuter cars and replacing them every 2-3 years instead of the performance cars I own, I probably wouldn't care too much, either. Plus here in the US we have the lemon law, so if your car qualifies you can force them to buy it back if they continue to fail to fix persistent issues.

 

OP, sorry to hear about it, I am hoping you can lemon law this vehicle.

 

I guess having C300 assembled in South Africa has contributed this. There are few official recalls due to bad assembly. All these rattle issues are due to bad assemly. I had issue with trunk module due to wire harness wasn't mounted properly and got damaged.
But I have to say that I enjoy how car drives. May be because of drivetrain is assembled in Germany (at least it's stated as such).

 

I have more issues with the Alabama built ones though... I guess it is your YMMV type of thing, built on a monday or on a friday.

 

It's like buying a lottery ticket these days Win or loose.

 

Yes and I guess that is why we have the lemon law...

 

First model year always carries flaws

 

all M264 engines are assembled in Poland and gearboxes in Romania

 

Hmmm do you mind providing the source by chance, thank you : )

 

Wiper blade must be properly aligned, at right angle to window so it can brush up and down. If angle is off, the blade won't be able to shift directions, and it skips

 

You welcome 🤗

 

https://mercedes-benz-jawor.com.pl/f...ut-the-factory

 

Yeah, Mercedes are increasingly not German made cars anymore. They soon have to label them "Designed in Germany" only. For comparison, below is my '19 C63. That's an actual German car. Some parts will be foreign as Germany is not known for electronics and chips manufacturing for example, but the majority was made in Germany. I've mentioned this before. The appeal of luxury products and why people are willing to pay a premium for them is because of where they are made. Certain craftsmanship etc. is associated with certain places. I don't know what a premium Mercedes that was assembled in South Africa, has an engine from Poland and a gearbox from Romania is supposed to be exactly. Would you pay Rolex money for a Rolex watch made in Topeka, Kansas? I certainly wouldn't. The reason they command top dollars is because they are entirely made in Switzerland backed by the heritage of Swiss watchmakers.

 

I suspect the main rationale behind the C300's international sourcing is not having the base price be $60,000.
Note that there are exactly zero Mercedes vehicles that are 100% German (or any US vehicles that are 100% American).

 

Yes, there's certainly some of that. The bare bones lower end MBs compete with non-premium brands. Where the non-premium brands load some of their models to the gills to appeal to customers that may otherwise buy a premium brand, the premium brands strip theirs bare bones to capture customers that would otherwise buy a non-premium brand. Question is does the Star on the hood count more than what you are getting for the money.

Yes, as I said, certain parts will always come from elsewhere. I don't want German electronics in any car for that matter. German software isn't exceptional, either.

 

Much obliged!

 

Yes labour rates vary greatly in every country, I heard some countries also have subsides if you build factory there? Is that true?

 

I kind of find it strange that the GLA is made in Germany despite being the most entry level MB, maybe the Made in Germany is a good selling point for those that otherwise would be considering economy brands?

 

Yes exactly, Rolex you mentioned is a good example, same with designer handbags.

 

I still remember older MBs used Mitsubishi electronics (Or I might had mixed up the brand but it was Japanese for sure) for their infotainment system, is the new infotainment system made and manufactured by BOSCH or Nokia or did Nokia only provided the map software?

 

Hold on a sec, is it made in Germany or Hungary?

 

MBUX is developed by a combination of companies. MB is the overall system integrator, but the software is developed by Luxoft, a Menlo Park, California based company not far from me and LG is a major supplier for the electronic components and screens. Other companies also supply parts. MB and I believe BMW as well work with mostly companies in Silicon Valley to develop their Infotainment systems. The worst German manufacturer when it comes to software is VAG which decided to develop much of its software in house through their subsidiary CARIAD, which pretty much turned into a disaster and if I remember correctly they ended up partnering with a Chinese software company to try to safe it.

 

Assembled in Rastatt, Germany along with the A and B Class. The EQA is built there, too. But the engines are probably also coming from Poland as that factory builds all the MB 4 cylinder engines now as far as I know. The M139 is hand built in Affalterbach by AMG, though as I think you.

 

I remember an article I read back then that bmw uses a similar or same developer? Is that true?

People even blame that the newer MBUX versions are less funny and lack a sense of humour because bmw wasn't happy with the "like seeing them in my rearview mirror" comment?