ardy6931

hey everyone, i been on a long trip to europe, spent a good amount of time in germany and holland few other places. I am worried, I think that we get the crap of the crop benzes. The one thing I noticed about the benz's in germany, they just seemed of higher quality. And all my family there that has current models never have any problems with them. Any members from germany back me up, is something going on? Do the states get a different type of benz or did i just smoke too much cheeba in amsterdam

Either way from everyone that I talked to they seemed to have trouble free cars compared to ours. And even some of the older benzes I sat in were in amazing shape compared to the cars we have. Just a thought, wondered if you guys had noticed this at all.

FrankW

u smoked too much cheeba....

I'd say mine's trouble free except couple minor problems that was already taken care of. It's all about the ppl you talk to. Some ppl just complains too much. We have quite a few members on the board are like that.

ardy6931

thanks frank but i always smoke a ton of cheeba. I really think they have eurospec line and a usa line and ours are worse. everyone i talked to there seemed to think the same.

FrankW

there are many different reasons to contribute to difference in parts failiure. such as the road/freeway condition, weather, etc. I'd say mostly is because of our freeway are very bumpy compare to the European highways.

they all come off the same assembly line. difference between Euro and US is mainly the license plate holder, the ECU tuning due to different emission regulation, and suspension difference due to law requirement. if you do the European delivery program you will pick up the car at the same place where ppl in Germany got their car from.

dead_eye

Yeah all c32/c55 and I think all C-Coupes that come to America are made in Germany. The c240 is made in Brazil I believe. Correct me if I'm wrong. Anyone know where the ML-55 is made? I know that all regular ML's are made in Alabama, whether they go to Europe, America, anywhere. ML's are **** btw. They don't even weld the chassis to the frame!!; it's just several bolts.

IdriveFast

to my understanding, only an AMG engine is assembled at the amg factory. if its a ML55, they probably send the engine over here and finish the car in alabama.

thats my guess

TEAShea

The quality of my C55 is excellent.

Tom

EKaru

I'll follow the export quality beer trend.... Export quality beer is usually better than what's served to the locals...
Eric...

FrankW

C240 sold in the states and europe are made in Germany. Only those that are sold in South Africa are made in Africa. All AMG are assembled in the AMG factory except the ML55 which was assembled in Alabama and engine from AMG. The C55/32 sold in the South Africa are assembled in Africa with the engine shipped from AMG. Not sure about the other 55 sold in Africa.

GGM

My '03 C240 was assembled in Brazil. Anyone else?

GGM

FrankW

cars sold in the U.S. are always better equipped.

EKaru

yeah no kidding, you can get S-class cars less equipped than Hyundais in Germany...
Eric...

05C55

Yeah but you can get that groovy tartan green fabric interior.

ardy6931

Gotta hand it to the germans guys, they are efficient. While I was there I also noticed there used cars looked brand new, maybe its the weather they or something. But cosmetically all of the old benzes I saw are still brand spanking new. A guy I know there has a 190 D 89, this was flawless inside and out. Still had the tool set it came with and everything.

I am just glad my car didn't come from africa

viper

I am probably going to regret asking but why are glad your car did not come from Africa ?

cntlaw

I have to agree as HK roads are so bumpy !
Most important is what I feel about my SA made C55 especially comparing to my 2001 ex- W210 made in Germany.
C55 body feels as solid as a German E class quality , and that it is suposed to be. The harsh suspension made all seats shaking on bumpy roads, but I did not hear any lossy sounds / noise long as the car is on proper highway.

It is a MB and it is true, not any Japanese cars I used to have can match its feel.

FrankW

personally I don't think it matters that much because there is a standard for the MB factory, but it's still good to know that your car came from Germany for psychological reason.

cntlaw

true, so long if we still have a choice in a year or two :p

cntlaw

i know nothing about car equipment in USA as I never had been there to buy a car. The Eurpean cars " packaging " in HK are mostly close to full options due to high price tag. That especially applies to "water goods". Because my C55 is from the biggest authroised MB dealer Zung Fu, and because they wanted to manage the C55 price down, so it did not come with the handfree and nav, but it has got everyhting else.

mhh

My C32 (Right hand drive) was built in South Africa. Apart from the seat and mirror memory which I still don't properly understand (unlikely to be the South Africans to blame here), the car is faultless and beautifully finished. I agree that MB standards should apply no matter where the car is assembled.

FrankW

just know this, in the U.S. the cars only have options and most of the optional features around the world are standard feature on most of the model sold in the U.S.

In HK or TW, market is different, the optional list are driven by demands and cultural differences. By that, I mean that people in Taiwan and Hong Kong have the general preception that cars are not a necessity instead they are a LUXURY privilege especially MB, BMW, AUDI, etc. They believe that since these are luxury cars it should have all the luxury items in order to keep their brand image. For example, in Taiwan because cars are expensive, most domestic cars are so well equipped it'll put the luxury brand to shame.

You can say the same in U.S. that these cars are luxury cars too, but the preception of what is necessory in a car is different as well as because of the market is much larger it is easier for the manufacturer to group options together rather than listing options one by one. It would just cause more confusion to the simple consumer in the U.S..