US Built MB
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2004 CLK320
US Built MB
More and more MB are built in US. In Canada, all C sedans are built in Alabama and C Coupes come from Germany.
I am curious if you prefer your new MB to be built in Germany or US?
I am curious if you prefer your new MB to be built in Germany or US?
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I prefer US. But then again, my opinion is a bit swayed by the fact that I live in Alabama, so it's good for our economy. :-) Note that MBZ assembles cars worldwide. For example, my C240 was assembled in Brazil. Oh, and engines and transmissions mostly come from Germany.
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2009 CLK 350
Somewhat on topic last summer with the MBCCA we toured the MB VPC Port facility in Baltimore. It was extremely impressive showing how they do the final inspection of the $800,000,000 of inventory on the lot before it gets distributed across the US.
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From: NYC
2004 CLK 500
every company is comingling parts and building most of there cars far away from where they first started producing cars . Parts suppliers like ac delco will pretty much make 1 part that will go into multiple manufacturer to help save on production . Point is that BMW or Mercedes are not always 100% BMW or Mercedes .
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As for the build quality of the MBUSI plant in Alabama, it's all top-notch. I have first-hand knowledge of it as I have spent time there. The main problems they had with the W163 were with suppliers. I did what I could to fix that. I think it's pretty good now.
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2004 CLK320
Time has changed. Many years ago, US built cars were usually of poor workmanship. I recall many years ago I was in a car audio shop, they found an empty coke can in the car panel of an American car. Lol.
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I believe that most all makes have very good build quality these days, regardless of where the factory or assembly plant is located geographically. The new challenge seems to be in how they manage their suppliers.
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2004 CLK320
Agreed. It does not matter where they put the robots geographically!
Nevertheless, I still feel better if my MB is built in Germany. Not sure how the other forum members feel about this.
Nevertheless, I still feel better if my MB is built in Germany. Not sure how the other forum members feel about this.
Last edited by mis3; Mar 11, 2017 at 06:36 PM.
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2012 C300 4MATIC Sport
They can be distinguished by the shape of the license plate (square for North America and rectangular for the Euro/German ones).
When I bought my Euro-spec CLK 320, it was about $1k more expensive than a US one although I don't have electric seats nor a sunroof.
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The shape of the license plate mount has nothing to do with where the car was manufactured - it's only based on the market for which is was to be sold. The CLK was never made int he USA. In fact, I think it was ever only made in Germany, but of course it was built for many different markets - USA, Japan, UK, global, etc. USA-bound models would have the more narrow tag mounts, while UK/Euro-bound models would have the wider mounts. Of course there are also other differences like steering wheel side and engine choices (no diesel or 4-vylider CLK's came to the USA).
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From: Bognor Regis UK
Alfa 159
In the UK the US built Mercs are considered inferior....rightly or wrongly. The only actual experience I personally had was of a US built ML.......build quality was awful...in as much as bits of trim falling off (incorrect fitment or not enough glue), stitching coming apart in the seats at less than 20,000 miles, loads of trim squeaks, sunroof trim falling down (something that happened to a brand new one on test on Top Gear at the launch....not a great start). The mechanical side of it was fine.....just the final finishing and trim fitment was the issue. Merc Europe were very aware of this issues and as this was a few years ago, I'm sure its been rectified now. I just feel that a German car should be built in Germany...and if I had a Honda I would rather have a Japanese built one than one built in Swindon UK! I don't have a problem with US built cars in general .....my other car was built in the USA....in 1969!....and as poor at the quality was back then (on most cars worldwide tbh), I love it!
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I had a MY2001 W163 ML320. Picked it up at the US factory, about 40 miles from my house. I had a few minor trim issues over 80K+ miles. The biggest was when the plastic panel on the side of the seat where the adjustment controls were mounted broke off. Some epoxy fixed it. The window switches quit working (I was able disassemble and fix that and document the repair). Both of these parts were made by Johnson Controls, which is a well-respected USA supplier, but they were not used to to working in a global-sourced JIT environment like MBZ created.
The three major issues I had were that the alarm would randomly go off when locking the doors, there was a horrible noise when cornering, like a bad suspension, and engine performance and stalling issues in hot, humid weather. The alarm was eventually fixed after I told the dealer to replace the tow sensor in the OCP. There was a recall for MY2002 sensors, which my car had as it was a very lat 2001 build (another Johnson Controls part). The "suspension" noise was a loose hood latch spring. Only found after the dealer replaced the entire front suspension and engine mounts twice. The stalling issue was an inherent problem with some M112/M113 engines (from Germany, of course!).
Overall, I sure wish I had the ML320 back. Factoring in everything I want out of an SUV, it was the best one we've ever had.
The three major issues I had were that the alarm would randomly go off when locking the doors, there was a horrible noise when cornering, like a bad suspension, and engine performance and stalling issues in hot, humid weather. The alarm was eventually fixed after I told the dealer to replace the tow sensor in the OCP. There was a recall for MY2002 sensors, which my car had as it was a very lat 2001 build (another Johnson Controls part). The "suspension" noise was a loose hood latch spring. Only found after the dealer replaced the entire front suspension and engine mounts twice. The stalling issue was an inherent problem with some M112/M113 engines (from Germany, of course!).
Overall, I sure wish I had the ML320 back. Factoring in everything I want out of an SUV, it was the best one we've ever had.
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From: New Jersey
1999 AMG C43
US cars also have to meet safety and emissions standards. You might find that US Spec vehicles weigh a bit more and have slightly less HP as well. Then again, those safety features may save your life in the event of an accident.
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From: Hudson Valley, NY
2012 E350
Reminds me of a similar question that once arose in the world of Leica- Canada built vs. German built. Many preferred German for originality but objectively, Canadian lenses were just as good. I guess the idea of a German made German product appeals to purists.
