Well I have to say I am finished with Mercedes Benz. After numorous problems in combination with terrible service thats it. I say goodby to my fourth and final MB. A gently used 2006 E 350. I must admit they drive fantastic but the gremlins that have plagued 3 of the four MB's I have owned are too much for me to deal with.

My wife has had better success with her ford Taures's she uses as her corporation doles out. MB needs to wake up and smell the coffee. They are only succeeding on those that have not been customers before and that will not keep you in buisness!

I know that many here feel it is a privilage to have a brand new car give you fits and believe that visits to the service bay are like war wounds...... I don't have the time or the patience to go through all that just have a wonderful driving experience and say that i have a Mercedes Benz.....

In fact I will now have to question the intelligence of those people I meet that fall into the circle of the silver star.

I bid you folks adeau, good luck and good ridens!
I would rather drive my HONDA ELEMENT !!!!!!!
It is much more dependable and hassel free!!

 

What issues were you having? I can say that the 2007 E's are darn reliable as SBC is gone, and the electronics have been redesigned in house. I think I remember reading a figure saying that DCX spent nearly $500 million or so to refresh the E in 2007. Something like 2000+ parts are new or revised.

 

I'm sorry.

 

We isnt all stoopid, we jus aint nevr owned one o them there Honda Elements.

 

only time will tell. Can't make a reliable assessment after only a few months.

 

Sorry it didn't work out for you, and enjoy the Honda Element. The Car Talk guys think highly of it.

 

I read this too. How is this possible, are 1500 of these parts on the brake system. I mean, 2000 parts, is there 2000 parts in the car?

 

Sorry to see you leave. It would be nice to know what kind of gremlins you found the dealer didn't fix. Without that information you're post doesn't weigh in as much as it might. I have the same car and still love it.

It's just too early to tell if the 07 is better.

I think the "2000 new part" stuff is a marketing line. I mean they could give a screw a new part number and then call it new. In the case of the 350, the engine and tranny are the same. Yes the buttons on the steering wheel and climate control are a little different. But over all, I'm glad I don't see much difference between the 06 and 07.

 

DWP.....

That's some funny stuff. I wonder how many people picked up on that.

Well done, sir, well done.

 

The difference between an 06 and an 07 is much deeper than we think:

Revised suspension
Revised Steering
Interior Changes
Interior Changes
Braking components revised
Updated body panels
Improved headlight functionality
Computer and Electrical Systems updated significantly
The 07's tranny is also updated with the latest throttle body and TCU
New Key
plus screws and fasteners.

This is what I can tell from my 04 E55 to 07 E63. While some are subtle, many of the changes were more than needed as build quality and fit and finish is far better than I would have expected. Its at S class level.

 

And this just in from the Honda Element forum.....for real

51 of 60 Reasons to hate my Element by hbhawaii Sep 08, 2006 (12:46 pm) .....there are some dumb design issues that are really fraying my nerves, to the point where I'm seriously considering trading it in.

#1 is ground clearance, or the lack thereof. I just pranged the gas tank guard on a small rock in a dirt road, and have come pretty close to stranding on a berm top several times. If Honda wants to advertise this car as a "go anywhere" toy, it should build it so (compare with the new Toyota cruiser for instance).

#2 is that damned suicide door, which makes loading in a parking lot pure misery. Nissan solved the problem in its trucks with a rear door that opens flat against the vehicle side. Honda could have, but chose not to.

#3 is closely related to #2. I've lost count of the number of times I've bashed my head against the projecting piece of metal in the roof of the car that holds the two doors where they meet. Stupid, stupid design.

#4 the back seat is good for five minutes of travel. Any further, and the claustrophobic heebie-jeebies set in.

With regards to point #1, I posted this in the tires forum, but got no response: looks like there's no way to lift the vehicle, except to use bigger tires. Has anyone done this? How much bigger did you go? How did it work out?

 

Yeah, it is pretty funny. I had to read it a couple of times before I realized what DWP was doing.

Regards,
paul....

 

He forgot to mention the fact that his muffler falls off everytime he goes over a speed bump.

 

Not on a Honda.

 

Sorry to see you leave MB but hopefully you will come back soon.

 

you don't tell us the problems you've had .....i would suspect being its a 2006 a lot of bugs should have been worked out., if your post is true ( which I suspect ) call corporate. Why not trade in for a 2007 ?

 

Sorry to hear that Cairorex. Hopefully one day MB's will catch your eye again. Good luck with your... Element





Took me a couple times to but very good dwp.

 

Good luck with that Honda transmission... I hope you have an extended warranty on that car.

 

If his element has a 5spd automatic or the revised 4 speed he should be fine.

 

my honda accord had to have transmission replaced twice. My e-class is still on its original parts timing belt, tranny

 

what year is it sklasse?

 

I appreciate all the concern and wish you guys the best. Just so you know....
The issues I have had with MB have all been noted here on this board as I have looked for help on all issues.

1) 2002 S500 intermiten Electrical gremlins in, Dealer could not fix .
Air Conditioner
Audio System
Dash Lights

3) 2002 S500 all four door windows were delaminating (coming apart)
while I noticed this when the car 60,000 miles it was well in the four
year time frame and I can't see how mileage would cause the windows to
come apart. In fact this may have been happening while the car was
well within the warranty. They would not cover these under warrenty.
4) 2006 E350 Air conditioner problems brought car in three times and dealer
said nothing wrong. Sent letter to MB customer service and they
Basicaly refered me back to dealer and stated "we realize repairs are
seldom pleasent and seek your understanding that no manufacturer can
guarantee uninterrupted service. It is for this reason we provide a
Limited new vehical warranty of 4 years or 50,000 miles yada, yada, yada"
Well after three times in the shop the dealer basicaly tells me there is
nothing wrong. Sorry three times is too many for me to deal with.
Obviously many of you have much more time available and more
importantly patience. I don't.

My recent history with automobles other than MB;

1999 Porsche Boxster-No issues other than dealer ordered wrong color top which they changed immediatly upon delivery.
1999 Porsche 911-No issues
2004 Chevrolet Silverado-no issues
2005 BMW Z4-no issues
2005 Honda Element-no issues
4 Ford Company taurses since 1994 no issues.

So from where I sit MB has given me way too many problems and more importanly the Corporation left me in the cold to deal with them. I don't have the time to make trips back and forth to the dealer even if it is covered under warrenty. Bottom line I have had numorous cars from high end to low end as evidenced by the above list.

Why have I had the most problems with supposedly the most prestigous brand? As a consumer there are way too many choices to have to put up with the things that I have had to. At this point my answer is obvious; STAY AWAY FROM THE SILVER STAR AND I WILL RECOMEND ANYONE THAT ASKS TO DO THE SAME...........

I wish all of you the best.

 

...No offense, and I hope you'll see my point of view...

That's not exactly something I would move away from MB's over. Have you tried seeking another dealership? Though it may be much farther and may even require a day trip, I'd say it's well worth it for a second opinion. It is a vehicle after all, repair work must be done to it occasionally even though it is a huge inconvience at times. And you can't really compare a MB to a porsche or ford, it's a different brand and every company has it's up and downs in customer service and such.

Also I've seen that problem with the windows before, sadly I can't off the top of my head recommend anything. And maybe you can give us some insight to the exact problems with your Audio, A/C, and Dash Lights?
Examples:
Audio 1. Speakers out? CD player not functioning? Static? Mind of it's own?<--haha had that problem in the parents S430.

A/C 2. Mold smell? Cooling issues?

Dash Lights 3. They would not illuminate? Short circuited (lights faded in and out)?


I'm sure theres a more informed / up-to-date person on these forums somewhere whom have experienced these problems or seen them before that could help. A suggestion if I may suggest? Post a thread once in a while with any of your vehicle problems, I've done this on multiple occasion's and my brother alike, we've always found this site to have an infinite of knowledge and HOW-TO repair info from the MB World community.

Good luck Cairorex, I'm sure everything will work out for you.
Thank you,
Adam

 

im with you, **** mb

the most unreliable piece of **** ever.

my clk55 was in the shop at least 30 times in the 39 months i owned it.

after the warranty expired my alternator and main ecu failed, i had to pay close to $3000 to fix them (thank god my dealership took the hit for parts, i just paid for the labor and 25% of parts).

then i took my car for a lease end inspection and they tell me "its in excellent condition".

i get a the bill after i returned the car, $73xx.xx

given that i went 23000mi over the 39000, i was expecting a $5xxx.xx bill

they charged me 700 for wear and tear (they told me my car was excellent)

they ended up waiving that.

i offered them $3500, based on the fact that i spent close to $3000 to fix the ****in car 2 months before the lease was up and that i spent at least 6 months (all together) in ****in c class loaner cars. thay said no, "well give you 15% off"

now i dunno whether to pay them or do somethin else (dont have a clue as to what)



btw,
my dad traded in his ml55 for a 07 ml500, 600mi later the front axle housing broke

and its not like its my only mb, my family has had about 10mb's since 96

**** mercedes

 

NO issues here with the ML, and we all know the rep MLs have. Running strong for 5 years now.