With all the QA problems, the "best" era for MB??
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From: Long Island
'07 Porsche 997TT
With all the QA problems, the "best" era for MB??
A pretty subjective question. But with all the problems, (just scan the different forums today) declining customer sat., etc. I was wondering something. Safety features aside, what years, or era do you think MB was at it's height. Or, maybe you think it's at it's height now. I guess i'm referring to overall fit 'n finish, and just that very high quality that MB was/is famous for. I guess some of our more "mature" owners would be best qualified to answer if they've owned many Benz'!
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From: Torquay, England
E-class E300e Estate, Sprinter (stretched limo)
It must be very difficult to even attempt a comparison. There can't be many owners of a 'fully kitted' 211 that has not had the odd niggly problem, but to be fair older Mercedes-Benz did not have the 'bells and whistles' of our 211's.
Would an older Mercedes-Benz go 20,000 miles before the very first service? Not use oil between these marathon distances?
Have a 30 year warranty against rust?
It still amazes me watching my wife unlock the car, electric exterior mirrors unfold, SBC starts gurgling. Drivers seat moves for Easy Entrance, exterior mirrors might adjust, headlights automatically adjust themselves, and switch on if there is poor light. Windscreen wipers that come on automatically if it starts to rain, etc etc. The list is nearly endless so I have decided to stop
Having said that I would love to own a nice 1960's SL (just for Sunday drives though)
Regards to everyone
John
Night time in Torquay
Would an older Mercedes-Benz go 20,000 miles before the very first service? Not use oil between these marathon distances?
Have a 30 year warranty against rust?
It still amazes me watching my wife unlock the car, electric exterior mirrors unfold, SBC starts gurgling. Drivers seat moves for Easy Entrance, exterior mirrors might adjust, headlights automatically adjust themselves, and switch on if there is poor light. Windscreen wipers that come on automatically if it starts to rain, etc etc. The list is nearly endless so I have decided to stop
Having said that I would love to own a nice 1960's SL (just for Sunday drives though)
Regards to everyone
John
Night time in Torquay
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From: Southern California
I'd say that MB is currently enjoying the number of cars being sold here in the US. Just 10 years ago, they were getting waxed by the Japanese imports but today they seemed to have responded to that threat.
Quality-wise, I feel it has gone down somewhat when you compare the cars to previous generations. However MB has seemed to have balanced that with a whole slew of features. However one thing I feel is hurting the European manufacturer is the exchange rate. Maybe one day their cars will be made in China or someplace similar with a low wage labor force.
Quality-wise, I feel it has gone down somewhat when you compare the cars to previous generations. However MB has seemed to have balanced that with a whole slew of features. However one thing I feel is hurting the European manufacturer is the exchange rate. Maybe one day their cars will be made in China or someplace similar with a low wage labor force.
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From: Red Sox Nation (No. Va. chapter)
2004 E500
Originally Posted by glojo
Having said that I would love to own a nice 1960's SL (just for Sunday drives though)
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From: McLean, VA
S4
^agreed; late 50's to early 60's; today is not the best by any stretch, customer service is sh*t, for one thing; they do amazing things with the cars, but they just have too many damn problems, even the super-expensive models
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From: Singapore
E200 Kompressor (sold 2008), BMW 7 series (2009), now waiting for the E63
Originally Posted by F1Fan
However one thing I feel is hurting the European manufacturer is the exchange rate. Maybe one day their cars will be made in China or someplace similar with a low wage labor force.
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From: Seattle, WA
'09 911 C4S
Originally Posted by wobbles
If that happens, you can be sure there'll be an endless stream of complaints about the quality or total lack thereof! It'll be MANY years before China catches up to the standards of the Japanese or even the Koreans, in terms of realibility and quality - at least that's the perception of many of us here in Singapore anyway :p
It's the quality control that's important but not where it's made. Just look at the inside of your computer and I bet you would find a lot of the parts that are made in China. Do they break down easily or lack quality? I don't think so. Again, just my $0.02. However, bimmer has contracted a manufacturer in China to make 3 Series in China.
For me, I like the era right before they switch the model designation to the front (230E vs E230). The build quality is superb (at least for the one that I drove).
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w211 & w124
My boss drives an '86 190E that has over 200,000 miles on it. He bought it new for about $33K and has had no major problems up until recently. The radiator is going out so his car tends to overheat in traffic or while driving in the city. He is getting ready to buy a new car now and says that over the years he not only got his money's worth out of that car but he actually made money off of it.
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From: Northern NJ
2014 BMW 550i
I think that when MB tried to integrate as many new features that they could think of (ie, the 600 "features" that they eliminating), and started to expand their car base to include more models is when the proverbial s**t hit the fan.
And as discussed, as important or maybe even more important than building the cars correctly, is having a dealer network that does a great job at servicing their customers. When I got my first service, it was like I was in the DMV. Sitting and waiting for your service advisor, hoping you get the "good" one, and the noise surrounding you was very uncalming. And then, it took them an entire week to work on my car (frankly not a huge problem since I am over mileage on my lease anyway). Then you get it back and half the things are not completely fixed.
So, first with the Nav fiasco, plentiful service problems, particularly on the earlier 03's, then an eventual decontenting in 05 to undo some of the problems (I would think that this new center console design is directly related to the repair rate on the pop up cupholder design, which I'm sure breaks often). I don't think that at the pricing that they charged back in the day, that the people purchasing the cars would have stood for that for very long. Remember when what was the equivalent of the CLK convertible, the 300 Cabrio, that it ended up costing ~ $80,000 if I am not mistaken.
And as discussed, as important or maybe even more important than building the cars correctly, is having a dealer network that does a great job at servicing their customers. When I got my first service, it was like I was in the DMV. Sitting and waiting for your service advisor, hoping you get the "good" one, and the noise surrounding you was very uncalming. And then, it took them an entire week to work on my car (frankly not a huge problem since I am over mileage on my lease anyway). Then you get it back and half the things are not completely fixed.
So, first with the Nav fiasco, plentiful service problems, particularly on the earlier 03's, then an eventual decontenting in 05 to undo some of the problems (I would think that this new center console design is directly related to the repair rate on the pop up cupholder design, which I'm sure breaks often). I don't think that at the pricing that they charged back in the day, that the people purchasing the cars would have stood for that for very long. Remember when what was the equivalent of the CLK convertible, the 300 Cabrio, that it ended up costing ~ $80,000 if I am not mistaken.
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From: Torquay, England
E-class E300e Estate, Sprinter (stretched limo)
Originally Posted by Kev04C320
Mr. Wobbles,
It's the quality control that's important but not where it's made. Just look at the inside of your computer and I bet you would find a lot of the parts that are made in China. Do they break down easily or lack quality? I don't think so. Again, just my $0.02. However, bimmer has contracted a manufacturer in China to make 3 Series in China.
It's the quality control that's important but not where it's made. Just look at the inside of your computer and I bet you would find a lot of the parts that are made in China. Do they break down easily or lack quality? I don't think so. Again, just my $0.02. However, bimmer has contracted a manufacturer in China to make 3 Series in China.
I watched an interesting program about the Chinese building exclusive motor yachts solely for export. The quality control was at best terrible, and totally unacceptable. When these yachts reached there destination local tradesmen were employed to refurbish these new vessels.
Regards,
John
Torquay by the sea
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Originally Posted by alewifebp
Remember when what was the equivalent of the CLK convertible, the 300 Cabrio, that it ended up costing ~ $80,000 if I am not mistaken.
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From: Seattle, WA
'09 911 C4S
Originally Posted by glojo
Although it is drifting off topic, I tend to agree with 'Mr Wobbles' to some degree.
I watched an interesting program about the Chinese building exclusive motor yachts solely for export. The quality control was at best terrible, and totally unacceptable. When these yachts reached there destination local tradesmen were employed to refurbish these new vessels.
Regards,
John
Torquay by the sea
I watched an interesting program about the Chinese building exclusive motor yachts solely for export. The quality control was at best terrible, and totally unacceptable. When these yachts reached there destination local tradesmen were employed to refurbish these new vessels.
Regards,
John
Torquay by the sea
