superangrypenguin

As some of you know (sorry), I've been doing my due diligence on the S vs the E (and the A6/A8), and making the right decision is really important to me. The only real downside to buying the E for me is the fact that I can't get the acoustic comfort package. That said, there are a lot of upsides to buying the E.

That said, this scared the pants off of me. Do you guys see this in your E classes?!



Here's another:



This is the W205 C class. Nothing to do with the E here, but wtf, same thing?!


and another

rbrylaw

It almost sounds like someone else is making a noise as the guy pushes against trim pieces. Let me tell you, without any doubt you can come push on the trim pieces in my car (which I've done) and you'll NOT hear anything like that. The E Class interior is IMHO, in a class of its own. Yes it is.

superangrypenguin

Precisely what I needed to know. Thanks. I'll make sure to review this myself. If only you saw the look on my face when I first saw those videos!

rbrylaw

For every brand out there, such as Audi, BMW, etc., you can find all sorts of videos on YouTube that are designed to shed doubt on the build quality of the brand someone is clearly trying to disparage. I take those things with a grain of salt and go by my own experience, which is there are no creaks or odd sounds from the trim in either of our cars like that at all.

Edit: Just look at any number of the professional E Class Reviews about the interior of the E class and you'll not see a single reviewer dinging the interior for just about anything.

superangrypenguin

To me the difference between your comment which I appreciate and every other reviewer is that to the credit to the people who filmed those videos I posted, most reviewers don't go around poking and prodding trim. And to be as fair and transparent as possible, I also have not done this and I've driven a few E and a few S classes (all MY2017/2018). I just didn't think to do this. That said, I did just go around poking around my W204 and it too is solid as a tank. Yeah if I push on the gauges hard enough it creaks, but I bet this happens on every car.

That said though, again, as per what I just wrote, to me your comment has a lot of credibility as you have done that yourself and as per your post you have not heard/seen this issue, so that means a lot to me. That said, other reviewers have not mentioned it, so I don't view that as a "MB doesn't have an issue", but I view that as a "they didn't bother testing that". Hopefully how I wrote that makes sense.

superangrypenguin

I don't know much about BMW, but I was a bit surprised to see a lack of said videos on Audi. (in a good way)

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...+build+quality

Videos above in my OP were found using this search term:

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...+build+quality

I think my test search terms are fair here!

rbrylaw

I got what you were saying. I honestly don't think you'll have any issue whatsoever with the build quality of an E class vehicle. The interiors of our cars are rock solid.

Germancar1

OMG man you can't be gullible. Seriously close this thread.

M

Stephen513

All of my E-Class loaners have been creaky...not sure why though

superangrypenguin

Gulp. If it's an E built on a Friday = squeaky Eeky! =(

wagonsrock

I have a 2018 E400 April build date with the acoustic package, which because its so quiet, emphasizes interior rattles. I have a couple of persistent ones: creaking from the interior visors when driving over slightly uneven local roads at low speed. This can be immediately stopped by partially lowering the visor, or pushing on the visor, but its kind of annoying. Nothing like the creaks in these videos, but drivers door panel also occasionally creaks a bit. On good roads, and at speed the car is very quiet. I had one driver induced really annoying rattle, which I eventually traced to using the sun glass storage box in front of the mirror/camera assembly. As soon as I removed the glasses noise went away; as expected it has minimal cushioning material in the case, so anything loose rattles, so prro design.

ua549

My 2018 E300 is about a year old. There are NO rattles, squeaks or other strange noises. What is noisy is the B63 - Engine Noise Over Speaker "feature". When the windows are open the fuel injectors ruin a quiet ride along the back roads. Build quality is excellent!

Egonvdv

only rattles i have are 2 speakers that vibrate within the door when calling or playing musc.
i did have a little rattle near the sunroof, but it was only once(?)

grossmsj

I have owned four Audis (2 x A4), S4, A6. I thought they were all really nice cars when I owned them. I just loved my last A4 and the S4. Aside from one problem on the last A4 that was quickly fixed after delivery, I never had any problems with them.
I bought my E400 and took delivery in May. IMHO, this car is in another league, quality-wise. I can't find any place to bicker about build issues. It is really well-built and exudes attention to detail (see the post about book-matched wood interior).
The only thing I wish was different is the E is just a little bigger than I like. I'd gotten used to how easy it is to drive the smaller Audi's. This E handles superbly well, so it's not like driving a boat. But you notice that things like pulling in the garage and parking need a little more attention than with the smaller Audis.
Given the superb build quality and amenities, I would not want to go to an even larger car like the S-class. It is purely a personal choice and I can completely understand why an S-owner would like those attributes.
Have fun with your purchase choice. You really can't make a bad decision here. You are only choosing among what's best.

superangrypenguin

Thank you for the advice. Just two hours ago I decided on the S class, only to read your feedback about Audis. (I basically went, yes, the Audi is $10K cheaper respectively (vs the S and the E), but Mercedes cars are more reliable (generally), so F it, I'm buying the S. Then I read your advice and I'm back to the ping pong table

(in all seriousness, thanks for taking the time to provide the info. Audis seem more reliable than the experience I had which is good to know.)

Slugsy

superangrypenguin

Which years and models out of curiosity?

Slugsy

superangrypenguin

Thanks. These aren't even first year model cars!

Slugsy

nas2344

loggato

I do a lot of plastic designing at my job (even interior bits)... Which taught me one important thing about car interiors: Plastic is noisy! especially when you have a laminated piece that is clear coated over faux wood over plastic over in-molded bosses/clips/plates etc. even the mildest amount of pressure will make some noise because you are causing expansion and contraction between pieces that are basically designed line to line (for fit and finish purposes) The only material I've been pleased with is soft-touch. plus it's almost impossible to design for real-case tolerances. it may look good in CAD, but the real life fit up can vary, which could easily cause pieces to feel loose.

superangrypenguin

And based on the timing, this is pre diesel-gate!! Can you imagine post Dieselgate (e.g. money pinching fools?)

Sigh.

Slugsy

dudley07726