bigben320e

I have been around this forum and some others for quite a while, with over 10 years of owning Benz's. From observing many problems, posts, personal and friends experiences with Benz's I have heard a lot of feedback. From praises and their Benz was the best thing since cut bread, to complaints, and some ready to drive their Benz straight through the dealership or off a cliff.

Mercedes has gone through their trials and issues throughout the years and they have put out some really awesome cars, along with some dogs. What I would to know and get feedback and discussion around is how was/is your experience of ownership of Benz's? Understand, this is talking from a holistic standpoint (if you want to nitpick, fine). No flaming or baiting please, thanks! Floor is open, let's discuss.

M4TT

I haven't owned any Mercs myself, but my family has. We had an E Class from 99' I believe, that was an excellent car. We also had an early ML, it was an electrical nightmare. We also had a SLK AMG that was leased, cool little car with very little problems. Then a family member bought a SLS, and it's had a fair share of problems.

SunshineGirl

Between my husband and I, we have owned 8. Up until our 2005 E500, i would have to say they were the best cars, comfortable, most fun to drive and downright dependable. Least expensive to own, as far as repair costs that is. The 2005 was the biggest piece of Junk by far. Sold it with less than 10,000 miles on it. Our '94 & 99' E's ran beautiful, sold both with almost 100,000 miles, but had replaced trans at 96,000 on both! I thought it was because they were 4-matic and therefore put more stress on trans, so we bought an '06 E350 thinking the 320's had plenty of power,got great gas millage and maybe without the 4-matic my trans would last longer. Nope, it is shot at 46,000 miles! Just had her towed to the shop. My mercedes dealer tells me with my 20% on parts discount it will cost me $6300.00 to have a refurbished trans put in. Understand that they will not even offer a new one.
I have an '09 clk550 amg with 32,000 miles on it with the same base transmission, i am thinking of selling it too. I am tired of dealing with transmission issues! MB just isn't what it used to be.
Not to mention that they seem to be cutting corners to make more money as the parts that were chrome before are now plastic with chrome finish of some kind. The road noise is louder than my older cars and after further inspection, I can see that they have removed insulation that was between the wheel wells and interior of door panels. I guess that was why my older models felt so much more solid and drove much quieter. I am frankly really disappointed with the quality standards as of late. I had hoped when Chrysler got out of the picture they would go back to their renowned quality standards that i had grown accustomed to, but i guess that past is in the past. I will have to continue on the search for a new brand to rely on, because i can't rely on MB anymore. I am just glad that no one was hurt and that my kids weren't with us when this happened.

bigben320e

Yep, been hearing a lot around those same issues and concerns. It's surprising after all this time only 2 responses?

SunshineGirl

It is strange isn't it.
I am thoroughly sad that MB hasn't stepped it back up a few notches. I had hoped it wasn't over. I guess the relationship is at it's end. I wish I could find a new love that will be as reliable, comfortable and as fun to drive as these cars used to be. I am going to try out tesla, but the distance thing is a huge problem. Maybe i will go for a Lexus. Drove Hyundai, Toyota, and a Nissan, just isn't as exciting. Although, I have to say that Nissan had plenty of pep, was great on gas and looks pretty. I drove it for a month when i rented it. I think as far as sedan goes, there are a lot of options out there. Even thought about trying Jaguar. Not sure what to do. Didn't have time to test drive anymore this week.

bigben320e

Perhaps BMW? I have been eyeing the 650iL gran coupe, surprisingly as I have hated the looks of most of the new BMW's for a few years now. Audi?

Don't get me wrong, I love my Benz's, have three of them, one is 12 years old now. However, as reasons you pointed out, I don't see myself getting another outside of the possibility of the CLS, which the body style change still has not completely grown on me. The old style CLS I have, still is a head turner and I prefer it.

One of my co-workers drives a Tesla S now, and we rode it around. Great feel, awesome technology, quiet and very responsive. The distance..yes that is a problem though. I know that are building charging stations, but we shall see.

SunshineGirl

I loved the older CLS! Hot car. But when I went to sit in the back seat, I hit my head on the roof pretty hard.
I couldn't afford that one when it first came out, but after clonking my noggin so hard I was afraid I might have issues with passengers doing the same.
I love the sloped roof line though and I agree, yours is better looking than the new design.

I did drive the new BMW 650i convertible. Very nice, but 109$ seems high considering they still have a rag top and I didn't like the way the cover looked when the top was down. Just don't like that black plastic.
I have to agree with you, something seems amiss with most the BMW's to me. Overall, I was impressed with the 650.
I like the Maserati, but the gas millage would kill me!
Just can't do it.
I love the feel and styling. Why can't they make one that gets better gas millage?

rlucas

1983 CD 300 = wonderful car
1999 ML 320 = worst vehicle ever owned!
2003 CLK 55 AMG = great! no problems.
2008 E 350 Sport = perfect except tires cannot rotate and wears early
2009 E 320 Bluetec = Awesome! 38MPG!
2011 ML 550 = Powerhouse and awesome!

pmanyam

Hi All,

I just recently (Aug 2013) purchased my first MB product (E350 Wagon). I've owned Audi, BMW, Honda, Kia, etc. My Dad purchased our first MB when I was 10 years old and I can tell you the date, the weather conditions, the general events of that day we purchased our first MB (300SD). It was a very special experience for our family. The car was beloved within our family and stayed with us longer than any other car my parents owned.

Fast Forward to August 2013. My son is 10 years old. I just purchased an E350 wagon - so much of this parallels that MB that I had grown up with. I took my kids with me to the dealer for the closing to pick up the car and wanted to share this experience of getting a Mercedes with them. I go there, the dealership had a lot of customers browsing (nice Labor Day weekend Saturday). We spent a lot of time just waiting around for various things and people so that we could take delivery (despite having an appointment and emailing documents and info ahead of time as they requested). So the dealership experience was really nothing to write home about, no big deal, kids were at least excited about the car so that's all that was important!

We were driving home from the dealer and the car loses power, I was able to safely pull over to the side of the highway. I did the whole roadside assistance thing, then called my wife to come and get the kids so they could be safe, I wanted to wait for the towing company as I just signed a lot of money for this vehicle and wanted to personally be involved in what is happening. I called the dealer and they said they would leave a loaner car in their parking lot for me to use in the meanwhile (they were just closing). I waited 4 hours for the tow truck (Labor Day weekend). My son and I wanted to watch the opening day of college football together, which I completely missed doing with him as a result.

Lost my entire Saturday with this ordeal and overall I was not upset that the car broke down, nobody is perfect and things happen. What really got me aggravated was that I considered Mercedes-Benz as a premier automotive company and for some reason I expected someone (at least the dealership) to reach out and comfort / assure me through this process maybe even throw me a bone for what I'm going through. The days after this were far worse, I was too embarrassed to even tell anyone what happened, so I kept it a secret. It took 12 days to diagnose and repair and they couldn't find what was wrong, so they replaced the Engine Control Module (the brain of the car) and everything now works (seemingly).

I let MB know (through my survey feedback) that I expected a higher level of care and customer service on this. I got a call from MB (at my request) and they told me this is why they have the warranty program on cars, to take care of incidents like this!

Unfortunately, there is far more in the story to tell as well, but this is the basic idea. I felt really let down, that the Customer Service at MB and the dealership don't seem to "care" that I just spent a lot of money to get a premium vehicle. If this were a 5 star hotel, you should be able to expect the hotel staff to do their level best to make things right should anything happen - even if it is beyond their control, a 3 star hotel, I would think it reasonable to assume not to expect them to do a whole lot about a situation. I felt like I got a 3 star experience; like I should be grateful that they were able to sell me an MB product, not the other way around!

Benzbias

First Benz 380SEC - outstanding car - some issues but superb car - far superior to Ford/GM products.
2nd Benz 560 SEC - very good car but sacrificed handling (front end heavy) for power - some issues (control module, oil leak,)
3rd Benz CL55 AMG - super design and power (watch out for ABC $$$$, transmission shift lock, $650 keyless entry plastic door handles, hidden door/dash wire harnesses that inexplicably fail, and replacement shocks (shocking))
4th Benz CL550 - car handles like a Buick, sun visors thin - feel like cardboard, no two level vanity light, gas cap cover flimsy/ultra thin compared to AMG, serious lack of insulation (road noise), shiny plastic masquerading as chrome, interior leather quality much inferior, poorer braking, poorer gas mileage - (city and highway) - every discernible aspect seems to have been downgraded albeit only to the degree that it is marginally better than say GM or other similar yet lessor comparables - it's as if MB has a slide rule that engineers use to assess the quality to a fraction better but perhaps for more than a fraction of the cost. Just replaced a light bulb $210 + tax plus $50 labour. Pulleeeze - I can afford it but the real question boils down to one of value. I guess so long as the others slip MB can follow a step behind - a slippery slope. Service pales in comparison to even 5 years ago both in technical expertise and personality - and in some instances integrity. My first Benz unlike the CL550 did not require new rotors with every brake pad change.
Wife's flawless Infinity at 1/3 the price compares most favourably - and has been a real eye opener on the value equation - with superior service for minor maintenance items.
Next vehicle? Can you say TESLA?

marsh1

Bought my first in July. GL63. The finance dept at the dealer was a disaster and I was not even financing the car. Wanted to just do the paperwork and get out of there. Agreed to get the pre-paid maintenance so the rep would make a buck. Got home and realized she marked it up $400. Finally got it refunded but got the impression this is standard practice and could not get a call from upper management to express my displeasure.

The AMG technology is nice but the turbo lag makes be wonder if I should have ordered a 2012 Range Rover Sport instead. I had the dealer do the REENtech upgrade amd love the power but REENtech does not offer a Turbo upgrade for the GL to fix the lag. Two trips so far for service. Electric door lock that did not work from day one. Lane change sensor fell into the bumper. Outside door handle failed on the door that had a earlier lock issue. A few other electronic gremlins show up on occasion and I have to reset the function.

I needed the carrying capacity of the GL and on a road trip the power and ride is fantastic. I like the car and if there are no more problems will enjoy driving it. I was just expecting more.