Yegor Branko

hi, please tell me, Mercedes assembled in the USA and Mexico, is the build quality worse than a Mercedes assembled in germany? or is there no particular difference?

places

I would like to see data reflecting warranty claims for cars made in each of these countries.

Yegor Branko

Well, I'm talking about new Mercedes models, is the build quality different or not?

hyperion667

People suck everywhere, in all lands.....however, I feel the sucking is much higher when it comes to American work ethics and standards. Again! people suck everywhere.

ygmn

Also depends on where PARTS are made to assy cars and what car/suv is being built.

You would need to compare apples to apples which you will not find.

superswiss

Hard data for this is not being published by Daimler as far as I know and most models that are built in the USA are not built anywhere else such as the GLE and GLS, so there isn't any direct comparison. Daimler has long stopped calling their cars Made in Germany, and instead calls them Made by Mercedes-Benz supposedly to all the same quality standards regardless of the factory they were built in. Anecdotal evidence, though, suggests that the quality of the USA plant at least early on wasn't up to par. The best comparison is the C Class sedan vs C Class coupe. The former is built in the USA and the latter in Germany. The sedan is also built in South Africa, while the coupe is exclusively being built in Germany.

If you ask shop foremen and mechanics, the answers you tend to get is that the USA built sedans have more build quality issues than the German built coupes. They have more rattles and such, and also paint issues, because environmental regulations differences require different paint formulas in the USA vs Germany. The coupe is a niche product, so there are fewer being sold than the sedan, but it does seem that more complaints are coming from folks that own a sedan vs coupe, but again that could just be skewed by the relative number of sedan vs coupe owners on these forums.

There are definitely work ethics differences between the cultures. I was born and raised in Europe, and later moved to the USA and I pretty much spent half my life on each continent. To this day it amazes me how the "it's good enough" mentality in the USA prevails vs the perfectionism that's practiced in Western Europe, specifically places like Germany. Having said that, though, German manufacturing and engineering isn't what it used to be anymore. The "good enough' mentality has also taken hold to some degree, because many car buyers lease, so the cars only have to hold up for three years and then the customers move on to the next model.

places

I understand. It's not a simple yes or no.

IMO I would like to see data before judging. QC is tighter now than before. There was a time (and still might be) in which the difference between a German made car was better than US or Mexico made.

Some MB models mades in Germany have nagging issues as do those not made in Germany.

chassis

Quality, reliability and dependability for Mercedes-Benz vehicles is generally low, unfortunately.

This is true in the US-built models, and it also seems true for non-US-built models judging from posts on this site, and third party rating/survey agencies. This is subjective, but born out through experience and comments from users.

superswiss

I definitely have a lot of issues with the statistics that are showing this. I don't put a lot of value into J.D. Powers, but it's a good example of questionable statics. They rely on consumers filling out surveys. I've never filled one out myself. They go straight into the recycling bin. I'm not sure who fills them out. If you look at J.D.'s most dependable brands (problems per 100 vehicles), Mercedes-Benz does come in below all the other Germans at 152 problems per 100 vehicles. The best is VW at 116 problems per 100 vehicles. But what exactly does that mean? If you look at these numbers, they are poor to begin with. Even the most reliable brand Genesis is at 80 problems per 100 vehicles. I can't think of any other product that people buy that has an 80% or higher failure rate essentially. Yet we squabble over 80 problems per 100 vehicles compared to 152 problems per 100 vehicles. Yes, it seems that every MB sold has at least a problem and 50% have a second problem, but the reality is that some have no problems and others have several problems. The owners with problems are generally the most vocal and come to forums like this one to vent and seek help. You rarely see threads from happy owners about how they are not having any issues. Also, what exactly is a problem. Since the J.D. Powers surveys are self-reported results, it's up to whoever fills out the survey to decide what a problem is. Could be as simple as them not understanding a feature and needing to bring the car in to get educated and in their eyes it's a problem. I kind look at these like Yelp reviews. You have to ignore about 90% of them to get to the bottom of what the real situation is. YMMV, but so far my first and ever Mercedes-Benz is more confidence inspiring or at least similar than other cars I've owned. I've owned Japanese and German brands so far. Most of the cars I've owned needed only scheduled maintenance and consumables. The most problematic ones were actually my last two Audis. Both burned oil and I had some expensive out of warranty repairs with them. So far my first ever Mercedes ('19 C63S coupe, Made in Germany FWIW) has only needed scheduled service and a couple of loose ends from the factory and new tires due to the alignment getting out of spec. I'm only at 15k miles, but my last Audi had already been in the shop multiple times at 15k miles. I already feel more confident about this one. For example it has zero oil consumption. I'm sure things vary from model to model, too.

chassis

In the end, it's helpful to go with the gut. Read the surveys, and file them away as you choose. Experience a vehicle first hand. Then make a decision.

After having followed these steps, my conclusion is that Mercedes-Benz is an inferior brand, from a quality, reliability and dependability point of view. Unfortunately.

places

My personal experience has overall been pretty good. I have for the most part only owned the higher-lines (S, SL,G) with the exception of a couple C63's and an E. Maybe that makes a difference.

I do agree however that based on the many of MB's newer offerings and focus on the entry level market and tech instead of build quality, the product is not what it used to be or likely ever will again quality wise. Hence repairs and service visits are far more common. Also, rushing out year one releases loaded with issues and recalls. They are becoming just another automobile company that is in this case cashing in on their past legacy and brand. Mercedes of old would never have produced the crap they do today.

gfmohn

I can remember when VWs had bumper stickers that read "Made in the Black Forest by Elves". Saab picked that up and actually advertised "Made in Trollhatten by Trolls." (Trollhatten is.the town in Sweden where Saabs were made then.) "Made in Germany by Turks" refers to the thousands of Turkish "guest workers," whom West Germany invited into Germany. The "guests" never went home, and their descendants are actually just as respected as German workers, maybe more so. German engineers, not so much.

From 02/15 to 11/15, my 2015 early-production C300 was in and out of the dealer: misaligned trim pieces and gas flap, wind noise (driver-side window replaced with acoustic glass), little things like sunglasses holder door always dropping down, and big things like the Dreaded Wrist Pin issue. I had 11 or 12 different issues, and I didn't even have a sunroof! The W205 forum on MBWorld was full of complaints about sunroofs (leaks, wrinkled liners, etc. The then-new assembly plant in Alabama certainly had its teething problems,
,
The Dreaded Wrist Pin issue was a faint rattle of the pistons against the cylinder walls. The fix required removingTire Rim Calculator the engine (with all its interference) and replacing the pistons, wrist pins, and connecting rods. The bill would have been over $16,000, if I had had to pay it. It and all other problems were paid for under warrantee, but fixing the wrist pin issue alone cost me the use of the car for over three weeks. When I was concerned that the dealer service department might lack experience with such a major repair, the service manager grinned and said that they had already had "many" such repairs. Contrary to what you may have heard, the wrist pin issue was NOT due to shoddy workmanship in the then-new Tennessee engine factory. My engine and transmission were built in Germany. It was a design problem by the vaunted Mercedes engineering.

Below, you see me proudly taking delivery of my first Mercedes, a 2007 C280, in Sindelfingen. I never had any major trouble with that German-made car.

gfmohn

If you are considering a sedan, especially a C300, you don't have to worry about the U.S. choice. I just read that MB is ending sedan production in the Alabama plant. C300 sedans will come from South Africa. The W205 coupes and cabriolets will continue to come from Bremen (while they are still available).

gfmohn

I was correct to qualify my previous post with "while they are still available," referring to MB coupes and cabriolets. You won't have to worry about coupes and cabriolets in the U.S. much longer. Jalopnik is quoting a report from Automotive News that MB "plans to jettison seven car models from the U.S. market. ... But according to a source familiar with the plans, there could be more than seven models. Those under consideration are the coupe and convertible versions of the S-, C- and E-Class nameplates, as well as the CLS coupe and one of the brand’s GT models, according to the source." (The Automotive News article itself is behind a paywall.)