try www.cars.com

 

MB has had my car since Monday for this. Still not fixed! Been told that since door could not open from inside or out they were having difficulty getting to latch system. Today was told they replaced the handle, but door will not open! Let's see what Thursday brings. This is so frustrating!

 

This doesn't explain why the Japanese luxury SUVs have fewer issues. It's pretty clear that the European brands simply do not invest in the same level of pre-roll-out testing, and as a result, some of their testing is left to the consumer. I've known that for years, but the benefit of owning a vehicle like this far outweigh the cost. It's a shame that it suppresses resale value, since I would ALWAYS prefer an older German car over an older Japanese car. German cars may break more, but they seem to be made to run forever.

A digital Timex watch is more reliable than a Rolex.

 

And how advanced are door handles and door latch mechanisms!!?? Just got a call from MB that they will now need to keep my car until Monday. Had to order another part, disassemble the door, blah, blah, blah. One week (min) to repair a door handle? WTF! This is starting to really bug me. First it was the mirrors (also not very advanced technology), then the clanking of the shocks, now the door handle. What next? Starting to lose faith in quality as well as ability of my dealer to do repairs.

 

I'd like to read this whole thread before replying, but I don't have time so here's my two cents.

First of all, last year I was able to go to the Consumers Union in Yonkers, NY on a day that they have some kind of annual meeting for all the nutbags that are in love with them. I only went because I got credit for a business course I was taking in college. Honestly, the people that are Consumer Reports readers are not generally Mercedes owners. Most of them were very old and frugal to the point of cheap. Nothing wrong with that, but certainly not the same type of people that will generally buy a Mercedes.

Also not sure if this was mentioned, but Mercedes-Benz USA sued CR a few years ago if I'm not mistaken because they thought they were being unfairly treated by them. The guy at CR seemed very excited when people brought the lawsuit thing up and said that they have been sued many times and that no one has one. F--- them. I can't even convey to you the smug attitude of the wierdos that worked there. They really think they are like these selfless perfect people protecting society from "evil corporations."

I also hate that Consumer Reports will comment on reliability for a new model (say when the 2008 C-Class came out) even though they are basing this on their data for the OLD model! This is not scientific at all. The two are completely different vehicles despite sharing the same name. This alone shows me that they should not be trusted to objectively review cars.

One other thing, since we are on the subject we should note that Mercedes-Benz has been moving up and up on the JD Power Initial Quality Satisfaction survey (another thing I have some issues with), but however, this is good. Most people don't know anything other than an automakers number rank on the survey, but if you look further you find out that in reality the scores between Mercedes and Lexus are just several points apart in the raw score, which indicates very little difference in the two. But unfortunately most people only care about where a brand or vehicle falls on the list not realizing that the number 5 company probably only has a few more reported "problems" than the number 1 brand. Also the fundamental problem with JD Power IQS is that they do not make a distinction between a DEFECT and a design choice. For example, if a customer puts something about brake dust on the survey, or small cupholder, this would be counted as one problem, just the same as if the engine blew up. This is a major flaw in the survey in my opinion. While I personally would never read Consumer Reports or JD Power surveys to make a car choice, I know that many people do look at this survey before buying cars. So for that reason I'm happy that Mercedes is moving up on their survey.

 

I have many times seen CR post reliability results for a new model as N/A (or "Not Enough Data," something like that).

I'll make a radical suggestion; don't rely on CR for your car purchase choices, and stop subscribing if you currently do. (I assume you do because you went to the meeting? Could be wrong.)

 

I don't pay any attention to them for my purchases. It only makes me disappointed to think they are alienating potential buyers who take these kind of things at face value.

Also I do not subscribe, I only attended this meeting for a course at school as I said above. And I definately have seen them comment on reliability for some new cars when I flipped through the car issue at Borders.