mikapen

The difficulty for a Moderator is that the "attackERS" are often (usually?) the ones complaining about attacks.
It's called Deflecting.

I think the Mod's do a great job. It's hard to say how egregious posters should get before being given a Time to Think. It's an Art, not a Science.

MB Poppa

I’m a fairly new member of this forum and new MB GLE owner but I have to say the general tone of this forum is a little disheartening.

I occasionally peruse the competitor’s forum which I considered before buying my GLE350, just to see the general attitude/tone of owners, and I have to say it seems much more friendly, amicable, and supportive…Makes one wonder about the vehicle and owner community one bought into…

I’d say a little less ‘one-upsmanship’, ‘I’m smarter than you’ and a littler more ‘Thanks for the advice’ and ‘Please’ would go a long way in toning down the vitriol of this group.

Empathy and support should be the common goal.

Thanks for allowing me to post 😊

Lucky 777

Since it seems my post started the poo storm, I'll take the blame. My only intent was a humorous response to point out not everyone seems to feel this car is the POS the OP implied. In retrospect, I should have recognized that post as a troll and ignored it.

whitewagon

perhaps it's time to shut down this post.

I will say on other MB, BMW, Porsche and Aston Martin forums the tone is a bit more helpful... sometimes new owners have expectations that are high.

mikapen

Yeah you should have. In retrospect, I'm sure you weren't surprised by angst you caused by liking your car. Tsk tsk. 🫤🙂

Not too long ago, people were discussing cars. This changed recently. I don't think it was the cars.

Frenetic

There is no empathy or understanding if you post about issues here, not that we’re expecting any. Just pushback, insults and harassment. The reason people want to inquire about these issues is that we’re curious if others experienced the same thing and how they fixed it. We’re curious if we are the first. In my brief time here as an active user, this place can become outright hostile if you want to discuss about these issues, especially if you place blame on MB, which is where most of these issues emanate from.

Toxic people here and I honestly believe it is why this place is so empty. I noticed it back when I was a happy buyer and I couldn’t figure out why there were so few users back then relatively speaking. I can only assume others in my situation were treated similarly with contempt and “you’re doing it wrong” and “that’s how it’s supposed to work,” when in fact these people were posting legitimate concerns about a broken car.

And yes, SW is correct. This place just made me angrier. I feel like people are trying to hide MB’s utter failings when it comes to the V167 for god knows whatever reason. This car represents a significant investment for me; I’ve never spent this much on a car in my life and I almost always usually lease. I took out a loan for almost $100k to get this thing. That’s a lot of money to me. I’m not S class rich, but I’ve always enjoyed nice cars and I don’t mind spending a lot. I took the plunge on buying instead of leasing as I assumed Mercedes was better than Audi or BMW. I was wrong. I’ve owned a lot of new cars in my life and this one has more problems than my previous four cars combined. If I want to call this car a POS, I’ve certainly earned that right. I’m paying for it and I can call it whatever I want.

MB Poppa

Then can we all just agree to change that hostility going forward? Replace hostile replies/remarks with what most of us were taught growing up about kindness and use of kind words towards one another?…It all starts with “you”, “me”…Again not seeking to one-up or slam, but empathize and assist.

superswiss

As they say, "it takes two to tango".

Frenetic

The only hostility I’m showing is against MB. However, this situation and my tone partially arose from insults, attacks and harassment for posting my concerns. I’m not attacking anyone, but I’ve certainly been on the receiving end of it.

mikapen

No forum is immune, including a couple you mentioned. Some of the same folks behave the same way there as they do here.

Six months ago this was one of the most helpful forums I visited. Been here a decade+.

People could complain about their cars, or Mercedes, and other participants would reach out, do research and offer suggestions.

Now, suggestions are called "Attacks" and the ensuing ridicule directed at anybody offering assistance begins.

You were right about this particular thread, and a couple others. I haven't seen this much lack of respect before, and the grudges that fester.
​​​​​​
So I hope I'm right, to hope for a more civil trend here.
I still have a lot to learn about my car, and some knowledge to share.

We all do.
​​​​​​

Baltistyle

Saw this and am the same. Insanity to be Nannied for some bucks. Some people really don’t understand the slippery slope of signing up. Good luck to them and the leash around their necks.

mikapen

How about a conspiracy theory?

To save money, the insurance company decides that you shouldn't exceed 90 miles an hour. They send a signal to your Nanny device and limit your speed to 90 just as you are completing a pass and you end up piling head on into the oncoming traffic because you couldn't pull back in.

Just like signing up for a money saving utility plan and having your thermostat set to 90° because it's hot and they can't provide enough power to the grid.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but sometimes that seems to be the only explanation.....🙁

Edit: My apologies for making a tongue in cheek post. I thought the emoji would indicate my attempt at humor, but some seem to believe it, no matter how preposterous it might be.

benzbell

For Pete's sake this is an anonymous Internet car forum. Relax and enjoy.

Ron.s

This language isn’t helpful either as you attempt to judge someone in a negative manner…”marginalize others?” Is that a personal attack? You arrived on the V167 Forum recently so you might be missing some perspective on the history of some of these complaints, IMO.
One party has never posted a single substantial complaint with any details about attempted remedy, trip to the Dealer, work order, etc. When first asked about any Dealer response (not by me) there was a comment that he was busy and would take it in later. Then no follow up with repeated requests for some validation, so this begins to create a credibility issue. Treating major and minor issues as equal and then never backed up with details that others can understand, begins to get pushback. There’s at least a moral obligation to treat helpful responses to your reported issues with a good faith explanation when asked. In fact, if one wants to file a Lemon Law claim or hire an Attorney they need to provide the Dealer with several good faith attempts to make repairs. Anyone with 5 rattles should have no trouble with getting a Dealers help to repair something like that.
As any long time V167 members can attest-I had a lot of issues with my 4/2019 build of my 2020 GLE 450. It took about a year and a lot of inconvenience but all issues were resolved. I still enjoyed the car in spite of the issues and always made sure to have a positive attitude with the Dealer Service Associates. If you get a bad experience there are usually alternatives.
If a person gets a car with issues then they are entitled to vent about them and will get sympathy in most cases. After that it’s time to figure out the best course of action. There is a lot of knowledge on this Forum that can be helpful if utilized in a positive way. It won’t change the fact that there are issues but might help with solutions. Too much ‘bashing” erodes support.

sgawiser

In spite of all the noise, I have found this forum extremely useful particularly this year while trying to figure out what was happening with our new car. I got a great deal of information and help from participants.
As someone who has done polling on all kinds of questions and overseen multiple millions of interviews, I would make a couple of points. First, individuals who have issues with a product are much more likely to post on internet forums than people who do not. Second, there is something about extreme posts that make the posters feel good when they stir things up. The best way to improve the conversation is to only respond with corrections or suggestions rather than characterize individuals with negative responses.

I must add that the automobile forums are much better than most in terms of good information compared to junk.

SW20S

I'm trying to get my point across, and I read the forum for a long time before I ever posted in it. I read a lot of forums on here that I don't post in. If you want to see change, you need to be the change you want to see.

People have different levels of willingness to deal with a problematic car. To some people ANY issue that involves them having to deal with the dealership is frustrating. Trying to get a dealership to solve an issue takes a lot of energy and time and some people have it to give and some don't. I have what I feel like is a bad motor mount in my S560 and I am dreading having to deal with convincing the dealer there's an issue and getting it solved. You may have been able to enjoy the car through a bunch of issues and dealer service visits and keep a positive attitude, but not everybody can...myself included.

Thats why my experience here gives me a lot of pause about getting a GLE or GLS, I just do not want that sort of situation in my life. Thats why I drove Lexus vehicles for so long...

superswiss

I can definitely understand that dealing with issues is frustrating, not just cars. I'm always dreading calling any customer support and fight my way through their scripts before getting to a resolution, even if I already troubleshooted the issue myself, they make me go through the whole thing again. For example I just had my Nest thermostat replaced under warranty because the battery was faulty. I almost got to the point of screaming at the Indian support worker I could barely understand until she finally fast tracked the process and got the replacement going.

Unfortunately, the reality is that things do break and you gonna have to deal with it if you don't just wanna go out and replace the product by buying a new one. Not sure what to tell you there. I'm not sure why some people are so afraid of dealing with dealerships. Admittedly, getting my buzzing rear dampers replaced was a bit frustrating going back multiple times, but the vast majority of issues I had with cars were taken care of w/o much fanfare. One also needs to understand that they didn't design, engineer and build the car and require support from the manufacturer that they don't always get in order to resolve issues. Especially when it comes to software issues.

It's about building a relationship with your service advisor, so they understand that you are not full of s h i t and can handle things in a professional way. My service advisor knows that I know my cars and I know what I'm talking about, so they are not really giving me any grief, but I also don't give them grief. It's a two-way street. I do have to say that the really good service advisor I had originally changed jobs and is no longer there, so that's a bit of a bummer.

Maybe I've been lucky with the dealerships/shops and service advisors around here. Maybe I have a knack for finding competent people to help me with my issues, I don't know, but overall I mostly had positive experiences. I also have a really good indy shop for anything that I need done outside of warranty work, and or aftermarket parts such as replacing brakes etc. I've worked with those guys for years and they know how I like things done. The more resourceful you are yourself the easier it is to get things resolved.

TonyF61

Sometimes, it is the actual dealership. Not sure why, but some are more helpful than others.

When I first picked my GLE back in January, I had an issue with the dash cam, nav and AR. Dashcam and AR would work intermittently, although not at the same time, and nav would give totally incorrect "next turn" distances. For instance, I would be the first car at a traffic light where I needed to make a turn, and nav would say to turn in 500 feet. Therefore, not looking at the screen, I would pass the intersection that was 10 feet away.

Went back to dealership four times. All they kept doing was updates, but never solved the problem. On the last visit, I went for a drive with the shop foreman, who drove me car on the third visit and said it was resolved. He noticed first hand how AR wasn't working at all, and turn distances were inaccurate. His response was "This technology isn't perfect, they are still working on it." And his suggestion to me was to come back when an update is released. I asked how I would now that, and he said "Ask every time you come in". If felt that was just BS and unacceptable.

I went to another dealership, which is actually closer to me. They fixed everything on the first visit. I now go there whenever I need anything.

IMO, service is the bread and butter of dealership; therefore, I don't understand why some are just so below par than others. It causes them to loose customers like me, and the money I would have spent on maintenance and service, as well as future sales.

PandaSPUR

I never understood why dealerships are so reluctant to do work under warranty. Dont they get paid by MB for that anyway?

mikapen

Yes they do get paid for warranty work, but I don't know what the reimbursement rate from Mercedes is these days.
It used to be equivalent to customer pay, but I'll look into it in the next week or two, asking my service manager.

Some manufacturers used to be fair and generous with their warranty reimbursement rate, while others scrimped. Yes, it can affect their willingness to do warranty work. That was another reason I liked MB, but I don't know if it's still true.
I'll find out when I take the other car on for Service.

And, yes, I drive 60 miles past the closest dealer, who changed management and lost my service business plus five sales.

haibieb

The way I see forums, they are like the weather: some days are sunny with great stories and comments and other days are cloudy with thunderstorms - controversial comments etc. We should not read too much into the words but always take them for what they are: people sometimes including myself become somewhat disappointed with our vehicles. But at the end of the day, the issues are resolved eventually. Like I was told when I first started in the field of fleet management and working for Mercedes Benz (for two years), we did not built the vehicles, we just fix them to the best of our ability. The MB dealership for better or worse are on the same boat. Let's keep those stories coming.

Frenetic

Someone said two-way street. That summarizes this nicely. The issue here is that people don’t rain on anyone’s parade if they are singing praises. I paid over $110k with tax and I if I want to call this car a POS because of all of the issues I’ve had, I’m certainty entitled to and I shouldn’t have to endure insults, harassments and attacks for doing it anymore than Johnny Fanboy receiving insults because they’re kissing MB’s *ss.

We all have varying levels of expectations. I know this is an imperfect world, but this is the first car I’ve ever purchased that ran into the six figures; I put a lot of my hard earned money into this thing. It’s the first Mercedes I’ve ever owned and it was an aspirational vehicle for me. I certainly wasn’t expecting perfection, but what I got is very unbecoming of something this expensive. It’s disappointing it has so many quality and other issues. I agree with Consumer Reports on this one. Had I been surveyed, I would have scored it the same (which was dead last), which means there are probably a lot more people out there that are also experiencing issues that aren’t necessarily here or bothered to openly complain about as much I do.

Neurobit

We own two ‘21 GLEs. My wife’s GLE350, and my GLE53 AMG.
Both are fantastic vehicles. Zero issues with either one.

Lucky 777

Shame on you! I also enjoy my car and that seems to be poorly tolerated here.

SW20S

Where did anybody say it was poorly tolerated? It just doesn't negate the issues that others are having, the issue is you post it like it somehow makes their issues imaginary or explains them away.

When someone is sick, do you go up to them and say "Well, I feel great"?

What you need to get away from is taking it personally that people have issues with a model of car that you own and are satisfied with.