Enigma869

http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/29/pf/a...reut/index.htm


No big surprise...Mercedes and Range Rovers rank at the bottom of the list. Interesting read for people wanting to know more about Mercedes quality before plunking down their hard-earned money. For the record, I own a 2003 ML 500 and a 2004 Lexus LX470.

John from Boston

pointman

oh no...this again.

amb9800

What is this doing in the M-Class forum? Mods, this should be moved to General MB Discussion...

ruperto

Yeah, a bit disconcerting on the rankings, I admit. But I'm happy with my ML.

scorchie

I understand you have problems with your ML... I am sorry to hear that. However, I never had any major problems with mine. And I don't go posting around how few problems I have on any of my cars because... it doesn't matter to other people.

Different people have different ideas what they want from cars, and different requirements of why they buy certain cars. And thus we all have our opinions and our subjective reasons for buying (or not buying) certain vehicles. Each person is hopefully intelligent enough to make his decisions based on his own needs (thus I do not understand the "SHOULD I BUY THIS?" posts in forums, because ultimately, other people can never understand any other person's complete criteria, especially when none of those critera are mentioned).

Anyhow, I do not understand the point of your post that Lexus is #1 in reliability. Last time I checked, this is the M-class forum... if you really feel the need to discuss this sort of thing on MBWORLD (note the "MB"), I respectfully suggest you take it either to the "Off Topic" section or the "General Mercedes Discussion" areas. Personally, my preference would be to take it to a Lexus forum where you can gloat about it (I again do not understand the need to gloat here on MBWorld about how great Mercedes are, but that's a different issue, but I've learned to ignore those sorts of posts).

I feel that MBWorld is a place to share our issues and tips and tricks about Mercedes, and discover new things about those cars. If we want to do more than that, there are appropriate sections for those who feel this is a "social forum" or who would like to unvent and haven't paid for psychiatric professionals. I urge people to make use of the appropriate sections and otherwise to stay on topic in the other areas.

Why? Well, in typical the American-centric thought processes that most Americans have, most believe that Internet access is free or "all you can use" for one price (like a Las Vegas buffet). In many other places, and even now in the US with pay-per-MB mobile plans, it costs money for each byte transferred. I guess that mentality sort of fuels the "all Mercedes have power windows" because Americans can't imagine that someone from outside the US might be asking a question, although it is partially the fault of those who ask questions without indicating where in the world they are. (John, that's not directed at you because you obviously indicate that you are from Boston, and I appreciate that.)

Anyhow, I guess that might be asking too much for people to be considerate of other people.

-s-

autogunner

Look at the J.D.Power rankings though. The Mclass ranked second, Lexus being first but that is a huge improvement and the number it got is better than ANY other Mercedes Benz product they rated. Autogunner.

pointman

yeah.

Enigma869

Let me first say that I apologize for posting the link to CNN's article in the M class forum. I agree that I should have posted it elsewhere. Having said that, I am not on here gloating about Lexus or any other vehicle, period! I've made my feelings quite clear in previous postings about how I feel about the build quality of MB! I did not write the article. I simply posted the article because I do read various forums and see a myriad of post of people wishing to research a vehicle before they make a purchase and having as much information as possible is helpful.

To Scorchie...I respectfully disagree with you regarding "Each person is hopefully intelligent enough to make his decisions based on his own needs". Not everyone is as knowledgeable about a vehicle as you may be. While I acquiesce to you that we all should be able to identify our needs in a vehicle, there are many vehicles out there that will satisy the needs we've identified, so that's why most people attempt to do some research before purchasing a vehicle.

The bottom line is this...Mercedes has made enormous improvements to the M Class. When this vehicle first came to the market, it was one of the worse vehicles ever made, and now it's not the main reason MB is ranking so low in reliability. For those of you who are so quick to criticize another's opinion (and I've read many more harsh opinions on MB on these forums), you should take a moment to realize we're all MB fans. Do you seriously think any of us would plunk down our money for a vehicle we actually didn't like? That being said, it really is okay for anyone to be critical of an automaker who has a plethora of unhappy customers. Not everyone can be wrong about the problems that plague their vehicles.

And yes, I also read many posts from people on this forum who are thrilled with their M-Class and other classes of MB vehicles. I just think people need to stop being so defensive and acting as though they're being personally attacked when someone (in this case J.D. Power) actually says something not so flattering about a vehicle they own. I would hope if I asked an opinion on a vehicle I was considering purchasing, I would get honest feedback from those who actually own the vehicle. I believe unhappy MB owners have just as much right to express themselves as everyone on this forum who thinks MB makes the greatest vehicle on the planet!

In closing, I'm still driving my M-Class and don't think it's the worse vehicle ever made (and have never said any such thing on this forum or anywhere else!). I simply expressed flaws I experience with the vehicle everyday and stand by my earlier opinions that MB could greatly improve upon the present version of the ML! That being said, I also wrote a review on my Lexus after purchasing it on a Lexus forum, and did not say it was the best vehicle ever made. It's a good truck that has some design flaws, and I pointed out the flaws that I've experienced in my everyday driving. Let's hope people can continue to express their opinion (and that's all it is...opinion!) without being insulted!

John from Boston

autogunner

I agree with you and I would hope everyone is honest when asked about there MB products. In the Mclasses defense when it was designed it was to compete with Jeep and the Ford explorer. At that time they were its only compatition,and it listed for $32,000.00. Now their are over forty other SUVs in its class. But that is why the original was so cheap on the inside. Autogunner.

SEXYBEEST

I GENERLY DO NOT LIKE THE LOOKS OF THE LEXUS RX 300, THEY ARE FUGIN UGLY

UncAl

John, I think more meaningful results would come from comparing model-to-model, rather than the published company-wide survey results. For example, go to J.D. Powers site ...

Click Here!

and compare a 1998 ML320 to a 2003 LX-series. You will find that the results aren't all that different. In fact, the older ML scores higher than the LX in Mechanical Quality, Comfort, etc.

Thanks for the link, but headlines don't count as "research".