Not sure if this is the right forum to post this. If it's misplaced, admins, feel free to move it:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/mercedes.html

For someone who's ready to take the plunge with a new S550, needless to say, I am a little worried now

 

Looking at random raw data of alleged complaints for any car will prob make one unable to confidently buy any brand/model of car....

Anecdotal data from those one trusts as knowledgeable and who've owned latest-gen S-Class (and this forum's fairly extensive anecdotal datapoints) should provide confidence re: S550 quality/reliability...

My anecdotal sense is today's S-Class is highest-quality/most reliable car being produced today from any mfr....esp impressive when one considers that today's S-Class is easily highest-tech/most innovative car on mkt...and even MY07 S-Class was remarkable for lack of notable bugs/glitches, despite all this new tech content....

 

One can find stories like this for any brand - the question is are they typical of the average owners experience? Of course most owners do not experience anything like these horror stories. I for one have had 4 MB's without any significant issues at all. So are the odds higher that you will have problems with a new S550? Early anecdotal reports indicate that the current w221 is very solid indeed. In fact now is an ideal time to buy as any residual kinks (true for any vehicle) should mostly have been worked out now.

I do think that MB owners are more critical of (and passionate about) their cars than say a Toyota Camry owner might be... we pay a lot of money and our expectations of the marque are very high... and this can also be a factor in reports of minor "problems"..

Chris

 

This is actually old news.

I agree with cjf, people expect more from premium brands like Mercedes, BMW, etc. If one buys the cheapest car in the world, and something goes wrong, they'll be like.. "well, what can you expect from a $2,500 car?" but the story is different when they spend $100,000 on a car. Even slightest problem could be a big issue.

That's also why we have forums like this, so owners are aware of the problem that occured. We can learn if there are any preventive ways, or the most efficient ways to get it fixed.

If you dig deeper on the same website, this also happens with BMW:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/bmw.html
but would that make you worried getting a BMW?

When I can afford one, I would buy W221 S-class with confident. From what I read in the forum, quality seems to get better. Sure it is not 100% problem-free, but then I have yet to find a car manufacturer with absolutely 0 problem for their products (especially those filled with sophisticated electronics and gadgetry like the S-class).

 

Ditto to what everyone else has said. I have owned over 40 cars , 7 of which were/are Mercedes, and I'll have to say the Benzes were the best. Even the 2000-2006 models that were plagued with problems never affected me. Even when I had issues, the dealership always rushed to my aid and fixed things perfectly. MB is just a more scrutinized car model.

As far as the current line up of Mercedes, they are even better than ever.

 

Typically the first year of a new production series S class has a number of kinks to work out. Not with the latest 550/600's though. The service guys have told me that these cars are unbelievable and have had no such problems as was the case with other lst yr. of production S classes.

 

Indeed, need to consider source when evaluating car complaints....

Any $100K+ cars often have (esp first-time) buyers w/unrealistic visions of perfection or angst re: being "ripped off", etc...or those who can't afford new $100K+ cars rationalizing their driving a supposedly perfect 10yo Camry/Lexus/whatever.....

My usual MB salesguy often jokes that toughest/least desirable customers are first-time C/E/ML, etc buyers....he has many repeat customers who buy a couple of new S/CL/SL every yr (and have been doing so for yrs)....and comments that the jaded customers often are the most reasonable guys...."been there, done that"; understand rounding error and opportunity costs...know nothing in life at any price is perfect (and are tech/financial guys who understand that trade-off of latest/greatest-tech is more likely bugs), but appreciate (and will pay for) exemplary customer service to solve any problems efficiently (and w/much greater priority than the one-off guy who bought his whatever MB at some other dealer at lowest poss price)....

It's much like those who criticize/complain re: cost of living/quality of life in various urban regions....have always marveled re: absurdity of many "macro" stats/articles....esp as many affluent guys in Manhattan/Greenwich/SiliconValley/BevHills have <15min drives to their office/favorite dining spots, etc....so all this nonsense re: 90min each-way fwy commutes and awful traffic is fairly irrelevant....and 99%+ of affluent guys in these allegedly "difficult" regions won't leave these economic epicenters, no matter how supposedly cheap is Podunk....and, similarly, these guys algorithmically get a new S/CL every 6-24 mos.....no matter what nonsense various magazines/complaint boards claim....

 

The idler pulley is the only thing that has given me trouble so far. I hope that is it for a good while. My service dept. got that fixed with no major issues. They called me each day to keep me informed of how things were going, even telling me about their hangups. Up front and honest even when they were at fault about not having the right parts ordered. I just told them to take their time and focus on getting it done right.
All in all, I'm am soooo happy with my S class. Hopefully I won't have any serious issues for another 4 years. After that, I'll probably consider a brand new W221 or will opt for the next S class. Is the F700 the next codename for the next S class? Seems like that is what is saw it referred to as.

 

I agree WSH.

Also, it makes you wonder if some of these people get themselves into a financial corner and screw up their cars intentionally so that they can whine and complain in hopes that MB will buy their car back and get off scott free from their debt.

I read several of those complaints and one of the "victims" wrote in their entry how much they were so upset to lose the car they loved so much. Why would they say they loved the car when in the previous sentences earlier they bashed it and MB to smithereens?

 

The only "problem" (it was no big deal- more a minor issue) now I am 4,500 miles in was an extremely soft creak in the right hand door on a few VERY rough road surfaces that vibrated the car at a unique frequency... To be honest I think it is because the car is SO quiet inside that I noticed it at all... The dealer spared no effort in fixing it... which turns out is a known issue that the clips holding on the door trim may be too small for a few builds and should be replaced with (more) larger ones... which they did and issue solved... My dealer takes even my slightest comments seriously and always follows up afterwards to check...

I did not mind at all... I kind of regard it as part of the breaking in process and fine tuning the car post factory for my driving environment... and its always fun to hang out in dealer row and remind myself how thankful I am to have an S-Class...

Paradoxically because the S-Class is so well made, quiet, and tank like, it is easier to become aware of what your senses mislead you are "potential problems"... but which you would never hear/see/feel in an average car... Funniest example for me was when I would set off to work on a wet/dewy morning I would hear strange noises for a few seconds under the car... It took me a while to realize that I was actually hearing individual water droplets gradually falling off.... in most cars that would be hidden by the engine noise and vibration... in fact most cars would vibrate them off! the S-Class is that quiet!

Chris

 

It is most definitely quiet. I also hear a slight rattling sound coming from the right side. However, I think I have pinpointed it as coming from the passenger headrest. If I lower it all the way down, the minor vibration goes away. It is such a small problem I am not even going to mention it at the shop. Sometimes just knowing what is causing the problem lowers my sensitivity towards the problem. As long as I know what it is and that it isn't a true big problem, I can go on and ignore it. I only hear it when I travel over a very rough and busted up street similar to the surface of a cobble stone street.

 

Yes its funny how we become hyper sensitive to these "problems" which are really unreasonable in so many cases... I am sure this is part of MB's problem with Consumer Repots etc... Do as many Honda/Toyota <fill in space> owners get taken seriously when/if they complain there is a minute creak from a partially raised passenger headrest? Heck no - they can't even identify there is an "issue" much of the time! My experience of MB is that they do care and in my view have never received enough credit from the so-called consumer advocates...

Chris

 

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/lexus.html

Basically this is a worthless site which collects unverified 'complaints' about every hiline car around there.

Lol if you check
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/jaguar.html

these fools tell you to buy a lexus, however they maintain the lexus page which has at least as many as any of the other mb, bmw etc!

Looks to be a site capitalizing on the 'consumer' name and hoping most will think it is the real Consumer Reports (which recommends only Toyota and Honda in every comparo BTW).

 

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