s55toyy

After 30 years of buying new MB's every 2 or 3 years Its over. The last 3 S's were the worst. Just dumped the 04 S55 after it was in the shop AGAIN.....They look good but built like junk.

Blue_Monster

Unfortunately, I have to agree. They dont build them like they used to

AntonioDestiny

Yea I remember seeing 4 pages of TSB's for that car.

BRN_CLS

s55toyy- I agree with u 100% I had the same experience with my t 2001 S- class.........after 1 year the car paint railing all over, not to mention other stupid malfunctions a Daewoo wouldn't have !! u name the problem, I had it......

And now im having problem with my cls, same problem (paint railing) I guess Mercedes don't learn from their mistakes

What happened to the good old Benzes ..beginning > early 90's they were posh, reliable and unique, but now

But now like u said "They look good but built like junk" I think ill sell my cls and buy a Lexus

JLP

Its sad but very true these days, Mercedes Benz cars are not built they way they used to be built.

I know alot of long-time MB owners who are leaving the brand, and when Audi releases the new RS6 I will be leaving as well!

MB needs to get their act together and start building better cars!

rslpartners

what is "paint railing"?

yeh...I had my share of problems too.
- had an '02 S55...didn't have any problems with it....maybe cause i got pissed off and got rid of it when the superchargers came out.
the communication sucks! you would think...if the dealer or someone had only told me before hand...i would've waited and not lost 65k+ on my '02!

- picked up an '05 S55
check engine light came on a few times.
when i put 20s on it...it would rub only in the rear passenger side.
i assumed it the air suspension or shock was not even or something...my friend has a cl600 that always leaked and sank to the ground on one side.
i couldn't really dispute it much since i did put on 20s.

the car spend a lot of time in the shop for the dynamic seats not working properly.

the navigation voice control sucks and still isn't any better in the 221 and the system does not recognize the phone being plugged in half the time.

aside from that...they were quite awsome in power, performance, handling, and comfort....obviously when everything was working properly.

i don't know...i guess i'll never learn....just ordered a S63. i know the voice nav still sucks...they'll probably be other problems....ah...what can you do. it is what it is...just the luck of the draw.

i don't know about going to a lexus...imo...it's just a glorified toyota.
in that case...i'll just pick up a camry.

what else is left?
infinity....glorified nissan (imo)

bmw...not a fan.

prior to deciding on the S63...i thought about a flying spur.
i don't know...i think bentleys are nice to look at and prestigious...but when i looked inside of it...it just feels old, and bland.

Dixit

Not sure how to respond here, but Ive got an 04 S600 and 04 S55 and so far no major issues and want to say I enjoy it. Im highly mechanical myself so I dont mind tearing the car apart and fixing it, but so far havent had to. I think power and performance is great and hope it stays that way and dont experience all the problems you folks have had to encounter.

Dixit

blk350

Hey, i have a 03 S600 what would you say is faster your amg the S600, i know this is random but i just had to know, i love your collection

Dixit

Even though I like my S55 AMG better because of the AMG stuff it has on there, I will have to say the S600 is faster, it just throws you back in the seat, unlike the S55. Clearly its because the Twin Turbos give me all the torque practically right off idle (1500rpm), thats what pins you.

I have yet to line them up (put someone else besides my wife in the other car) and see whos faster. But if I had to bet id put my money clearly on the S600.

Dixit

love2skiutah

I had GL450, G55, E55, E500 and S65 and have only had the Gwagon in the shop twice for electrical... I have never had any problems with any of the others.

Dixit

Good to see others with happy experiences. I guess its hit or miss with the Benzes of late.

BRN_CLS

what is "paint railing"?

I don't know what u guys call it, be its when the paint rusts (bubbles) this usually happens to 20-30 old corollas!!

But it happened in my both cars ex 2001 S class and my 2005 cls, can u believe it? They say it’s a factory fault........in my country all 2001 models are scheduled for a full paint job, not to mention new models

bcfos

Being a rather new owner to the Mercedes group line and only having one in the garage since 1996 I have yet to experience any "major" problems like paint defects, electrical problems, or worse some major engine failure. My major gripe is keeping either of the two I currently own in proper alignment but this is mainly due to the fact Alabama is a broke *** state and cannot fix their roads properly.

DaCeptak0n

It's extremely funny to see how almost everyone who has responded saying/complaining that don't build them like they used to and refer to the era of the 90s and early 2000-2001's yet they have sigs full of 2006's and even 2007s?

Make sense?!

csumt76

Comparing older automobiles to new ones in terms of quality and reliability is like apples to oranges. Sequential electronic fuel injection was just coming around in the 80's, now all we have to ***** about is..... well let's see.

Ipod integration.
Poor voice guided navigation quality.
Static/reception using Handsfree Bluetooth
Keyless Go
Panoramic sunroofs
Twin turbocharged V12's
V8 Kompressors
Naturally aspirated engine making over 500hp from the factory
7 speed automatics
Advanced multi stage air bags with door pressure sensors and Pre safe
Distronic & Distronic Plus
Parktronic
TV tuners/ dvd players(jammin' cassettes in the 80's, no DVD/CD)
CDI diesel engines
Dynamic seats, heated/ventilated seats

I'm sure that I have forgotten a few things... maybe that the W221 has 7 different networks and loads of control units built by a handful of manufacturers which are also used by many other auto makers. Siemens, Bosch, Temic to name a few. You can't expect all of this stuff to integrate seemlessly at a new model launch, otherwise the intro. would be pushed back another 4 years.

Besides all of the above, I'm pretty sure that all dealerships still have service departments and employ technicians.

It's not if it is going to break, it's when!!!

BlackHammer

OK, let me offer my thoughts (maybe some sanity to this)...
After 10 years of owning Lexus' (the only trips to service were for regularly scheduled service intervals) it is really painful to have a Benz where I seem to be "in the shop" on a monthly basis for chicken-s*&t stuff. To top things off the loaners are Buicks and I have never got one, and my wife has to pick me up and drop me off.

If I did not have an AMG (469 HP) I would never buy a Benz again (period). However, I will be glad for the trade off of poor reliability for this type of HP in the future. They are amazing cars when you think about it...

Now, talk of getting an Audi instead of a M-B from a service perspective is simply crazy talk. The key at determining "how often will my car need service?" is to look at the cost of buying an extended warrantee (they are essentially insurance policies). High price = high exposure/trouble. Low price = little anticipated trouble.

Sorry to hear you are leaving. Get a Lexus if you want trouble free driving (565,000 miles over the last 10 years and NEVER an unanticipated trip to service). The new LS600H will be a beast...

TK

whoover

There's a lot of truth to this. In the "golden age" of W126 and before, if you wanted aggressive engineering you bought a BMW. They pushed the envelope much more than MB, who engineered much more conservatively. This meant rarely being the first to bring new technologies to market, and it meant lower stressed (more overengineered) components designed for long lives. So guess what happened? People starting complaining that BMW was more advanced, had more power and more bells and whistles. So MB gave the market what it wanted. Now Jeremy Clarkson says the S-class is where you find technology first, before it works its way to other cars. Now MB wins the HP and torque wars, not BMW.

In the old days MB eschewed the latest and greatest and throttled back power output to ensure reliability. There's probably no going back, and I'm not sure I'd want them to. I do expect them to work real hard at proving new technologies before they bring them to market, but I recognize I don't want them to spend 10 years working all the kinks out of a new technology before they let me have it, as they once did.

jl88

I think we should beat this dead horse some more. In fact, let me resurrect some more horses so we can beat them as well.

csumt76

It's dead? Ok I'll leave it alone.

AsianML

Blame the European Union and Green Party.

rslpartners

holly crap!
that's the first time i heard of that.
wow...not sure what kind of weather you have over there.
but thankfully...the weather here in the s.f. bay area is not too bad.

TXKompressor

I would not go to Audi either... About as reliable if not worse then MBZ... I like MBZ of course I have had Lexus, Infiniti and Acura before this, But I like MBZ. they are not super Japanese reliable but damn good none the less... I just got a C55AMG and it has been a thrill. I still have my C230 as well.

AsianML

You sure about Audi?

Tuskir

I was just browsing biz.yahoo.com and according to them, the new Mercedes S-class and Audi A8 both tied for first in their segment in 2007 in J.D. Power & Associates 2007 quality rankings. I was really surprised, they were actually ranked higher than Lexus LS460... check it out, its on the front page of yahoo right now "Ford tops Toyota in initial quality rankings" story.

DFW01E55

Liar! Heretic!
It can't be!
Everyone knows that American cars are junk and Japanese cars are perfect!
Stone him!