Driver55er

My buddie's new e55 goes completely dead after a couple of weeks and 600 miles. It seems the battery went. After calling MB roadsid, he waited a few hours after the 15 minutes wait time he was quoted for a return phone call from the tow truck driver.
Upon jump starting the car, it was error codes galore.

Off to the dealer. He picked the car up "fixed". A quick stop at the mall and back into the car. What do you guess? That's right dead!
Back to the dealer. Now they don't know what is wrong and have to bring in one of the regional "engineers" to investigate. While the car is in the shop, they graciousley give him a Toyota Solara to drive (ha!).

An hour later he gets a call from the Onstar or whatever service MB is using, to make sure he is OK. I guess the engineer must have activated the emergency call mode in the car. Two days later the car is once again fixed. But, when pulling the car off the rack, they split the sidewall of the front tire! And, they can't get a replacement until Tuesday!!

Is this a big joke or what? You pay 85K for a car and the dealerships can't fix them or fix them properly? And in lieu of your 85k car you get a 25k rice burner to drive while the techs are perplexed by your problems.

Do you feel it is within reason to wait days before a dealership can determine the cause of a problem? If MB creates a car their techs should know how to diagnose and service them. A very frustrating situation for him and for the rest of you new W211 owners.
They better clean up their act or else I am going to look elsewhere for my next purchase. Too many horror stories on this board.

Dr Chill

Dude, you'd better head on over to your Lexus dealer then because owning a high perfomance vehicle of any kind requires a certain amount of tolerance for what most of consider minor issues. Not all MB techs are created equal.

alz

Sure, you pay $80k for a car and it is MORE annoying that it breaks down, but even a Lexus breaks down (and a Honda, and a Toyota, etc.)

MarcusBenz

I was wondering if you would like some cheese with your "Whine"??? By the way, do you even own a Benz or are you living your dreams through friends?? If you do not own one, then you do not have the right to bag on them in this forum!!

I will come down off my soapbox now. All I have to say is that will all the cars that MB is producing now, you have to realize there will be some problems. Also there are more happy customers, than unhappy, you just do not realize it due the fact that they are not being as vocal.

Driver55er

Mr. Orange County,
If you consider a repeat electrical malfunctions on a brand new 85k car acceptable, enjoy spending time reading magazines and watching Springer in your dealer's waiting room. I do not. I own four very nice vehicles including an w210 E55.
Whine...gimme me break.
I was merely sharing another unfortunate incident with a brand new 211. I am sure others may have the same issue soon and I was going to post the fix when I find out what the issue was.
As I am happy with mine for the most part, it does have minor issues that need to be worked out.
While I understand sh*t happens, I expect service departments to train and hire capable technicians that do it right the first time. And no I would not expect to get a Toyota in place of my 85k couple of week old Benz.
Reading posts of spent engines and failed superchargers in the first month of ownership make me leery of keeping the faith.
Just food for thought and good FYI problem/solution posting.

JohnAMG

I am a very satisfy MB owner and I will the first one to be vocal. I have owned numerous MBs and couldn't be happier. I bring each of my cars in no more than 1-2 times a year for maintenance and minor repair. I will only stop buying MB when MB are sold on the same floor as Chrysler Neon

John

bmms8

its always funny to see most people who complain.....are the people who have just started on MBW...kinda strange to me

amg55

Welcome to the AMG board, Driver55er.

MarcusBenz is a sales consultant, so in some ways, he listens to 'whining' for a living. He probably gets his fill at work.

As for MB reliability, welcome to the world of German luxury cars.
Complain about your friend's 211 (is it an E55 or E500?) if you will. Obviously his situation is frustrating and disappointing.
But if you sift through the Porsche, BMW and Audi boards you'll find all the same complaints.
If you look at the JD Power lists the past few years you'll find that the German marques all hover around the same range in the middle of the pack of all manufacturers.
That's just the way it is.

If you value reliability more than driving pleasure, you should buy a Lexus or Toyota.
Really.
That's what it boils down to.

KrispyK

I'm sort of curious, but what does Toyota/Lexus do that makes their cars so dead-on reliable? I've owned a W210 E-class and my parents currently own an LS430, and I have to say, our ownership experience has been as different as night and day. They've had absolutely nothing go wrong with the car. Let me repeat that: nothing. This is over 1 year of ownership.

In the first year, my W210 had the instrument cluster replaced twice, had a window switch break, had an idle that kept surging and a squeaking rear seat. No, none of these things were huge, life-altering problems, more like just annoyances.

You could (and very rightly so) say that these are just individual experiences. But JD Power and Associates seems to suggest that this is more than a singular experience, but rather, a trend. So here's the question: if we are to accept that Toyota/Lexus is more reliable than an MB, why is that? What do they do differently from MB? Why can't MB follow suit?

I've heard theories that "Oh, it's because MB has new technology, and Toyota just copies it" but that doesn't really ring true, either. Most of the complaints you see on the W211 forum are about wheel alignment, radio and engine mounts. None of which involve "cutting-edge technology."

Any thoughts?

Pbglas

I think a person has a right to show his or her concerns without being insulted. Am I mistaken or do you sell Benz's. In that case you have perhaps provided another symptom of the desease.

A person who does not own an MB is possibly on this list accumulating information on buying an E 55. He has every right to ask questions as do all of us --- particualrly after MB has been so thoroughly trashed by JD Powers and others.

If you think his fears are unfounded, you have the right ot set him straight not insult him. I would be interested in hearing why his fears are unfounded.

KrispyK

Very well said. I agree 100%.

Dr Chill

Modern high tech vehicles have reduced the service techs to code checkers and parts replacers. The truly good mechanics usually no longer work for the dealers and have gone on their own. Finding a really good service technician thesedays is difficult, but if you do find one make sure your service rep knows to give your car to him and only him every time. It pays to ask a few questions of several sales people or service reps who they would have work on their cars afterhours.

vraa

Your dead on! I believe my first couple posts were biased agianst Mercedes also!

MarcusBenz and Dr Chill are absolutely right. You went for Mercedes, more specifically you went AMG. That means a slice of performance and luxury. No where does that say service. That topping is only offered by Lexus where you get Luxury and Service showered onto your pizza.

Mr.PS

I agree with most of the comments but they should have given a better car I used to get BMW 5 series as loaners when BMW was working on the car. All cars have realibility issues 1 out 1000 of the cars often will have realbility issues no matter if its a hyundi or Ferrari its going to happan but its often forgotten when good service is given to the customer and he or she goes off happy.

Driver55er which dealer was this at in Chicago. ?

vraa

Yeah. We had gotten a C230 sedan as our loaner for around two weeks when our SL had air leak problems. But that all depends on the dealer. Sterlling McCall Lexus here gives you the exact same car (unless they don't sell it anymore, in that case they give you the closest thing) when you bring your car in and they have to keep it for more than a day. But our experiance at Northside Lexus was a tad bit worse. We got RX300's ( )

Mr.PS

The Loaner car isnt that bad if you get your car back and service was done correctly no matter if you paid or if it was warrenty. Dealer service should be top notch as it often reflects to the reputations of Mercedes Benz and AMG.

I remeber Absent also haveing a serious problem with his E55 and stating he will never buy anthor Mercedes Product Again after his engine failure.

vraa

I vaugley remember something happening. I lost track of it however because he was saying something about legal issues and not revealing exact information till everything was sorted out..?

Mr.PS

check the thread out he since got a new engine and has been running fine for 300 miles so far but he says it doesnt feel as right as before.

Target01

MarcusBenz
Super Member

Wow, super of you to be so compassionate. The hostility I see here is just plain annoying, let people complain; especially if they have good reason to.

MarcusBenz

Please, do not get me wrong! I think people have every right to complain about the problems they are having. I just don't believe that you have the right to bad mouth a car because of someone elses issues. If you own a MBZ & you are having services problems or whatever, then by all means blast away. But, if my "friend's grandmother's uncle" is having electrically problems with there W211 then let them bag on the car not you!!!!

Target01

Ah, so here comes a bit of a shock example of why you're wrong.

If Jews were being gassed in Germany, and they were therefore unable to complain...then no-body else should?

MarcusBenz

Who mentioned anything about the Holocaust?????? BTW, I believe that trying to compare service issues with millions of people being killed it a bit of a stretch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

E500Lorinser

Thats the most assinine comment I have ever seen.#1 Its two COMPLETELY different issues.#2 You are aware that alot more people that were not jews died in WWII right?Its funny how Stalins murder of 30 million + people is never mentioned.Not to mention Dresden,in which German citizens died in their burning homes to the tune of 600,000+.The definition of Holocaust is "death by fire" Does Dresden qualify? What your referring to is the constant media propoganda over the years inbedded in your brain.Your inability to think for yourself is scary.

That being said,before you all scream racism,I believe in studying history with an open mind.Look up the facts for yourself instead of sitting in front of the TV and having someone constantly ram BS down your throat.

Chip

And this has to do with E-55's how?

My Father who served in the Pacific in WWII refused to own a Japenese car. That didn't keep from owning tons of German ones.

Driver55er

WOW! See what happens when you start preaching censorship.

fo·rum
Pronunciation: 'fOr-&m, 'for-
Function: noun
a : a public meeting or lecture involving audience discussion

This is not a censored good old boys club for car salesmen. MB by your own logic you should not be posting here because your signature states you are a clk430 driver not an E55 driver.

Whether this is my first or 10000th post, I am entitled to my opinion. I can post about my car, my friends car, my dog's car or any car.

Now back to the matter at hand...
I love my E55 and enjoy the performance and luxury! And by $buying$ into the club, I have every right to critique and criticize it's flaws and the flaws of the vehicle service and the customer service. If I ran my business in a fashion that turns a 85k customer into a second class owner the second he pays for a car and drives it off the lot, I would barley make enough $ to drive a Kia.

Yes, I went for performance and AMG and I went for expectations of knowledgeable techs and superior customer service. If not I would have bought another Ford. Why all this comparison to Lexus? Is this the new bench mark for quality? My simple discussion is based on what is. I expect a lot from a world class vehicle producer. MB owners should get superior treatment for paying so much for a CAR and it's follow up maintenance.

I do think it is reasonable to expect at minimum a c class loaner during a repeat service issue on a brand new 55 class vehicle.