When we had a Lexus, we had only the most excellent care of the vehicle and professionalism,

and when a transmission went bad on one of our vehicles, they were quick to offer us a courtesy trans replacement, including labor, and all parts covered, without us even asking for any type of courtesy compensation (given that we were the ones that were late on the transmission services.)

i've had hit or miss experiences at Mercedes dealerships. I bought a 2014 E550 brand new from one dealership and they essentially abandoned me after a couple attempts at fixing a transmission issue and I took it to a different dealership closer to my house and they absolutely went to bat for me, including fighting with MBUSA to get me complete compensation for what I paid for the car which first went to a trade assist on another new 550 then all of my money back when the new 550 manifested the same issue.

I think it really came down to the service advisor and the service manager going to bat for me, not necessarily the "Mercedes" moniker in the building

 

Daimler lost $30 billion with its disasterous acquisition of Chrysler 30 years ago, and is still pinching every penny it can to make it back. While I like my G550, I'll likely never buy another MB because their dealerships suck. "The best or nothing" has been mostly the "nothing" part for me, and I know MB doesn't give a rip.

 

Problem is they also lost a lot of money with EV investment they cost cut in certain ways to help make up for it.

 

It doesn't help that market towards EV has somewhat (?) soften given the lack of infrastructure. At least in Canada, people rather have ICE again instead of EV, it also doesn't help that government stopped providing incentives. I understand Canada is a small market though.

Then we have the disaster launch of the C 63 S E Performance, they thought they can convince people but it failed. All that money in the R&D of that vehicle also went down the drain.

 

Happy to hear about the positive experience with the other brand.

MB's service (other than very far back) was never a strong suit, it seems to have got worse lately however. Obviously not all dealerships are created equal but sadly it does seem a lot of them are bad. I think it has to do with how busy the dealership is and the stress that had built-up. Most MBs are computer on wheels with thousands of modules and it seems there are lots of quality issues (most software but updates can take a long time to complete, I see hours to days) and vehicles just pile up. Then there are build quality issues, and it doesn't help if a problem is not fixed on first attempt, might need to stay overnight for days or a problem reoccurs next time and that same customer has to keep on coming back, of course there might not be just one customer dealing with this issue. Basically supply (technicians) does not meet the demand (customers' vehicles).

 

Lexus is more reliable right (?) the vehicles are less prone to problem and there are not a lot of people that have to go there to fix their vehicle anyways hence why they can handle the load?

 

I hear you but niggles happen with all cars ... and they get service volume like anyone else

it's their company philosophy top down imo, and it's repeatable across all states and decades with them - they are consistently great

sucks for me the F sport line doesn't do anything for me

 

I hear you as well, Lexus aren't fun cars

 

You're not alone, I've have very similar experience at mercedes dealer in central CT. Will NEVER step foot into that place again. Condescending disreputable managers... Unfortunately I think most dealerships are like this.

 

Said the guy who has clearly not spent any seat time in a GS F or anything with that amazing NA 5 liter.

They aint all isloation chambers....

 

My indie has anywhere from a 4 to 6 week waiting list for anything but I'll happily wait. There's only 2 MB options within 3 hours of me. I've spoken to one of them on the phone and that was as close as I ever want to come to them. Not sure about the 2nd one and probably won't ever even try. I can do pretty much everything myself but sometimes I just don't want to. In that case I'll go on the wait list. I came to MB from Ford and my wife still drives an MKX. I learned a long time ago to avoid Ford garages like the plague. I think they're all pretty much the same - the good ones are the exception.

 

Fair enough, give me a LFA or LC 500 especially the former then we will talk

Actually, I heard the RC F is pretty fun as well.

 

Problem is the handling isn't that good I heard?

 

What about this dealership one of our forum sponsors mentioned: https://mbworld.org/forums/w213-amg/...ml#post9161532

 

I'll add something else - In the early 2000s my wife's first Lexus was about 9 months past warranty expiration and I noticed it had started to leak oil. Took it in and they checked it out and said it needed a new RMS and it was $7-8K. The SA said give them a few days to sort it out. A couple days later they called back as said Lexus approved the repair under full warranty.
I've never heard of MB doing anything near that for anyone.

The only reason there isn't a Lexus hot rod wagon in my driveway is they don't sell one.

I've located a reputable independent and am now using them as my MB extended just expired. Zero waiting time, I get an analysis of the problem quickly, and they communicate really well. Only downside so far is no loaner, but I can live with that.

 

The closest thing MB done is provide goodwill repairs shortly after warranty especially if the vehicle was serviced at the dealership. The goodwill repair usually only covers half or less of the repair though, not as generous as Lexus in that case.

 

MB sees itself in the status symbol business, not the automobile business. When you're selling status, you can push your clientele a long ways to acquire what you're selling.

 

Well, clearly, they really like their logo to put it inside every headlights and taillights on recent models.

 

Their sports stadium in Atlanta is hardly what would be labeled as subtle.

 

They are too focused on Mercedes-Benz Places nowadays: https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/des...s-benz-places/

 

That being said, it is not just MB, many automakers as well: https://www.dezeen.com/2024/05/30/ca...d-skyscrapers/

https://robbreport.com/shelter/home-...es-1235836074/

 

Some aspect of Lexus vs MB here and I'll chime in with my 2c. 17 year owner of a Lexus and 11 year owner of MB (and now with 3 MBs in the stable).

1) Happy to drive - kind of depends on what you were looking for to start - the reason why we got the Lexus SC in 2008 was cos the wife vetoed the SL500 as being too harsh riding. Then I had to deal with Lexus OEM RFTs which made the ride harsh on the SC so not clear who was the real winner here. Have I been happy owning the SC for 17 years and about 90k miles (after I got rid of the RFTs) ? Absolutely. I have been so happy with this car that even after I test drove the LC500 convertible and LC500 coupe, I was just not going to switch out my SC. No shortage of offers - everytime I drive in a Lexus dealership with the SC, they want to take it in trade. I drive the SC back to back with my CLS and my E63 on middle distance fast highway commutes most weeks. I am honestly not less happy in my SC than I am in the mighty E63 and my also much loved CLS. There is something about the directness and analog feeling of an NA V8 in a small package, even if it makes much less power/torque than my two TT V8s from Germany. The SC will never win in the twisties - factory setup was just too soft. But trying to make the SC corner well means you never knew what the SC was for anyways - drive a car like what it was meant for and it will reward you. Try to make it what it was never meant to be - sure, be prepared to spend big $$ for compatibility issues with modified parts etc. but you're also trying to create a Frankenstein- good luck with that. If I truly wanted a hard charging near super car performance Japanese coupe, it would have to be a 2JZ equipped Supra, but that was never the agenda anyway.

2) Maintenance cost/reliability: I've also spent more money on parts and maintenance for this old Lexus vs all my 3 MBs combined at this point - but that's reasonable I think - the SC has more miles and is much older. When my CLS gets to the age of my 20 yr old Lexus, would i have spent more money to keep it going than the Lexus - I would think yes for sure. My CLS had rusted transmission oil cooler joints and the usual cam magnet oil leak issues with the M278 ( and the same thing with my M276 in the GLK !) which have been fixed but all this stuff has happened at 60k miles and younger with the MBs while stuff like this has not happened to me with the Lexus up at 114k miles. My CLS air suspension is finally giving out slowly after 11 years - parts cost about double what it was for simple Toyota compatible shock absorbers for the SC that I had put in last month. My GLK coil springs broke at the rear at about 74k miles - this has never happened to me in the Lexus. You know how this will go based on the trend...

3) Dealership experience: I am with the folks who just use dealers for warranty work and maybe insurance claim work and that's it. I like using independents for the vast majority of maintenance and non warranty repairs. I've seen dubious behavior at both MB and Lexus dealers and I think a lot depends on how desperate they feel to generate enough revenue to make the next break point for their bonuses. It may not be Lexus vs MB it could be just normal human profit seeking behavior. If you find a good service advisor with any dealer, stick to that guy/gal. One of the best experiences I've had recently was not Lexus or MB but with my Volvo dealer cos I have gotten to know the SA well and I have a long extended warranty so he knows he has a pipeline of business coming his way over time. That shapes service department behavior when they know you're likely to come back and ext warranty will cover it. But that same Volvo dealer - never did get close to buying a car from them, it has just been service. Even within the same dealership, customer experience can be different in different departments.

Just my 2c plus a lil bit given my deep involvement with both Lexus and MB. I love all my children equally BTW.

 

Thank you for the detailed impressions with both sides. Guess grass isn't always greener on the other side, dealerships or better word would be stealerships are everywhere in every brand. Forum member SW20S also had multiple Lexus before and they too enjoy their cars but the business decisions of Lexus and design led them to consider MB instead.

 

I had a 2006 SC (original owner) which I I traded (with 28k miles) in for a 2013 MB E350 Cab. Wife always wanted a MB.I saw very few SC 430's in NJ (where I lived until 2015).
In SWFL, I see 4 per day. Amazing after all these years. If I knew that I was going to move to FL in 2015, I would have kept the Lexus. Other than not being fun to drive, it was a better car than the MB. I did replace the RFT's with Michelin All Season Pilot Sports
after 2 years and that made the ride much better. I carried a spare on long trips. Impeccable fit and finish. Not one issue. Purchased a 2018 E400 Coupe for the wife. Actually starting to doing research on the LC500 Cab. It seems to be calling me. Man, did it get expensive.
Not crazy about the mileage on that car with the V8. Though, I like the thought of having a car again with great reliability, especially after the warranty expires. We shall see.

 

Good luck with the hunt, should be a fun weekend car.