Distronic radar thefts

[unimog]

Is It? Because it happens in England doesn't mean everyone involved is English, maybe there are other aspects to your hypothesis or it isn't true at all?

The English in general are extremely pretentious. The English in general love the whole ‘look for less’ movement, just look at the success of Top Shop before dirty Phil had his fingers in the till, and when you start importing people who will work for less money to fuel your ‘look for less’ culture you can’t really moan about what comes along with that. English or not, it’s a ready market in the U.K.

I had about £10k of tools nicked a few years back by some scum bags who hadn’t been in the country 12 months, old plod put that in the ‘too hard’ basket. Sad fact is, all those tools sold for probably less than £1500 to some equally scummy English **** down the pub. Becuase he wanted what he couldn’t afford, and said Romanians (because Plod doesn’t want to/won’t deal with that political hotcake) nicked it for him. Supply and demand.

 

[markjay]

I'm sorry but that's absurd. MB sell cars with out the OPTIONAL distronic equipment, if you are worried about it being stolen then don't buy a car with Distronic. It's your choice to make, MB are not liable for your bad decisions. This is the same as all those cretins who whinge about crabbing in 4 Matic cars, nobody needs an AWD car if you live in the city, but you choose it so you must live with the limitations of using the incorrect product for your needs.

There is zero negligence from the manufacturer. They are not going to compensate you for your bad choices (not having secure parking) so have a word with yourself.

If you cant afford Mercedes parts then don't buy a Mercedes. And its not Mercedes fault you live in the inner shitty, again, your choice. Classic English city slicker problem, want it all, want to look like you have it all, but wont pay for it and expect someone else to pay for it for you.

There's still a wide gap between being liable and washing your hands of the problem altogether.

Mercedes should acknowledge that there's a design flaw, and either better-secure the star and sensor, or alternatively move it behind the grille in future designs (like other manufacturers did).

It wouldn't be a first for Mercedes, BTW... some time back in eighties the rigid upright bonnet star was replaced with one with a ball joint at the base that allows the star to swivel and made it more difficult for vandals and souvenir hunters to break it off.

 

[unimog]

There's still a wide gap between being liable and washing your hands of the problem altogether.

Mercedes should acknowledge that there's a design flaw, and either better-secure the star and sensor, or alternatively move it behind the grille in future designs (like other manufacturers did).

It wouldn't be a first for Mercedes, BTW... some time back in eighties the rigid upright bonnet star was replaced with one with a ball joint at the base that allows the star to swivel and made it more difficult for vandals and souvenir hunters to break it off.

Mercedes sells a lot of cars in the Middle East. The Arabs torture and execute thieves and vandals, so it’s only a problem for countries that have a pussy liberal approach to crime and punishment.

Its not a problem for Mercedes at all. It’s a problem for U.K. society.

 

[Dryce]

The English in general are extremely pretentious. The English in general love the whole ‘look for less’ movement, just look at the success of Top Shop before dirty Phil had his fingers in the till, and when you start importing people who will work for less money to fuel your ‘look for less’ culture you can’t really moan about what comes along with that. English or not, it’s a ready market in the U.K.

Well if it' an English thing then we don't have anything to worry about in the rest of the UK.

I suspect though that you are a bit confused about the definition of 'English' and 'British'.

 

[markjay]

Well if it' an English thing then we don't have anything to worry about in the rest of the UK.

I suspect though that you are a bit confused about the definition of 'English' and 'British'.

I actually do know who are the 'English'... I have educated myself online:

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[Dryce]

I'm sorry but that's absurd. MB sell cars with out the OPTIONAL distronic equipment, if you are worried about it being stolen then don't buy a car with Distronic. It's your choice to make, MB are not liable for your bad decisions. This is the same as all those cretins who whinge about crabbing in 4 Matic cars, nobody needs an AWD car if you live in the city, but you choose it so you must live with the limitations of using the incorrect product for your needs.

There is zero negligence from the manufacturer. They are not going to compensate you for your bad choices (not having secure parking) so have a word with yourself.

We have seen this before with other parts - such as light assemblies.

If the parts cost as much as the manufacturers charged for replacements then they simply wouldn't be on the car in that form in the first place.

This means we get silly bits of plastic that are worth a few pence like tow eye covers - at most two or three pounds after distribution and retail markups - that end up nearer £45 by the time you get it on the vehicle. So even small trivial inconsequential parts 'disappear' if they are easy to unclip.

Mirrors and lights and radar sensors are likely to get damaged in minor accidents. Result is that there is a ready demand for these parts from insurers. I wouldn't be surprised if the manufacturers have number crunchers who work the umbers and incorporate this secondary parts market into the lifetime profits and yield from the cars. The prices charged for parts are often excessive. The level of theft is in part down to the high costs for these parts and the low risk of harvesting them.

I believe the fundamental issue down to manufacturer exploitation and price gouging rather than negligence. And if a part is stolen then the manufacturer still gains from the victim if they pay to replace the part via legitimate channels.

 

[markjay]

...I believe the fundamental issue down to manufacturer exploitation and price gouging rather than negligence...

I wouldn't be so quick to completely absolve the manufacturer of negligent design.... but I do agree in principle.

 

[rf065]

Well if it' an English thing then we don't have anything to worry about in the rest of the UK.

I suspect though that you are a bit confused about the definition of 'English' and 'British'.

There's too many incidents of container loads of cars & parts found leaving UK ports for Eastern Europe/Africa and beyond for it to be considered an English thing.

 

[Dippo]

Manufacturers tend to try to keep the price of key parts likely to damaged as low as they can; it helps the insurance group assessment.

 

[Deleted member 149005]

I’ve got a VW grill badge from the 80s for sale if anyone is interested....

 

[markjay]

I’ve got a VW grill badge from the 80s for sale if anyone is interested....

And, just how, may I ask, did you come into possession of said grille emblem......?

 

[Deleted member 149005]

And, just how, may I ask, did you come into possession of said grille emblem......?

I bought one as a spare in case those beasty boys stole the one on my car...

 

[unimog]

There's too many incidents of container loads of cars & parts found leaving UK ports for Eastern Europe/Africa and beyond for it to be considered an English thing.

Indeed, that's a given and organised crime such as this has been a long term problem.

If you re that worried about parts getting nicked, then get them datatagged, plenty of companies offering that, all farm equipment has had it for the last few years to aid traceability.

I'm talking about the fact that even on this forum, 10 such requests in the last 24 hours, of people with cars about 5-6 years old bemoaning the cost of parts for the expensive car they have purchased and looking for a way to get it cheaper. These are the people fuelling the stolen parts trade because they are too tight too pay main dealer prices or simply can't afford it. If you want cheap parts, by a Dacia or one of those crappy chinese cars, but don't come a German prestige car forum and moan about costs of German prestige car parts, it's the height of pretentiousness. Again, people who make poor decisions on choice of vehicle and looking for a way of mitigating it because 'I want what I want'.

This forum isn't too bad in all honesty, you should see the LR/RR forum... full of tarts who leased Evoques for £250 per month and didn't budget for the expensive servicing and now wanting to get it for less or those that did pay less being whacked with a £3k fee on return because it wasn't serviced by a main dealer.

Plebs on the street don't appreciate the R&D and material technology that goes into patented design, hence why the end user cost is higher until such time as the patents are released to allow a pattern manufacture. The cost of designing and building cars is going up so don't expect costs to go down any time soon.

We already have a great solution to this problem in the UK, its called 'receiving and handling stolen goods', but as plod is more interested in diversity and hate crime this has slipped down the pecking order.

 

[E55BOF]

So you feel that 'the plebs' shouldn't buy nice things because they may find that in the longer term they cost more than they expected? Really? Perhaps you should send one of your servants round to give them a damn good thrashing for getting ideas above their station...

How do you feel about the 'AMG Factor'? W211 front number plate mounting - £40. W211 AMG front number plate mounting (slightly different, but not much) - £110. Not a lot of R&D and material technology involved there, I suggest.

Perhaps I'm a closet pleb...

 

[unimog]

So you feel that 'the plebs' shouldn't buy nice things because they may find that in the longer term they cost more than they expected? Really? Perhaps you should send one of your servants round to give them a damn good thrashing for getting ideas above their station...

How do you feel about the 'AMG Factor'? W211 front number plate mounting - £40. W211 AMG front number plate mounting (slightly different, but not much) - £110. Not a lot of R&D and material technology involved there, I suggest.

Perhaps I'm a closet pleb...

I didn't say anyone shouldn't buy nice things, I said its idiotic to think buying premium/prestige products isn't going to come with parts prices to match, are people really that retarded? The old champagne taste on beer money budgets.

The number plate holder is a stupid analogy, I think a fair few more standard holders where sold than the slightly different AMG ones, its all meaningless anyway as none of us customer plebs know what they actually cost to make or how different the tooling for each is, its pure speculation.

The 'AMG Factor' extra cost is because AMG is a trademarked name and its use is under copyright and must be licensed, for which they will charge the end user (the customer) a licence fee, standard premium trademark pay structure the world over in my experience.

Its no different than people sticking AMG badges (or AMG number plate holders) on products that are not, at least they don't have to worry about paying AMG parts prices. Those people are probably aware that the costs of owning the real thing might be a bit rich.

 

[E55BOF]

I didn't say anyone shouldn't buy nice things, I said its idiotic to think buying premium/prestige products isn't going to come with parts prices to match, are people really that retarded? The old champagne taste on beer money budgets.

The number plate holder is a stupid analogy, I think a fair few more standard holders where sold than the slightly different AMG ones, its all meaningless anyway as none of us customer plebs know what they actually cost to make or how different the tooling for each is, its pure speculation.

The 'AMG Factor' extra cost is because AMG is a trademarked name and its use is under copyright and must be licensed, for which they will charge the end user (the customer) a licence fee, standard premium trademark pay structure the world over in my experience.

It isn't pure speculation at all. I lost my (plastic moulding) E55K front number plate mounting; the genuine replacement was a plastic moulding shaped slightly differently to the non-AMG one. Different tooling? Yes, slightly; just swap the moulds over. Extra cost? Yes; a few grams more plastic. £40 against £110 for that? Hmmmm...

I think you're thinking of third-party manufacturers paying to use a prestige brand name on a product the brand owner will not actually sell. Licensing fee for the AMG brand name? Surely not; MB owns AMG. Did Ford pay a licence fee after they bought Ghia and called their range-topping models Ghia? I rather doubt it. Did MB pay a licence fee when they put AMG badges on AMG-line cars? Again, I doubt it. Any 'licence fee' is paid by the end user who pays more for the car. Try asking for a debadged car at a discount because you're not having the AMG trademark on your car...

'AMG Factor'? Oh yes. MB charge more because they can, for something that actually costs no more than a few pence more than the 'pleb' product to make; there's no more difference in intrinsic worth between the two products than that.

 

[Gunner8525]

I didn't say anyone shouldn't buy nice things, I said its idiotic to think buying premium/prestige products isn't going to come with parts prices to match, are people really that retarded? The old champagne taste on beer money budgets.

The number plate holder is a stupid analogy, I think a fair few more standard holders where sold than the slightly different AMG ones, its all meaningless anyway as none of us customer plebs know what they actually cost to make or how different the tooling for each is, its pure speculation.

The 'AMG Factor' extra cost is because AMG is a trademarked name and its use is under copyright and must be licensed, for which they will charge the end user (the customer) a licence fee, standard premium trademark pay structure the world over in my experience.

Its no different than people sticking AMG badges (or AMG number plate holders) on products that are not, at least they don't have to worry about paying AMG parts prices. Those people are probably aware that the costs of owning the real thing might be a bit rich.

Thanks for your input, most of which quite amusing.. I didn’t expect to open up a political debate about immigration and the stereotypes of the quintessential Englishman! i am sorry to hear about your tools.

First off, i think you are missing the point here. The problem is, is that mb or whomever boffin in the lab poorly designed the grill for a badge which has a very expensive component sat behind it. The bade can be very easily prized off within seconds. Not only that.. the cost of a repair job here is in excess of £1,300 including over £500 labour. Two parties benefit here the thief and the garage/mb. Mb are happily churning out replacements without even seemingly addressing the root cause. (The garage inform me they’ve had another two incidents this week) Now I know there are going to be loyalists here bound to the brand that is mb and what they represent, but this matter, along with many others, some of which highlighted here should really be addressed by mb and their franchised centre’s.

Now as i explained earlier my main qualm isnt the cost for repair.. im not poor nor I am tight and I recognise the fact that if you have nice things in life you need to be prepared to pay for its upkeep. You cannot compare this incident for one second to the cost of perishables like tyres and wipers etc

As someone hit the nail on the head earlier, there is a huge gap between mb washing their hands of it and taking any sort of liability.. It is negligence by design and (likely, eventually) mb/ r&d / manufacturers should accept some sort of blame. Yes for sure, just move it further back behind the grill/plates for a start.

But its OK, im going to spend tens of thousands s on a secure garage and eventually then move to the forest where no one can find me.. or better still me and the car will move to Saudi Arabia!

 

[Gunner8525]

I think you are setting yourself up to a life of disappointment and frustration..
On the alloy wheel example, MB don't fit locking (anti-theft) wheel bolts, these are a dealer supply and fit. One doesn't see prolific alloy wheel theft simply because everyone has them nowadays.
The loss of the radar is not a safety issue as this is just a driver aide, not replacement, the car can still be driven perfectly safely.

Not really my friend, Im not one to just bend over and accept the uncomfortable thrust of poor mb customer service and to pay the £1,300 in repair (or go through Insurance).. the labour cost alone is £500. Im not poor or tight, as i think some people on here are alluding to. I could afford to pay it no problem, but why should I.

Im standing my ground and have no qualms with taking it further which ive been doing. Unfortunately because its such an isolated case (for now) im beginning to accept the fact that mb have and will completely wash their hands of it. I have no doubt this is something that is going to bite them in the backside over the next few months and years once the little thieving scumbags cotton on. Im guessing that the toerag that nicked mine has automobile / mb knowledge.

The alloy example was purely theoretical used to back up my point and shouldn't really be read in to too much.

 

[Gunner8525]

I dare say you would, but I think few lawyers would agree with you. An ambulance chaser might, but not on a contingent fee basis, I suspect.

The analogy I used was actually a theft, as occurred in your case. That would be due to the actions of a third party, for which the manufacturer could not be held responsible.

If as a general principle manufacturers were to be held responsible for any perceived design defect, where would you stop? Should all cars be fitted with brackets for chains which could be passed around the car to secure the doors against theft, with the chains and padlocks provided by the manufacturer, to prevent thieves opening the doors?

You've been unlucky, it's annoying, and I sympathise, but I don't think MB can be blamed.

It would stop at the point as to which common sense would prevail!

 

[Gunner8525]

Compensation culture gone stark raving mad

luckily, there is no basis in law for this proposition

there is always a first, esp if more people are affected. im sure you would have a different mindset if it happened to you?