Is this gonna become a common sight?

[The Boss]

This is quite a sad sight.

I mean, the car is so new, yet i have seen so many on the back of a tow..

i know there are teething problems, but SOO MAANNNYYY???

This is possibly the 5th new e class i have seen being transported...

This was not the case in the 80's nor the early 90's...

will we ever return to the day of a hassle free Merc?

 

[bpsorrel]

Yeah, I've seen a few by the side of the M1 lately too... ;(

 

[wxmclk]

Worrying to say the least.

 

[flango]

I agree I have seen quite a few stranded on the hard shoulder too, seems a little worrying

 

[Silver CL55]

I had a conversation with an MB service employee who told me I wouldn't believe the amount of brand new sold C180's (1600cc) sitting waiting on parts due to breakdown.
Something about a faulty radiator causing the gearbox to fail?
Instead of using a better radiator they are replacing gearboxes under warranty.
Weird.
Colin.

 

[jaymanek]

see injector thread..

MB better be careful before it becomes very public.

 

[Lugy]

We were talking about this today

The accountants really have done a good job of ruining things IMO. They're only relying on people buying the badge, it won't last forever.

 

[wemorgan]

With injectors failing so early in their life, isn't this rather a design error than a budget error?

 

[The Boss]

We were talking about this today

The accountants really have done a good job of ruining things IMO. They're only relying on people buying the badge, it won't last forever.

Budget and Design issue in my opinion.

Overall, cutting corners seems to be the moto today.. whether it is the smallest variant of a range or the most expensive variant in an s class.

A simple tangible example is the way the cubby holes operate.

In the w126/w124 and perhaps more so in the w123's, the feeling was thick, chunky, like moulded from a piece of granite.

The newest e class and perhaps even my e class saloon and the before felt very hollow and lacked weight, lacked solidity. This is something we see and feel everyday and it feels nasty..

No replicate the above through every component in the car.

I think you are right that eventually the name will be tarnished by being simple a clever badge on a **** car...

I pray this day never happens, but its likely to happen..

But i dont blame mercedes fully.. Mercedes used to create a bench mark.. then other manufacturers created a new measure of benchmark "PRICE" - this in turn dictated how we all view value, and inbetween, Mercedes got muddled up to compete with a premium brand in a price sensitive world, which hasnt worked..

What they create today, is really nothing much better than other less so cars.. just cladded together in more appealing shapes, materials, and composites.. and the science underneath is clever, but in no way the furlong ahead it used to be!!

 

[Michael G]

This is quite a sad sight.

I mean, the car is so new, yet i have seen so many on the back of a tow..

i know there are teething problems, but SOO MAANNNYYY???

This is possibly the 5th new e class i have seen being transported...

This was not the case in the 80's nor the early 90's...

will we ever return to the day of a hassle free Merc?

Yes we will return back to those days. Like all new cars they have teething problems. Ironically the new Toyota Avensis isn't being very reliable

 

[Lugy]

Purely our thoughts, but we decided that people probably would pay the premium on something that is leagues ahead of any rivals, knowing it's the best.

I guess that mentality is lost now and it's all about making money. People nowadays seem to associate MB with rust and poor quality. Sad times

 

[grober]

Keeping fuel costs down!

Almost certainly a blue efficiency injector problem. Seems that they save you a lot of fuel costs by keeping your Mercedes in the garage all the time.

 

[Dryce]

Budget and Design issue in my opinion.

Overall, cutting corners seems to be the moto today.. whether it is the smallest variant of a range or the most expensive variant in an s class.

It always has been.

If you look at the actual cost of a car and then at everything that's now in it (as compared with a few years ago) then the VFM we get today is amazing.

The injectors problem smells of a either an issue with pre-production to production changes or an issue of sensitivity to fuel variation that was encountered in testing.

 

[The Boss]

It always has been.

If you look at the actual cost of a car and then at everything that's now in it (as compared with a few years ago) then the VFM we get today is amazing.

The injectors problem smells of a either an issue with pre-production to production changes or an issue of sensitivity to fuel variation that was encountered in testing.

I think this VFM is possibly why cars depreciate so heavily today along side the double reg change..

if the older values were built into the car, i think we would end up paying a little more, and retain alot more value...

hmmm

 

[grober]

With the huge complexity of electronic systems, comprehensive "safety suite" of airbags and diesel injection systems now prevalent on most high end cars the financial sense of owning a car far beyond the initial 3 year warranty period with a possible 2/3 year warranty extension is rapidly disappearing . Sadly I predict many present day cars will soon become financially non-viable to run after about 5/6 years despite being mechanically and bodily sound. Even now cars that are perfectly repairable are being written off if all the airbags deploy in an accident!

 

[Dryce]

I think this VFM is possibly why cars depreciate so heavily today along side the double reg change..

I reckon the depreciation is down to list price fiction, availability of finance/PCP on new cars, and perceived risk of high servicing/repair costs on complicated old cars.

if the older values were built into the car, i think we would end up paying a little more, and retain alot more value...

The depreciation means that if you buy new you can get right royally screwed if you're not careful.

It also means that with a bit of care you can pick up 1yr and 2yr old bargains with remaining warranty.