It's March 1st tomorrow so it's goodbye to MB

[prprandall51]

After ten years running an E-Class 320 CDI, it is finally time for a change; the new car is an Audi and it arrives tomorrow.

Over the last couple of months I have entertained myself during long journeys by contemplating the things I am going to miss when I switch marques and, as the subject of what makes an MB special is close to the hearts of all members here, I thought I would share my conclusions with you all.

I have kept technology comparisons out of it as it is not fair to compare two cars that are separated by ten years of automotive technology development.

The negatives first, as I want to end this thread on an upbeat note. Things I won’t miss (it’s not a long list):

• The rear wiper that is controlled by a switch on the far side of the lower central console; surely worthy of a WTF Award. The rear wiper function was moved to the steering wheel stalk in later models, I believe.
• The deployment lever for the factory-fit tow bar that is positioned under the boot floor. How many times have I loaded the boot to the gunnels and then realised that I haven’t yet deployed the tow bar for the trailer. The sting in the tail is that, if you deploy it before loading the boot, you inevitably get grease stains on your trousers.
• My MB Dealer. In the end – when the opportunity came to acknowledge ten years – and approximately £14,000 - of commitment from me to them by sorting a problem out prior to the car going, I found that there was no reciprocation of that loyalty.
• A diesel engine. I have always been impressed by the 320 CDI engine – excellent torque and very frugal, but it sounds awful if you lower the window whilst driving or get out the car whilst the engine is running, or simply when you are stationary at the lights. I might regret moving from diesel, though, if fuel prices go back up again… Anyway, for now, I am back on the strong stuff, so cheers to all petrolheads!

Now, the things I am going to miss:

• The speed limit function – I always use this in speed-restricted sections on motorways, where the traffic density prevents use of cruise but the straight lanes make it easy to exceed the 50mph limit. Going to miss it badly.
• The cruise control / speed limit stalk (Audi has a stalk but it is clunky and not as intuitive, the MB combined cruise / limit stalk is just pure ergonomic genius).
• The secondary sun visors that are fitted behind the main ones – brilliant idea and it should be on every car. Does MB still fit them? Or was that another victim of the accountants’ red pen?
• The ability to lower the rear headrests with a button on the console (killed off in the 211 facelift).
• The carrying capacity of the rear cabin area: wider higher and longer in the MB. The Audi has a more sharply raked rear screen that significantly reduces the practicality of the load area, and it’s smaller in every dimension.
• The rear seat backs that genuinely fold flat (and don’t have any squidgy give in them, either – brilliant). Another feature that the accountants killed off when the W212 was launched.
• The incredibly tight turning circle (that only rear-wheel drive can offer) – it’s far tighter than our Fiat 500’s turning circle!!
• The interior lighting design. Two points here. First, my MB uses a muted white light (conventional tungsten, so it is a gently ‘creamy’ white) that I find very attractive – I am not keen on the brutal, brittle red lighting used in Audis. Second, the Audi uses LEDs where white light is needed (to light door handles and footwells). I find tungsten lighting much easier on the eye than the hard, bright light that LEDs emit.
• The star on the bonnet to guide me. It’s wonderful in this day and age to be able to buy a car with a genuine bonnet mascot. I cannot understand why MB UK don’t allow it in their line-up on the E-Class (can you get a bonnet star on an S-Class still?).

And finally:

• This forum. I’m not going away totally but inevitably my new car will draw me to the VW Audi forum and, whilst it’s a friendly place, it isn’t anywhere near as chatty and as fun a place to be as here. For a start, you are ‘funnelled’ down a series of links so you tend to end up in a sub-forum that is specific to your car and any general chat sections are many clicks away. They don’t really have the range of general sub-forums like here, either (Off-topic, Driving incidents, General chat); and they don’t have that many active members, either.

Of course, there’s plenty of good things about the Audi that are going to help me get over the wrench of saying goodbye to the MB, but this is an MB forum so I’ll save that for a post on “the other side”.

So, what do you think? What makes your MB special and what would you gladly change?

Final summary: 100,000 miles and ten years. Of course things have gone wrong - especially in the early years, but they were all electronics and nothing major; all done on warranty. The car only let me down twice: when it failed to start last week (but I had left it standing for a few weeks after a spell of short journeys when the weather was cold); and it once went into limp-home mode, but cycling the ignition fixed that. I call that pretty impressive reliability.

She still drives like new - no rattles or squeaks and the paintwork is immaculate everywhere. It has never once been garaged and there is not a speck of rust on the bodywork.

Well done Mercedes! It's been a wonderful ten years.

Philip

 

[SamW]

Nice reading and good luck with the new Audi adventure.

Points i've discovered about the Audi dealer network is they're not afraid to splash the cash in making the customer feel special and valued - something MB seem to let themselves down with a bit at times.

Invaribly you'll be treated to a gift upon handover, maybe some accessories etc, and during the servicing cycle you'll probably feel a bit more valued with discounts, valets between services etc - nothing too costly but does make the difference.

For me the Audi dealership experience was great, but I personally found the cars very uninspiring to own. I was taken aback by the interior feel in the showroom, the big wheels and fancy lights... but found the day to day ownership not quite there. Then I experienced a VW/Seat/Skoda and thought to myself, the extra money spent probably just pays for that added dealer experience.

Now i'm back in the MB, I feel like i've put my comfy old slippers back on - I love the brand/star/image, the fact that its 'independant' in many ways. I love the history, innovations and development and I think the cars look great in an 'old money', understated way (I certainly have no money - new or old!)

Enjoy the day tomorrow and enjoy your new car... I look forward to hearing your ownership review moving forward.

 

[prprandall51]

So far I have only seen the sales side of the Audi machine and it is pretty good. It will be interesting to see how the service side stacks up over the coming years. I am still going to be around here from time to time, for sure (maybe a lot!) so maybe there will be a "Reasons I want to get back to MB" thread in the future!

 

[C43AMG]

Enjoy.

 

[flowrider]

Good luck with your new Audi, i had an A4 for a couple of years and found the service from my local Audi dealer to be very good, even though they never fixed the issue i had with the adaptive cruise control they did at least try their best and didn't lose interest. I also liked the free MOT's and MOT insurance.

 

[Davelincs]

Well my 2014 s212 is going in a couple of weeks time, I have never been in such an uncomfortable car, to me the seats are shocking on any journey over 1 hour, the dab radio works for a while , probably 5 minutes then nothing, mb cannot or don't want to do anything about that, so its back to an A6 avant , I now wondered why I changed from audi to mb

 

[Fudger]

Well my 2014 s212 is going in a couple of weeks time, I have never been in such an uncomfortable car, to me the seats are shocking on any journey over 1 hour, the dab radio works for a while , probably 5 minutes then nothing, mb cannot or don't want to do anything about that, so its back to an A6 avant , I now wondered why I changed from audi to mb

Its odd that you say that as my 2014 S212 is the most comfortable car I have had on long journeys.

My DAB is not brilliant but not intolerably bad either. However, I certainly think MB have buried their heads in the sand over the DAB issue and the punter has nowhere to go when they do that. In my experience, all motor manufacturers do the same with problems like this.

I did look at the A6 Avant but they do not do a petrol version so it was a non-starter for me; great car apart from that though.

 

[trapperjohn]

Lets hope Mercedes are monitoring threads like this. Sorry to see you guys changing saddles, see you on the Ponderosa sometime.

 

[gIzzE]

Well my 2014 s212 is going in a couple of weeks time, I have never been in such an uncomfortable car, to me the seats are shocking on any journey over 1 hour, the dab radio works for a while , probably 5 minutes then nothing, mb cannot or don't want to do anything about that, so its back to an A6 avant , I now wondered why I changed from audi to mb

I was the same, crap seats and crap driving position.

I got out after a few weeks.


The A6 Avant was glorious, but a Quattro V6 was also silly money once specced up, came to nearly £15,000 more than the E350cdi both new and at up to 12 months old, hence the E Class won.

 

[Lenny63]

Good thread

Where is your w211 bound ? Trade in ?

 

[merc85]

A change is good as the rest, I had Volvo's for 5 years then When i got my w211 last year i thought dam ive been missing out.

Cant say anything positive about that Vag group so wont go into it. Dont be a stranger in here tho either, I still go on the Volvo forums from time to time, just because you change Marks doesnt mean you cant still chat about other 's.

 

[prprandall51]

Good thread

Where is your w211 bound ? Trade in ?

Thanks. The 211 is off to a friend - I have just given it its final wash. Sniff! She's looking good.:bannana:

 

[Lenny63]

Good to know it's staying within your circle !! Always a pleasing notion

 

[Teflonso]

A couple of thoughts from a first time E Class driver with a long history of Audi / VAG cars:

• The MB cruise control is the best thought out I've ever come across. Period.
• The back head rests still do drop at the push of a button, at least on my facelift 2013 estate.
• The wiper controls on the stalk are close to the worst I've come across. Two stage push button wipe /wash-wipe is good though.
• I'd never have bought a Merc if it had the gun sight on the bonnet. It always reminds me of that bloke with the little moustache and the weird salute.
• My E350 is the first car I've ever had that hasn't been in for any sort of fix under warranty and the fit and finish is awesome.
• Don't expect your Audi dealer experience to be any better.
• The dual sun visors have now gone, but VW are fitting them on Passats and I suspect you might find them on an A6.

The one overwhelming benefit of buying an Audi is that there is a very active community of VCDS (equivalent of Star) users with a lot of freely available information. They'll turn out to plug into your car for the price of a pint or less. You can even buy a genuine cable and software for a couple of hundred beer vouchers and play around yourself. Diagnostics are very straightforward and the dealer doesn't have you by the nose. Want auto dipping mirrors? No problem. A couple of dozen other tweaks and extras from the factory are also easy. Want to log measurement blocks to see if your turbo is the problem? A doddle. Need to wind back the callipers so you can change your own rear brake pads without wrecking the electronic handbrake motors? Big money saved.

I was only planning to get 6-7 years from my E but considering your experience I'll now aim for 10.

p.s. I'm surprised you didn't mention the stupid foot operated parking brake. Whoever decided to still fit that on a car should be re-educated in the gulag. Together with the man responsible for the gear selector stalk where the indicators ought to be.

.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Good luck with the new car. I'm looking forward to hearing more about it.

An Audi A6 Avant 3.0 BiTDi Quattro (Black Edition) is my week day car these days, and although it's not as charasmatic or as enjoyable as my C32 AMG which it has replaced, it's "deeply competent" which is a strange way of describing a car but sums it up for me.

It does everything supremely well, but is perhaps a little too good because it feels clinical in it's precision and competence. Awesome car though.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Over the last couple of months I have entertained myself during long journeys by contemplating the things I am going to miss when I switch marques and, as the subject of what makes an MB special is close to the hearts of all members here, I thought I would share my conclusions with you all.

Agree 100% with your list, the cruise control is unrivalled.
The dash layout of the W211 is peerless in my opinion, very uncluttered and everything is symmetrical. I've owned seven W211's and loved every one of them (especially the last).

After ten years of being spoilt with yours, I think it'll take you a long while to get over the change and that's not because it's an Audi, I just think Mercedes do little touches that you don't really notice until you don't have them (like the double sun visor)

So, what do you think? What makes your MB special and what would you gladly change?

After owning several W211's, the natural progression for me would be the W212 but I just can't get on with the driving position being off-set, the door cards being too high so you've nowhere to rest your arm on a long journey and the general feel of the materials. These issues led me to the Jaguar XF which I've found to be the natural successor to the W211; well thought-out cabin, leather dashboard, smooth yet stiff enough ride and the road presence.

Why didn't you buy a S212?

 

[Crazyfool]

Back in the day my father had an F reg Audi 90. It was an awesome car; the command system (or Audis equivalent at the time) gave information I hear BMW drivers say they've got in their cars today. I was hooked. So as soon as I could afford it I bought my first Audi which was an almost brand new B6 A4. It was a brilliant car, really sporty, nice engine, but once the warranty ran out the engine started playing up. Audi refused to agree it was a common fault, but when the B7's were launched, surprisingly enough they didn't have the component that caused the fundamental issue. My wife wasn't happy at how much money I had thrown at the car and I was told not to buy another.

Well I didn't listen to her and bought my B8 A4. It had 2,500 miles on the clock when I bought it. I thought the last one was nice at the time, but this one was so much better. Within 2 years of ownership I had an engine issue, but I wasn't worried because it was repaired under warranty. Once the warranty ran out, that's where the fun began. I was sitting at the lights and the engine shut down and the car lit up like a Christmas tree. In short, the bearings to the timing chain flywheel failed knocking the engine timing out. With a good will gesture it cost me £1,500 to repair, but it could have been worse. My neighbour had an RSV which uses the same engine. His failed on the motorway totally ruining the engine. Skoda quoted him £9,000 for a new engine!

Last year the car was burning excessive oil. If you type Audi 2.0 T engine oil issue into Google, I won't need to explain the situation. Needless to say Audi UK didn't see it as their problem, although someone EBay is providing a service to rectify it. Basically my engine rebuild was going to cost me £5,500, but with a lot of arguing with Audi UK, I got it to £3,100, then £2,500. Later I lost it big time with AUK when on a Sunday evening my car had the recovered 150 miles due the the problem. Audi eventually reduced the price to £370. AUK is now completing the work for free because Audi America lost a law suit against this problem.

That wasn't the last of my issues and I just got fed up with Audi saying 'it's another common Audi issue Mr C'. I've owned Audis for 12 years and for the last 4 years I have been spending around £1.000 a year on repairs which has really disappointed me.

Having said that, the best car I have ever owned and still own is my wife's Audi cabriolet. It takes me back to my fathers 90, but without the roof. Like the person who used to look after me at the garage said, 'they don't make them like they used to!'

If you find a good Audi garage they are brilliant. I was very lucky in that respect, but AUK as as useful as a foul fart in a fully occupied aeroplane.

Hopefully you won't have such issues and you enjoy the car as it's supposed to be. I'll give it to Audi, they know how to design nice looking cars.

 

[Crazyfool]

Forgot to say the guys on www.audi-sport.net are brilliant. If you need advice, that's where you need to go; they'll even tell you who can fiddle with your Driver Information System to get more functions.

 

[meeeb]

A couple of thoughts from a first time E Class driver with a long history of Audi / VAG cars:

• The back head rests still do drop at the push of a button, at least on my facelift 2013 estate.
• The MB cruise control is the best thought out I've ever come across. Period.
• The wiper controls on the stalk are close to the worst I've come across. Two stage push button wipe /wash-wipe is good though.
• I'd never have bought a Merc if it had the gun sight on the bonnet. It always reminds me of that bloke with the little moustache and the weird salute.
• My E350 is the first car I've ever had that hasn't been in for any sort of fix under warranty and the fit and finish is awesome.
• Don't expect your Audi dealer experience to be any better.
• The dual sun visors have now gone, but VW are fitting them on Passats and I suspect you might find them on an A6.

p.s. I'm surprised you didn't mention the stupid foot operated parking brake. Whoever decided to still fit that on a car should be re-educated in the gulag. Together with the man responsible for the gear selector stalk where the indicators ought to be.

.

Fully agree re the stalks. I still occasionally operate the 'winkers' instead of changing gear. But I don't like the wash wipe/stalk. It's too easy to start the wipe before any water gets onto the screen.

The parking brake has been the subject of previous posts, but I totally agree with you. I can't see how it can be legal even when properly adjusted. It's pathetic.

As for Audi dealerships, you'll find the same said about Mercedes-Benz, and no doubt many others. My son had issues with Jaguar, who demonstrated a complete disinterest in his mechanical problem. I wasn't thrilled by the Ford dealership I bought my wife's car from.

Although my E350 has been trouble free and is a superb motorway cruiser, I can't get to like it due to its idiosyncrasies, and can't wait to change when I can afford it this coming summer. Audi A8 is on the list, but I'm put off slightly by some negative comments about reliability.

 

[Crazyfool]

+1 for the foot operated brake. What's that all about? The car lurches forward when I park on a gradient. Why can't the parking brake remain on?