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Benz DEFECTS are worse than ever
by: lt52
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2 out of 3 people found this guide helpful.
Guide viewed: 216 times Tags: Certified | Mercedes | S430 | Benz | Lemon
If you must own a Benz, avoid 2001 through 2005
ESPECIALLY STARMARK CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED "Lemons"
Here's what happened at Mercedes Benz and written up at Edmunds.com. Edmunds is one of the nation's best automotive industry experts.
"Mercedes Sends Quality 'Hit Squads' to Suppliers in Push to Eliminate Defects"
Date posted: 05-06-2005
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Mercedes-Benz announced it has been sending "hit squads" into suppliers worldwide, and is test-driving more cars as they leave the factory, in order to overcome quality problems that prompted a record recall of 1.3 million faulty vehicles last month.
Hans-Heinrich Weingarten, Mercedes' head of production, and Bill Taylor, president of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, said the carmaker had dropped a few suppliers and assigned its own engineers to many others.
The moves are part of a quality offensive designed to eliminate problems with Mercedes cars, which have cost the company $587 million in repairs. Mercedes claims cars now being produced are once more of high quality and problems are only with cars already sold.
Among other corrective measures, more cars are being test-driven as they come off the production line "so we get not only the static problems but also the dynamic problems," Weingarten said. He added that consolidation among parts suppliers has made it more difficult for Mercedes to monitor the supply chain.
While the company previously dealt with relatively small owner-run enterprises in Germany, it now buys entire systems and modules from much larger suppliers.
What this means to you: Mercedes is finally getting back to basics, but the damage is done. Restoring the reputation of the three-pointed star will be a long haul.
YOU can view the same report yourself at Edmunds.com. Ebay does not allow the inclusion of external URL's in 'reviews and guides so I've added asterisks to eliminate that problem. Here is the URL....copy/paste into your browser, then carefully delete ALL the asteriks. ***http*://*www*.*edmunds*.*com*/*insideline*do*/*News*/*articleId*=*105578***
I purchased a Certified Pre Owned Mercedes 2003 S430 on Nov. 22, 2005 from the Tucson, AZ Mercedes Dealer. It had 2 years of Mfg. warranty plus one year of CPO warranty. In otherwords, all repairs and maintenance were FREE during this period. What could I possibly lose? It only had 27,000 miles on it.
I sold it back to the dealer 3 months later. What could I possibly lose? My Life! And my wife's.
It was scheduled for service literally the day I drove it off the lot.
While driving, the lights went out on the dashboard; the ABS system failed 4 times, the fuel gauge quit working, leaving me stranded without gas in rush hour traffic. The on board communications system between me and MB did not work! I couldn't call them for gas or a tow!
The management (Mercedes Benz-Tucson) said there was nothing they could do to repair the ABS system. Why am I so concerned about an accident? The owners manual. It clearly states in the owner's manual on page 291 that....
"when the yellow ABS indicator lamp comes on, the ABS has malfunctioned and switched off. The BAS and the ESP are also switched off (in conjunction). If the ABS control unit is malfunctioning, other systems such as Parktronic, Distronic, the navigation system and the automatic transmission can also malfunction."
The suggested solution, still on page 291 of the 2003 S-Class Owner's Manual: Have th system checked at an authorized Mercedes-Benz center as soon as possible. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS INCREASES THE RISK OF AN ACCIDENT.
Mercedes admits that it did not check the quality control of the vendors that it hired to produce the wiring/electrical system! They also agree that at least 15% of vehicles made during this time frame have serious problems.
PS....It is public knowledge (at least in the auto industry, and by stock market analysts, and some of the general public) that Mercedes has spent over a half billion dollars buying back lemons built in 2001 through 2005. BUYER BEWARE OF THOSE YEARS. Run a CarFax if you just have to own a Benz. If it has a history of repairs, YOU will continue to have a future of repairs or accidents.
DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. SEARCH THE INTERNET AND YOU'LL FIND A LOT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MERCEDES WHICH IS EVEN WORSE!
At least half the time when I picked it up from Benz service here in Tucson, a warning light came on as I was leaving the dealership! Hey, I wish I was making this up, but it's all documented for a future lawsuit. Before buying, review the CARFAX. I reviewed the CarFax before I bought, and I mistakenly assumed the problems that were listed had all been fixed. WRONG. It was evidence that the car was an ongoing problematic vehicle.
DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE BEFORE BUYING! CHECK THE VIN AT CarFax.com before you buy any model made during 2001 through 2005. It costs only $19.95 for one vehicle, or $25 for unlimited use for one month.
PS.... I am part owner of a used car dealership. I didn't check the CarFax, instead I trusted MB. I should have known better!
Guide ID: 10000000001252224Guide created: 06/30/06 (updated 07/02/06)
by: lt52
2 out of 3 people found this guide helpful.Guide viewed: 216 times Tags: Certified | Mercedes | S430 | Benz | Lemon
If you must own a Benz, avoid 2001 through 2005
ESPECIALLY STARMARK CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED "Lemons"
Here's what happened at Mercedes Benz and written up at Edmunds.com. Edmunds is one of the nation's best automotive industry experts.
"Mercedes Sends Quality 'Hit Squads' to Suppliers in Push to Eliminate Defects"
Date posted: 05-06-2005
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Mercedes-Benz announced it has been sending "hit squads" into suppliers worldwide, and is test-driving more cars as they leave the factory, in order to overcome quality problems that prompted a record recall of 1.3 million faulty vehicles last month.
Hans-Heinrich Weingarten, Mercedes' head of production, and Bill Taylor, president of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, said the carmaker had dropped a few suppliers and assigned its own engineers to many others.
The moves are part of a quality offensive designed to eliminate problems with Mercedes cars, which have cost the company $587 million in repairs. Mercedes claims cars now being produced are once more of high quality and problems are only with cars already sold.
Among other corrective measures, more cars are being test-driven as they come off the production line "so we get not only the static problems but also the dynamic problems," Weingarten said. He added that consolidation among parts suppliers has made it more difficult for Mercedes to monitor the supply chain.
While the company previously dealt with relatively small owner-run enterprises in Germany, it now buys entire systems and modules from much larger suppliers.
What this means to you: Mercedes is finally getting back to basics, but the damage is done. Restoring the reputation of the three-pointed star will be a long haul.
YOU can view the same report yourself at Edmunds.com. Ebay does not allow the inclusion of external URL's in 'reviews and guides so I've added asterisks to eliminate that problem. Here is the URL....copy/paste into your browser, then carefully delete ALL the asteriks. ***http*://*www*.*edmunds*.*com*/*insideline*do*/*News*/*articleId*=*105578***
I purchased a Certified Pre Owned Mercedes 2003 S430 on Nov. 22, 2005 from the Tucson, AZ Mercedes Dealer. It had 2 years of Mfg. warranty plus one year of CPO warranty. In otherwords, all repairs and maintenance were FREE during this period. What could I possibly lose? It only had 27,000 miles on it.
I sold it back to the dealer 3 months later. What could I possibly lose? My Life! And my wife's.
It was scheduled for service literally the day I drove it off the lot.
While driving, the lights went out on the dashboard; the ABS system failed 4 times, the fuel gauge quit working, leaving me stranded without gas in rush hour traffic. The on board communications system between me and MB did not work! I couldn't call them for gas or a tow!
The management (Mercedes Benz-Tucson) said there was nothing they could do to repair the ABS system. Why am I so concerned about an accident? The owners manual. It clearly states in the owner's manual on page 291 that....
"when the yellow ABS indicator lamp comes on, the ABS has malfunctioned and switched off. The BAS and the ESP are also switched off (in conjunction). If the ABS control unit is malfunctioning, other systems such as Parktronic, Distronic, the navigation system and the automatic transmission can also malfunction."
The suggested solution, still on page 291 of the 2003 S-Class Owner's Manual: Have th system checked at an authorized Mercedes-Benz center as soon as possible. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS INCREASES THE RISK OF AN ACCIDENT.
Mercedes admits that it did not check the quality control of the vendors that it hired to produce the wiring/electrical system! They also agree that at least 15% of vehicles made during this time frame have serious problems.
PS....It is public knowledge (at least in the auto industry, and by stock market analysts, and some of the general public) that Mercedes has spent over a half billion dollars buying back lemons built in 2001 through 2005. BUYER BEWARE OF THOSE YEARS. Run a CarFax if you just have to own a Benz. If it has a history of repairs, YOU will continue to have a future of repairs or accidents.
DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. SEARCH THE INTERNET AND YOU'LL FIND A LOT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MERCEDES WHICH IS EVEN WORSE!
Another day with my newly Certified Starmarked Mercedes S-430 on the tow truck.
Here it is pictured in front of the dealership.....where it spent most of the time I owned it being serviced...but never fixed.
DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE BEFORE BUYING! CHECK THE VIN AT CarFax.com before you buy any model made during 2001 through 2005. It costs only $19.95 for one vehicle, or $25 for unlimited use for one month.
PS.... I am part owner of a used car dealership. I didn't check the CarFax, instead I trusted MB. I should have known better!
Guide ID: 10000000001252224Guide created: 06/30/06 (updated 07/02/06)
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