Mercedes Sales Figures

[Munkee]

Mercedes sales figures seem to be going up and up and up and up and up, so far that it's now sky high!!!

 

[KillerHERTZ]

If you look closely enough, you can nearly spot the rust

 

[Munkee]

Huh! What are you talking about?!

 

[R2D2]

Huh! What are you talking about?!

Whilst it is true that MB sales have never been higher, it is questionable if this is a good thing. Legendary build quality is a thing of the past. I suspect Killer hertz comment relates to the many tails on this forum of Mercedes with rust problems, electrical problems and other problems. The fact is MB dealers take back several cars each month that have been rejected because they have serious problems. I believe big Stick has just got MB to take his W203 back. High sales has ruined the brand. The W203 is currently in the bottom half of every customer satisfaction survey. Many of us who own W202s and W210 will be looking elsewhere when our cars have to go. Several members of this forum have bought BMWs and several others Jaguars, several others are considering Audis, Mazdas and other brands that are built to a half decent standard.


With regard to what BMW stands for.........do we really want to support the Break My Windows mentality by giving it air space? All of the above is IMHO only!

 

[R2D2]

breakdown Complaints
W211 Breakdown Link
W211 Breakdown link 2
MB Complaints threads
Rust Complaints

 

[Munkee]

After reading the rust complaints thread, I see what KillerHERTZ meant now.

One thing is for sure that they don't make them like they used to! My '95 W124 has had no probs, neither in my possession or with the previous owner. Just the usual wear and tear ofcourse.

 

[RichardM]

If you look on any owners forums you will see many complaints from owners about their new cars.

 

[R2D2]

Yes Richard thats true but Munkee's W124, my old w202, the C Class taxi down the road with 525000 miles on it havent had these problems. We bought MERCEDES BENZ because of its quality and image and once upon a time dealer service. The dealers dont give a stuff anymore, the cars are almost main stream, and the experience is being diluted to the point where it is devaluing the brand. A local dealer takes back 3 cars a month that are rejected.....Think about that for a minute, A Mercedes that is so bad that the faults cant be repaired.

In autoexpress' recent survey they found that 20% of W203 owners were dissatisfied and a further 20% said they wouldnt buy one again or recomend the car. 40% unhappy is appalling. In the same survey the worst handling/riding car in the UK was the Smart the second worst the A class.

I dont like the cars much, but Lexus has been in the top three for 5 years on the trot, the cars are well built, reliable and the dealers bend over backwards to help.

Top car for owner satisfaction Honda Jazz, then Mazda 6 then IS200 all from Japan.

The only question is can MB turn it round before all the old mercs wear out and we all drive somethink else??

 

[RichardM]

I dont like the cars much, but Lexus has been in the top three for 5 years on the trot, the cars are well built, reliable and the dealers bend over backwards to help.

I know I posted this quite many times but I had a Lexus for three years (from new) before this car and I don't agree with that. The dealers were good (very good compared to MB) but I did have a lot of warranty claims on the car, and one of the reasons for changing was that despite multiple attempts by the dealer they were unable to sort out a couple of issues with the car, bad juddering when pulling away (had multiple clutches and flywheels) and knocking from the suspension. I think the build on the W211 is far superior, and the attention to detail is in a different world to the Lexus.

 

[Robbo]

20% of W203 owners were dissatisfied and a further 20% said they wouldnt buy one again or recomend the car

I must be in the 60% category then. Ok its not been 100% perfect (more due to dealer incomptence than anything), but it is a pleasure to drive in and does what I want from a car.

I think that part of the problem lies with the fact that many first time customer's expectations are unrealistically high. OK its a mercedes, but its not that much more expensive than mainstream models and cars do still go wrong. IME many dealers just dont seem to be able to fix relatively simple things properly. The W202 is hardly perfect either with corrosion all over the place and what seems to be a high incidence of MAS failures.

Cheers

 

[guydewdney]

my 140 S doesnt rust.... yet.

seriously considering that underbody / cavity wax seal thing advertised in several classic car mags... I believe the 140 coupe is a future classic - prob the last decent build (admittedly not as well built as the 126, but better than the 210 & 211).

logic:-
every mb coupe for the last 30 + years is now worth more than mine (in good / showroom nick)
126 500 SEC - 8 - 10K
111 coupe -- 20+ K
140 coupe - from 5K atm, with post 96 ones being the most sought after.

the only cavity wax bods i can find though are ooop north - anyone know of one daaarn saaarf? - or should i just go buy a monster bottle of waxoil and do it myself? ( I have a compressor and an 'underseal gun i use for waxoiling my bike)

Guy

 

[DITTRICH]

Many many years ago (1989) my old man ordered a 2litre 190e for about £18,500 (I think) which he still has AND it still works AND has never had a (serious) problem. Now consider all the intervening years of inflation etc and look at the entry level prices for the W203 of about £20,000 . I know cars are supposed to be getting cheaper, but putting the 190e and the W203 together clearly demonstrate that quality and reliability have suffered dreadfully in the last few years. I mean, all that E-Class rust...What are they playing at?
rgds
Les

 

[Big_Stick]

I replaced my wife's brand new C-Class estate after 6 months for a Toyota Avensis estate. Enough said really.

The C-Class was awful: rattles, poor body work finish, poor door fit, bonnet not aligned, poor interior finish (including footwell carpet that did not fit and you could see all the electical wires as a result), excessive wind noise from driver's door. And more.

Dealer could not fix. So I sued him for compensation and I won but only after DaimlerChrysler asked me to sign a non-disclosure agreement (i.e. 'keep your £$%^& mouth shut').

But the dealer attitude was the pits--they really could not care less.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Was that Robinsons of Cambridge by any chance? as they are being total w@nkers with my brothers CLK rust.

 

[Munkee]

That's it, after reading all these horror stories I am never letting go of my W124!

I'm too worried now about upgrading to a newer Merc. These new cars seem to have problems that really my '95 W124 should have, but guess what, it doesn't have any of these problems - Yipeeeeeeeeeeeee!! My advice to anyone with a new or newish Merc and having problems with it, to buy a 124 or similar, you can't go wrong with the oldies!!

 

[Brian WH]

I will say it again, I have had four Mercedes from new and been very pleased with them. NO MAJOR PROBLEMS, and small minor ones sorted by the dealer with no fuss or arguements.

I would buy another tomorrow, but my E320CDI is too good to part with. :bannana: :bannana:

 

[weebobster]

I have said it before and ill say it again my C220cdi estate is top notch!. I have to call it as I see it, and I see rock solid car!!! My previous cars were all SAAB's, so it is against this baseline that I make my comments. As for handling - just ask Pammy who tested one on a track day recently :bannana:

 

[Big_Stick]

KillerHERTZ:

No it was not Robinsons; the car was supplied from elsewhere because Robinsons would not give me a 12% discount.

I cannot say who the real culprit dealer was 'due to legal reasons' and all that legal fluff that I signed with DaimlerChrylser UK.

Sorry about that.

 

[scotth_uk]

I think that it was someone in these very forums who once pointed out that the cost of a S now, is roughly the same as the cost of an S 10 years back. I am pretty sure that 10 years ago, we weren't quite earning the same money as now on average.

In other words, Mercs are becoming more affordable. Sliding down the scale perhaps? I seem to remember a time when owning a Merc S was the most far flung idea. These days it seems more than reachable to a lot more people.