Mercedes v BMW reliability today ?

[Cigano]

My father am i are in the motor trade , we have bought and sold ex fleet hight millage cars and vans /4x4s for over 30 years.

We dont buy as many cars as we used to ,mostly vans and 4x4s ,but when we do buy a BMW or a merc in i cant help but notice the difference in the service history the amount of work these cars have done as apposed 15-20 yr a go .

The cars we used to buy back in the late 1990s , used to cover 200k and have little done , but when we buy stuff in to day with just 100-120k on most have had loads spent on them..most of it electrical ,dont get me started on a bmw 123d we just sold (swirl flaps and fcuking warning lights)
Anyone think that reliability has been compromised in todays technology of efficiency ?
In your findings what do you think is more reliable ..BMW? or Merc or VAG ?

 

[Berkshire Rich]

Mazda. The way forward

 

[Ant-toe-knee]

Mercedes E-Class named Europe's most reliable used car | Advice - Car News Sep 2012 - CarSite.co.uk

 

[peter49]

My wife's Toyota Yaris is 9 years old. All we have spent is normal servicing, new tyres and a set of wiper blades. Sails through the MOT every time.
My last CLK required a replacement air con condenser, several problems re: steering and suspension and I was quoted £1100 when the analogue clock packed in.
My current W204 V6 diesel is 5.5 years old and has required only tyres.
I've owned a couple of BMW's and never had any problems apart from comfort issues.

 

[Cigano]

Just sold a bmw 123 m sport , it had only done 69k when i bought it, under warranty it had new clutch,gear box,fly wheel and a new turbo , i decided to run it for a couple of years , by the time it hit 105k i had £1000 bill for the dreaded swirl flap issue ,had to buy the new inlet manifold £500 ,sold it with two warning lights on telling me my projector head light had failed and steering lock needed , if i had put that right it would of cost me another £800
Sold it like it was and bit the bullet
On one hand if a car has a heep bills for work and servicing it might be a good thing but on the other hand i often wonder why its got them ?

 

[Chalpkin]

Mazda. The way forward

They can rust as fast as late 90's early 00's Mercedes!

 

[kap02]

Japanese cannot be beaten in this area....

My w204 has had more work in 9 months then all of my previous 4 Honda's put together.....

Is this a nicer car ? Yes lol..... so you cant win.

 

[joecash]

look at warranty directs web site - it shows in WDs opinion the most reliable cars - based on what they have had to pay out in claims on various cars - doubt if you can get more objective than that - i have nothing to do with WD

 

[grober]

Mercedes E-Class named Europe's most reliable used car | Advice - Car News Sep 2012 - CarSite.co.uk

Refers to the previous model W211 E CLASS---- not the latest one. I don't think there's much between the electronic laden "executive class" Mercedes, BMW and Audi- Even the prestige Japanese marques such as Acura, Lexus and Infinity are starting to be affected by this increased complexity. In many cases this is of course driven by lower emissions requirements of stringent environmental legislation leading to highly stressed small capacity high output engines and clever low drag transmissions. Perhaps this extra complexity is a " given" and its how the manufacturers deal with it that's important. Are their dealer outlets adequately geared up to deal with this increased complexity and are their customers protected by adequate warranties. In this respect the Koreans appear to be leading the way and attracting lots of customers in the process. They have not yet made any serious attempts to make truly viable inroads into the executive markets but probably only a matter of time?

 

[bpsorrel]

I have to agree about Japanese reliability. My JDM Nissan in Russia is now 10 years old, and contends with very bad road conditions and intensive use for two months and then storage for months. I've had it for 6 years now and it's only needed annual oil and filter changes and one set of shocks (the roads are awful and very hard on suspension components!) I wonder how a BMW or MB would've fared...

And, my Toyota Hybrid has had no problems at all in the year I've owned it.

By contrast, my (ex) CLS had over £3K of work in the first 3 months of ownership....

Hmmm....

 

[moff]

Owned 4 BMW's and not a single issue with any of them. Owned 2 Mercedes and had lots with my C350 but so far none on my C63 except rattles and annoyingly squeaky brakes.

 

[moff]

Actually... I tell a lie, the HPFP went in my first 135i which was a major problem with the N54 engine...

 

[G.P]

Japanese cannot be beaten in this area....

The three Japanese vehicle's we ran on our fleet all had engine issue's.

For me I need quite a bit of lumbar support within the seat and all Jap cars have the support to low down within the seat to suit my requirments..

 

[kianok]

My experience of VW/ Audi....

Scirocco MK3 2.0 Tsi - bought brand new, must have gone back 20 times with all sorts of issues in the 18 months I had it (mostly electrical)

Friends A4 2.0 S-Line x2 - Both had major engine issues. first one suffered an oil pump failure at the 3 year old mark, current one is 2 years old and sat at the dealership having pistons and rings replaced.

I'm not buying another VW or Audi for a long time..........

 

[moonloops]

My Audi S3 has been pretty good considering it's now at stage 2.. e.g. 320BHP. Just a faulty coil park so far.

Bedford BCA are holding an auction this week of non runners so maybe a few of us on here can upgrade

My W202 I think will go forever until it rusts out, had lots of warning lights on when I bought it but that was due to sensors not been connected or being gunked up..

 

[Lagerlout]

Not had a single mechanical issue with any of the E classes my company runs outside of the usual tyre issues, one cracked sump, cracked wheel, all use related. New BMW 5 we have needed it's turbo replacing recently. I honestly believe the most recent Mercs are better than the competition.

 

[219]

I have to say that MB does seem to have dropped off in quality over the years : I can't remember anything ever going wrong with my dad's Fintail when he ran it through the 60's , nor with the W114/115 and W123 models which came after .
Similarly , the W123/124/201/126 models I have ran have been trouble free considering the ages/mileages of the ones I have had ( haven't had a car with less than 100K on for quite a while and nothing more than stuff you would expect accordingly - tyres , brakes , exhausts etc ) . Even my Ponton which I ran from the early 80's into the mid 90's was reliable , but then it was just a similar age to what my W126's are now .

I pretty much stopped at W201/124/126 as the horror stories about later generations put me off . Only recently I tried a W203 as it is getting harder to source good examples of the earlier cars now .

By contrast , the W203 I currently have isn't a patch on the earlier ones - with leaking injectors , faulty door locks ( electric now instead of vacuum ) faulty rear wash wiper - just waiting for something else to break ..... I will be going back to an older model , probably either a 201 or 124 when it is time to change , unless something major goes wrong first .

Re other makes - I have never owned a BMW but my sister and her hubby plus a few of the in laws have had them and their fair share of problems . We have had lots of VAG products ranging from air cooled Beetles from circa 1964 onwards which were all as reliable as their reputation suggests ( one instance of being stranded due to a cracked distributor cap ; come to think of it had the same once with a W124 ) ; have had every Golf from Mk 1 to Mk 5 - all good ; Mk 1 and II Passats - both good ; Polos Mk 1 , 2 and 3 - again no problems ; also have had Audi 100's back in the 70's , both the LS and the GL without any problems .

While I have never owned Japanese , friends and family have - they are fine up to about five years old , albeit they feel flimsy and tinny with bland plastic interiors , but after five years everything just starts to fall apart and if you think Merc parts are expensive your eyes will water at Jap parts prices . A friend was told he needed new discs and pads all round on his then five year old / 50K Nissan Almera ( Golf sized hatchback ) and was close to £500 for the parts alone ! Around the same time I did the same job on my W126 ( which was 22 years old at the time and past 200K ) for less than £200 including handbrake shoes as well as front and rear discs and pads , all genuine ATE . I also have a friend who bought his Mazda 626 new and ran it to 200K , at which point it was a clapped out heap barely hanging together ; my Mercs at that mileage still look and feel like they would do the same again ( in fact one of my 124's did go past 400K ) .

 

[tonyloz]

Yes I'd have to agree the quality has left a sour taste. My S204 from new has had numerous failed of door handles, paintwork, Sat Nav, Radio and now one of the central locking actuators. It's lively to drive but it has been the worst in terms of niggles.

 

[Vlad]

Mazda. The way forward

Not entirely sure I agree with that, especially if its a diesel Mazda....shocking problems with their 2.0 and 2.2 diesel engines from @ 2002 to 2009-2010. Literally a ticking time bomb of an engine with multiple faults, which is one of the reasons they are dirt cheap as they have a habit of self destructing. They also have the worst record for DPF problems.

Now, if its a petrol Mazda....I'm with you on that

 

[blue gnome123]

I'd agree that early to mid-naughties Merc dropped the ball on quality. Post 2006-2007 things seem to have improved. Although my S212 seems better built interior wise than my previous S211, which I incidentally had no problems with.

I've owned two previous Honda Accord MKVII Tourer diesels and had turbo problems with both (although both were approaching 100K). Interior wise they felt very good even after that many miles. I think that these were teething problems since this was Honda's first attempt at car diesels. Apart from the diesel problems I had not a single issue with them, apart from them both going through headlight bulbs a little quickly.

We have a 2.4 Petrol Accord Tourer now (5 years old) and we have had no problems with it. I'd say that the interior of this car feels about as well built as the german equivalents I've driven, certainly not "tinny".

I didn't buy a pre-2009 5 series due to the problems with easy theft they have.