Throwing in the towel on my Mercedes ?

[adam1]

Food for thought Evo.

I've been thinking of buying the New E. In fact I'm test driving the E220 cdi tomorrow. Wanted 270 but dealers didn;t have it in as demo.

I was on Honda forum and a chap recommeded i get Type R.
I like my Hondas but its not a sporty type of car. I cant do with an unreliable car. My work requires car like everyone else.

When you say they have lots of problesm the Es do you mean electonic glitches or serious probs needing work.
Are dealers competent with these high tech cars.

I know BMWs are just as bad but at least the service is excellent with the repairs( not expensive)as all the Forums suggest. The ride/handling is also good.


I'm going to spend another 10k on a Merc than a new Honda or probably another 2k than a BMW.

 

[UKEvo]

From what I know MB had serious problems with the Electronics in the new E. Apparently the frequency of occurence is made much worse if you go for the Command option. There has been problems with the cruise control, interior lighting failing, exteriro lights failing, car just stopping etc. Basically a lot of bugs and some of it is due to it being a new model. The money doesn't appear to be there to do the extensive testing these days.

But don't get me wrong, a lot of the time it's luck of the draw. More than one or two of the guys on here love their new E's (with command) and have not had problems with them. Whatever you do if you're not buying it outright I'd try and get it with a maintenence contract.

None of the above would stop me buying a new MB. A Honda and BMW might be more reliable but personally I don't buy cars based on their reliability alone but I guess I'm a little unusual in that I like to get my hands dirty working on cars so it doesn't bother me to the same extent when something goes wrong. If you absolutely need reliability I'd go for a Honda. Excellent engineering.

 

[adam1]

Know what your saying Evo.

Personally I like the E Class looks over the Honda. The Eclass has better styling, is more upmarket and it truely represents a car that is practical for me. I have a family and it would be large enough. The Honda is comparable too. The problem is unless I go for the E270CDI the performance is not up there with the Type S which is what I would aim around 190bhp. The financial gap then widens. From what you know how much can I get away with paying for the E270 without making the dealer simply say No deal.
What is the cost price for this car and what is the lowest price dealers are letting go. I can get around 4% off thro brokers. Finances are tight otherwise I'd just buy. Hope you can help.

Thanks.

 

[Brian WH]

Sorry to disagree, but I have had no problems with my E Class.(Touch wood) I am perfectly happy with it, and it is the best of the 4 Mercs that I have had.

Previous 4 were

190E No problems worth mentioning.

E200 No Problems worth mentioning.

E280 Only problem was the petrol tank receiver playing up, took two replacements to fix with modified receiver.

So don't assume that ALL mercs are bad eh.

 

[UKEvo]

Hi Adam - sorry but I can't help you with the pricing unfortunately, my two dealer friends are in Holland and Germany!

 

[RichardM]

I've had a few problems but nothing the dealer hasn't been able to resolve and the dealers are keen to sort them out. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.

 

[PJH]

All makes have the odd lemon or money pit. Luck of the draw.

That's the way I feel too, you can always get a bad one somewhere.

 

[Philirv]

Very sorry to hear about your C43.

I think that most enthusiasts would agree that the last 250k mercedes were the W124 and 190 series, before the cost accountants got their hands on them.

Recent software glitches on newer MB's have really hammered their reputation in the US and Europe, in fact in the Automotive Europe News today there was an article in which MB has realised they have serious issues, and are trying to get the firm back to No. 1 in JD Power initial quality within 2 years.

Hopefully they will be able to but the reliability reputation back into the brand.

Phil

 

[vito113]

Things may change…

Seems BMW/Mercs have to take lessons from the japs to get up there to the top....

Now that Daimler Chrysler has bought up Mitsubishi we will hopefully see some of the Japanese attitude to build quality rubbing off. I agree, and so do many industry observers, that the marriage with Chrysler seems to have resulted in a triumph of styling (from Chrysler) over engineering integrity (from MB).

Now that Mitusubishi are part of the team who's up for a C320 EVO8!!!!

Andy

 

[Kinky]

I have to say that when I was shopping for my car - I had a shortlist of which the 124 was #1.

Being the finicky kinda guy I am I researched and researched researched - and basically the 124s were the last of the 'old-style' MB build quality - which kinda clinched it for me.

Admittedly I've had a few problems - but not much more than I'd expect for a 10-year old car with 132k on the clock and a tow bar - so I dread to think it's towing history.

I have to confess - if it was my money - I don't think I'd have a newer MB. In fact - quite an BIG appeal at the mo is a 2.5 190e.

K

 

[rirhill]

I have to say that for the price you pay for a new Merc you do expect a reliable and well built car. It shocks me to read some of the parts that members have to have replaced. I was told on my last service that I had a leaking diff seal and it needed replacing on my car. They wanted over £400 for this to be done and it wasn t covered by warranty. I have heard on this thread of 3 people needing this done. Surely this is a fault part along with fuel senders which it took the stealership 2 attempts to fix this on my car.
I guess it all boils down to companys cutting costs.

Cheers
Ian

 

[Satch]

I showed this thread to some of the people I work with in Germany, most of whom drive MB as company vehicles. Much nodding of heads and muttering. They suffer like this as well, one guy having had MB take his early E270Cdi back as a "lemon" car thanks to electronics simply not working properly no matter what was done.

They told me that a few years back the (ex) senior management ordered the "elimination of over engineering" in order to cut costs. To be fair, the Engineers and many MB staffers knew this was complete madness, but bear in mind this was about the time they merged with a heavily loss making Chrysler in order to create "synergies". The money men would not be denied.

One of these synergies turned out to be that certain MB models became nearly as crap as Chrysler products. But the downside was huge because of the reduced overall quality filtered throughout and MB quickly got more bad press than they thought possible especially in Germany & the US.

So the policy was reversed and now things are getting better in terms of mechanical bits, fit, finish & trim, but there is a hangover! If you have signed tightly worded long term global contracts with suppliers for a given quantities & quality of bits, then you are stuck with it! So many of the "minor" electrical & system components are exactly the same standard as you will find on any el cheapo car and it shows.

Sadly, roughly the same was true for the more complex electronic systems. Some earlier software & processors were not up to the more complex tasks and will tend to fall over.

Yes, we were and still are the Beta development site.

 

[Philirv]

Well I for one am willing to hang until the products of this rethink hit the market.

I think my W124 has got a few years life left in it yet ....

Rgds
Phil

 

[Ian B Walker]

I think my W124 has got a few years life left in it yet ....

Rgds
Phil

Got to agree with you there, built like Panzers with the feul economy to match but I wouldnt swap it for another model, W201's were similar, solid motors.

 

[Philirv]

Ian,

I'm seriously thinking now of sticking my W124 in storage when I go to Japan.

My old man said he'd look after it for me (yeah right !) but it seems such a shame to get rid of it.

Phil

 

[Ian B Walker]

I could store it for you a gentle run once a week to keep it ticking over, Show it to members at the GTG's, Thrash it round Neurenburg...........oops Typo

 

[lotusmark2]

Ian,

I'm seriously thinking now of sticking my W124 in storage when I go to Japan.


Phil

Think you would be 100% right to do that, you will only regret getting rid of it!
GREAT MOTORS!

EDIT: That said yours could be improoved, I know a great spray shop that could sort out that strange fungus that is growing on your nice silver car

 

[SteveW124]

Throwing in the towel

Guys

I do wonder if Mercedes UK or the head Sheds in Germany ever read this forum? (or indeed the Mercedes owners Club one.)

This Forum's members seem to be a level headed lot of enthusiasts , giving both praise and constructive criticism when warranted.

MB could do a lot worse than taking note of their customers on here, eh?

Perhaps the 2nd best thing would be to then head hunt someone from Honda to beef up electrical reliability. (Yep shames me to have to say the H**d* word) )

3rd best thing would be to knock on the doors of the ex QA engineers (that, no doubt the bean counters made them pay off at the Chrysler merger time ) cap in hand , on bended knee ,waving fat cheque book.begging them to return and sort it.

Perhaps the message is just starting to trickle in though, as I read on the Car keys web site that MB are starting to acknowledge the quality gap.

On a purely selfish note I can't help that think my initial doubt about avoiding dipping my toe into Merc ownership by buying a new(ish) Merc in favour of the W124 I did buy was in fact a boon, as they seem to be engineered & built to an exacting standard, meant for fettling ,and have only a modest amount of electronic wizardry. So far the W124 has been a complete joy to drive and own.

Steve

 

[Ian B Walker]

EDIT: That said yours could be improoved, I know a great spray shop that could sort out that strange fungus that is growing on your nice silver car

Kinky, take a note of his address and send the boys round tonight, ok?

 

[Philirv]

I had guy come around looking to buy last weekend. He knew his W124's and W201's very well having owned several over the years and currently running a J reg W201.

He liked my car a lot but the only thing that put him off was the body colour. I think it's a fantastic colour, only exceeded by the W124's in pearly white/gold 2 tones.

I mean, some people just don't have a clue !

Rgds
Phil