Mercedes, What's the Deal ??

[Blagoje]

I remember when my old dealership took a C-Class Mercedes in on trade a few years ago, it was a nearly new car that the owner ended up hating soon after buying. I drove it around for a bit and was not impressed at all, it was literally one of the most disappointing vehicles I have ever been in. The only appeal I thought it had would be for people who just want to just simply have a Mercedes car, all image projection and really nothing else.

 

[Astro14]

The C class is for people who want a 3 pointed star to impress other people. It’s always been a disappointment as a car, let alone as a Mercedes.

I told the OP there are better choices.

But the Mercedes-haters conflate the models, without really knowing anything about the cars.

 

[nthach]

A long time ago up until the 2000s, Mercedes meant the best when it came to engineering, safety and quality. Even the C-Class then, the old W201 was built stoutly and to a high standard, if not Teutonic cold - the W123/124/126 and R107 were the standard bearers of Stuttgart. While Mercedes was the last to adopt electronic engine controls unlike BMW and VW did in the 1980s(and they were stubbornly conservative from a tech standpoint) their cars were also designed to be maintenance friendly. The G-Wagen is the closest thing Mercedes has that still has the recipe from the pre-DCX days.

Nowadays you buy a Mercedes for looks and the prestige but the things that made it a Mercedes are gone - they are now built to a price point and not as well made as the cars from the 60s-90s. Lexus was the first serious threat to them in America, BMW and Audi caught up, more so with the latter.

 

[blingo]

People in other brands' higher models may be lacking comprehension, how important it becomes in a Mercedes to fight wrong conflation of models and motives. Conflation of receipts certainly works more hassle-free up and down the alphabets of Lexus and Toyota.

 

[eljefino]

So I guess you drive a 60's era car? Any modern car, yes even Toyota and Honda at some point will probably need to be hooked to "a computer".

My 2nd gen prius works quite well with an $8 ELM327 dongle, $5 Torque Pro, and Prius-specific PIDs that "fandom" reverse-engineered.

Tires are $34, oil filters $1.50. It takes 3.5 quarts of generic 5w20-10w30.

Benz is coasting on their name recognition. Many companies do this, it's part of the rise and fall of brand equity. MBZ seems to have started when they moved the star to inside the grill, and increased its size to dinner-plate proportions. Then, no kidding, they jumped the shark and made them start glowing at night!

You can spot quality by finding a 10-year old model and seeing how yellow its headlight plastic has become. I've seen some Mercs that look as bad as Kias. The "Guide" lights in my 95 Saturn were great 19 years later.

 

[edyvw]

Lexus

All the luxury and prestige of Mercedes but with Toyota quality

Far from it. Mercedes does not build RWD cars with ridiculous understeer. Just one example.
Mercedes does not share buttons n S600 with their commercial line vehicles. Buttons from my Sienna, which is one of the worst assembled vehicles I have ever owned, can be found in Lexus that is in price range 80-100k. That cannot happen in Mercedes.
By the way, someone mentioned tires. I paid more for tires on Sienna than my BMW X5. Stop believing what boyfriend of a cousins friend says.

 

[nthach]

You can spot quality by finding a 10-year old model and seeing how yellow its headlight plastic has become. I've seen some Mercs that look as bad as Kias. The "Guide" lights in my 95 Saturn were great 19 years later.

Mercedes started the switch to polycarbonate headlamp lenses on the W210 E-Class. While it did enable the radical(for Mercedes and the industry) for its time oval headlamps with bi-xenon projectors, they turned yellow quickly. I think it was the Americans who started the move to polycarbonate lenses.

And that design has aged somewhat well. It was after the W124.

 

[Nick1994]

Far from it. Mercedes does not build RWD cars with ridiculous understeer. Just one example.
Mercedes does not share buttons n S600 with their commercial line vehicles. Buttons from my Sienna, which is one of the worst assembled vehicles I have ever owned, can be found in Lexus that is in price range 80-100k. That cannot happen in Mercedes.
By the way, someone mentioned tires. I paid more for tires on Sienna than my BMW X5. Stop believing what boyfriend of a cousins friend says.

Are you sure about that? My aunt’s 16’ Avalon’s materials inside and buttons are very different from that of a Camry even. And it’s not a Lexus.

 

[edyvw]

Are you sure about that? My aunt’s 16’ Avalon’s materials inside and buttons are very different from that of a Camry even. And it’s not a Lexus.

GX470 which I used had exactly same buttons, as my Land Cruiser does.
Lexus is wanna be Mercedes. It is car for people who want some plush ride. As Astro said, people who want good whiskey, but do not mind being blended.

 

[ctrcbob]

1. I owned an E350. Although I did not have problems with it, there was nothing special with it, other than it being a Mercedes” botveorth the money.

2. Years ago, believing all the hype about BMW, I purchased one. I won’t say it was a POS, but it was not worth the money. Traded it for a Pontiac Grand Am which was a great car.

 

[ctrcbob]

Want a luxury car that’s affordable with reasonable reliability? Buy a Genesis. Very happy with mine.

Don’t buy a Genesis YET . Very VERY few Stand Alone Dealerships. Most are Hyundai/Genesis duel dealers. Someday, Genesis will get their Dealerships in order, but Genesis Dealerships are in chaos at the moment. Read more in the Genrsis forums.

 

[Nick1994]

Don’t buy a Genesis YET . Very VERY few Stand Alone Dealerships. Most are Hyundai/Genesis duel dealers. Someday, Genesis will get their Dealerships in order, but Genesis Dealerships are in chaos at the moment. Read more in the Genrsis forums.

What’s wrong with that? My Hyundai/Genesis dealer was a seamless process for when I’ve had mine serviced.

I don’t feel I’m better than everyone else and need separate service. My car cost as much as a new base model Corolla...

 

[blingo]

So, several mediocre to lousy engines over decades in the S-class, but not a single button from the commercial vehicles.

If only this split brand of Mercedes had made the considered C-class into an entirely different beast, neither the league of a baby Rolls Royce, nor suffering the Prado's weakness seen in generations of Mercedes' G and S classes.

 

[Chris142]

So I guess you drive a 60's era car? Any modern car, yes even Toyota and Honda at some point will probably need to be hooked to "a computer".

My stuff is not quite that old. All mechanical 87 F250 and my 02 jeep that does not require a reader to pull codes. Just turn the key on 3x.

 

[Jake_J]

I think an 2017 C300 compared to it's main competitor's like the 3 series, Audi A4, and the Lexus IS is a solid car. The W205 uses Mercedes modular MRA chassis which makes extensive use of aluminum which resulted in a lighter and stiffer car over the previous W204. The W205 is the first C-class that is not the entry level sedan for Mercedes (the CLA-class was added in 2014) so Mercedes made the car larger and more luxurious. The new turbo 4 cylinder in the C300 makes a lot of power and even more torque while returning excellent fuel economy over for instance the IS300 which retained a V6.

Personally I liked the more chiseled looks of the previous W204, but I don't think it's fair to call it a cheap C-class, it's made to a price but so is every other car in the class. Also when buying a 2017 I wouldn't be worried about the reliability, most new cars are quite reliable, Mercedes gets a bad rep from people that buy poorly maintained 15 year old E500's and then are shocked that the air suspension costs $1500 per wheel to fix. Any 15 or 20 year old poorly maintained luxury car is always one major breakdown away from the scrapyard regardless of what badge is on the hood.

Also while Mercedes like every other manufacturer has their own expensive dealer level scanners remember that every car sold in the US since 97 has to be fully OBD2 compliant, so the same $4 USB dongle that you plug into a any old economy car will work in a new C-class. You won't get Mercedes specific codes, but with a cheap OBD2 you won't get manufacturer specific codes for any car and the generic codes and PID's will give you lots of information.

 

[cos]

Any 15 or 20 year old poorly maintained luxury car is always one major breakdown away from the scrapyard regardless of what badge is on the hood.

- So true.

 

[nthach]

So, several mediocre to lousy engines over decades in the S-class, but not a single button from the commercial vehicles.

The Sprinter saw modest success, but it needs more attention than a Transit, Promaster or Express. But many fleets are moving away from diesels - if Mercedes offered the Sprinter with NA V8 or even a tuned for regular TGDI V6, it would be the only RWD completion for the Transit.

Freightliner is Daimler but the product line is different than Mercedes trucks. But Detroit Diesel engines are now relabeled Mercedes commercial, just built in Detroit or Mexico.

Daimler wanted so badly to compete in the US bus market - they bought out Orion Bus Industries from the Ontario government and had an agreement with MCI to sell Setra tour buses. However, Orion was competing against a duopoly(New Flyer and Gillig) in the US, Volvo-owned NovaBus has strong support from Quebec and New York State and MCI sold their own buses. Not to mention the transit bus industry is cyclical depending on who’s in charge of government.

 

[BHopkins]

Lexus

All the luxury and prestige of Mercedes but with Toyota quality

Do you really think so? For me, the Japanese "luxury" lines just don't measure up. I'd much rather drive my Mercedes. I guess it all depends on what you consider luxury.

My son recently bought our daughter-in-law a '14 Acura MDX. We recently spent a week with them, and got to go on a road trip to Patti's (for those familiar with Western Kentucky) in it. It didn't appeal to me. I would much rather ride in my '14 E350.

His MDX is more heavily optioned out with gadgets, such as built in DVD players for the kids in the back. And more modern looking IP features. But all of it look like they are the very same window and door controls as what is in a Honda Pilot. Same with most of the IP. None of it made me feel like I was in a luxury car. There was nothing that you don't get in a Kia. Or a Ford.

The switches all looked cheap compared to my E350. None of the beautiful interior design or colors that my E350 has. The seats in the MDX were a nice leather. But they didn't have the same luxury look that my E350 has.

I didn't buy either of my Mercedes cars for prestige. I bought them because I love the engineering, and the beauty. But for me at least, I've never thought of any of the Japanese premium cars as having any prestige. They just don't have any style.

Is my Mercedes as reliable as a Toyota? Probably not. But that's not what I bought it for. Because a Toyota has never appealed to me. I want a little excitement out of my cars. When I want a utility, and nothing more, I'll consider a Toyota.

 

[edyvw]

Do you really think so? For me, the Japanese "luxury" lines just don't measure up. I'd much rather drive my Mercedes. I guess it all depends on what you consider luxury.

My son recently bought our daughter-in-law a '14 Acura MDX. We recently spent a week with them, and got to go on a road trip to Patti's (for those familiar with Western Kentucky) in it. It didn't appeal to me. I would much rather ride in my '14 E350.

His MDX is more heavily optioned out with gadgets, such as built in DVD players for the kids in the back. And more modern looking IP features. But all of it look like they are the very same window and door controls as what is in a Honda Pilot. Same with most of the IP. None of it made me feel like I was in a luxury car. There was nothing that you don't get in a Kia. Or a Ford.

The switches all looked cheap compared to my E350. None of the beautiful interior design or colors that my E350 has. The seats in the MDX were a nice leather. But they didn't have the same luxury look that my E350 has.

I didn't buy either of my Mercedes cars for prestige. I bought them because I love the engineering, and the beauty. But for me at least, I've never thought of any of the Japanese premium cars as having any prestige. They just don't have any style.

Is my Mercedes as reliable as a Toyota? Probably not. But that's not what I bought it for. Because a Toyota has never appealed to me. I want a little excitement out of my cars. When I want a utility, and nothing more, I'll consider a Toyota.

No Japanese vehicle can measure with Europeans in this department.

 

[DallasTexas]

On my 4th Benz all Diesel. I had an E-class W210 with almost 300k miles and no leaks transmission or engine gave it to my nephew he drove it to 345k miles when he sold it. I had a GL 350 Bluetec that turned out to be a dealer queen, got rid of it and bought a one owner, older E-class with OM648 engine and no DEF, SCR etc. very reliable so far. Having said that if I was to replace it I may get an Avalon Hybrid that I can take it to Walmart to get an oil change rather than vacuum out oil myself. Recently had a brake issue and it turned out to be the SBC unit (Brake by wire), I was told that it is covered under MB 25 years/unlimited miles warranty. I got it fixed, a loaner car and a free car wash.