What do all of you think of Mercedes-Benz?

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As an auto manufacturer and company in general. I tend to believe that a M-B will last quite a bit longer than a similar BMW or Audi. And I think reliability ratings seem to usually back that up. But then you also have people saying that because they last longer, they're boring cars. How boring are they REALLY if you want a mid range ($50-80k) luxury car? I don't think Merc is quite going for super high end track performance on anything except some of the AMG lineup.

Would you drive one?
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
After driving a C350 last weekend, my answer is no, I would not buy one.

Guessing it was the current W204 platform? The new C will be hitting dealer lots in a month or two... wondering how much improvement there will be.

Wife's C300 with the sport pkg is not bad... if it had a manual trans, I'd drive it. It actually handles better than my 530i. But from reliability standpoint, it's been a nightmare. Thank god for extended warranty. I guess that's what you get for buying first year model car.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: dparm
After driving a C350 last weekend, my answer is no, I would not buy one.

Guessing it was the current W204 platform? The new C will be hitting dealer lots in a month or two... wondering how much improvement there will be.

Wife's C300 with the sport pkg is not bad... if it had a manual trans, I'd drive it. It actually handles better than my 530i. But from reliability standpoint, it's been a nightmare. Thank god for extended warranty. I guess that's what you get for buying first year model car.




Correct, it was a 2013 or 2014. I don't know, exactly. It was a coupe, if that matters.

Navigation/multimedia system was a nightmare to use, and the center stack looks archaic with all the buttons. Motor was powerful, but why is the manual shift mode left/right and not forward/back?
 
Not much since Lexus came along and to a small degree 90's-mid 2000's Acura in terms of longevity.

Last longer for MB is because owners partially have perception of that so they pour money into them to keep them going.

I would lease but never own one.
 
I don't really care for the styling direction they're taking. I keep seeing rave reviews online about the new S coupe, but I think the CL was much nicer looking. And they've ruined the SL. I'm priced out of M-B anyway, but it's sad to see their cars looking the way they do.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
I guess that's what you get for buying first year model car.



That is MB specific. EVERY car have ever owned is a first year apparently and never been any significant issues.
 
If you are 50+ Merc is for you. It's better car then a BMW as a whole package. It won't handle as well, but you already know that. Audi for me is not in the same league as other two. Just rebadged VW really. Think about Maser Ghibli. It will be more expensive to maintain, but cool factor and possible better resale value is on it's side.
 
Only luxury car iv ever owned was a Volvo 850 (which was old) the car refused to die tho and was bought for over $50k in '96.

Extremely reliable and in the 8 years I had it only real repair it needed was a starter. Never left me stranded 120-289k miles.

Miss that car.

On the other hand I personally believe Benz are overly engineered and overly complicated. Any repair on any luxury car will cost a small fortune. Benz's are virtually at the top of the list and the cars are extremely expensive to maintain. Read somewhere the average Benz costs $7k-$10k in maintiance a year (given this is probably for a every day driver and not a weekend car).
 
From my observation, during the the DC era, quality steadily declined across the range. They lost S-Class buyers to the big Lexus in droves because of this. The R230 was a reliability nightmare. They also during this time attempted (and continue to) dive down into the saturated lower price points. VAG, the BMW 3-series, and the luxury Japanese makes have a stranglehold on this segment. They now even pitch a sub-$30k Mercedes. That's Chevy and Ford country. How much Mercedes are you really getting for $30k? But they've made some market-share inroads. I certainly see more Mercedes in neighborhoods I didn't 15-20 years ago. At the expense of marque reputation, IMO.

Since parting with Chrysler, quality has improved. But it's not the same builder they were before 2000 in my opinion. I don't think their vehicles are built to the same bank vault solid, run forever, over-the-top engineering standards they once were.

If you're looking at a C-Class, I think there are better alternatives at the price. I'd also still be reluctant to lay down long green on an S-Class unless I was only going to have it for a couple of years; new, that's a lease car as far as I'm concerned. High technology and practical technology are very different things.

The luxury maker to watch right now is Jaguar, who seems to have gotten their act together. If I buy a new car soon, that make is first on my test drive list.
 
Heard Ford sold Jaguar. Remember despising theses cars as a child for the neon style headlights.

I have to agree tho. Iv seen a few of their ads and see a few newer models on the road here and there and they are beautiful cars.
 
Looked at a S550 before buying my last BMW.

Very solid, powerful car.

But I liked the BMW 750iL better.

Wife ended the discussion when a BMW 550iX M sport package caught her eye.
 
Luxury vehicles are cars you lease, not own. Especially if you plan on owning a vehicle for a long time. They are huge maintenance hogs. My dad had a Mercedes-Benz GL450 SUV. It was a very nice riding and nice driving vehicle, but the money needed to keep it going was insane. He drove it for 80,000 miles and estimates that he spent $10,000 on tires alone. The tires lasted 20k miles max, and that was the absolute MAX life of them. He popped 3 tires over the time he owned the car because he literally drove until they were bald. He had to replace both side mirrors because the folding mechanism would wear out the wires for the LED blinker lights on the mirrors, causing them to not function and blink faster. Each mirror cost $700 a piece.

The car drove like a dream and was extremely solid feeling, but it was just too much of a money pit. I can only imagine how much it would've cost in repairs once it got around 100k miles.

Some luxury brands are a bit less maintenance hungry than others, but BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz are some of the most costly vehicles to own.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm


Motor was powerful, but why is the manual shift mode left/right and not forward/back?


IIRC my Dodge ( mitsu) stratus R/T was L-R and I came to appresciate that. Keeps you out of N or R when the going gets heated
smile.gif
I prefer it - though ive owned bat a handful of auto trans cars.
 
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As an overgeneralization that isn't really fair to them but is nonetheless my opinion:

The added quality/performance isn't worth the overcomplication and maintenance/repair expense vs a Lexus, or as previously posted a Volvo. If you want a luxury cruiser those two companies do a better job by using standardized parts shared with mainstream models. The vast majority of parts on a Lexus are shared with a Toyota making them inexpensive, proven reliable and with a large knowledgebase of repair procedures. You might add the lower end Audi's onto that list if you have a competent non-dealer mechanic familiar with VW's.

If you want a luxury performance car, or you lease, or cost isn't a concern I'm sure they're fantastic.
 
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Luxury vehicles are cars you lease, not own.


That was not always the case with Mercedes. Or BMW for that matter.

There was a time when you bought a new Mercedes, and you could keep it long enough to be buried in it if you wished. Or you'd give it to your kids when you were done with it, and then you'd see it ten or fifteen years later with its fourth owner, still chugging along gracefully, in better mechanical shape than a lot of new entry-level cars.

The focus of the engineering has changed with the big Germans.
 
Daimler-Benz bought Chrysler,and ruined them.Fleeced them of their cash reserves,made them use MB components (LX cars,Crossfire)and Mitsubishi platforms (Avenger/200/Sebring/Patriot/Compass/Caliber),and delayed the Phoenix (Pentastar) V6.Then left them for dead selling off to Cerberus. I have no love for Dr Z and his bunch.
 
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