What do all of you think of Mercedes-Benz?

[horse123]

I'm just loling at people saying they're boring and not very fast or good at handling then suggesting a lexus.



Also did I see someone say maintenance is easier on an Audi? Because maintenance is insane on an Audi. It comes with the German luxury, deal with it or don't buy it?

I never said they were RELIABLE, I said they are more reliable than the other German options on average. That's just a fact. A few outspoken people with bad experience won't beat the undeniable truth that there are plenty of people with no issues.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: Volvohead
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.



Agreed. I see a few '80s M-Benzs driving around, especially the diesel ones. Same with the older BMWs. They are well built cars that were meant to last generations. I hardly see any newer ones that are more than a few years old on the road, they are just too costly to run.

 

[SilverC6]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Some luxury brands are a bit less maintenance hungry than others, but a BMW is one of the most enjoyable vehicles you can own.



Fixed it for you....

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
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.


I haven't found my M5 to be overly expensive to own

I think the newer one with the plastic water pumps, electronic thermostats and other doodads may be a lot more expensive for truly long-term ownership though.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: horse123
I said they are more reliable than the other German options on average. That's just a fact.

The JD Power study you referenced only looks at 3-year-old cars. Is this indicative of how long a car will last (which was your original question)? I don't know.

Realistically, the car will last as long as the owner is willing to fix it. Is MB more or less expensive to fix than a BMW or an Audi? I don't think there's a huge difference there. They're all fairly expensive compared to Honda or Toyota, unless you DIY.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL

I haven't found my M5 to be overly expensive to own

I think the newer one with the plastic water pumps, electronic thermostats and other doodads may be a lot more expensive for truly long-term ownership though.


Yeah the older ones aren't as bad. The newer ones with all plastic cooling systems are a nightmare. Don't get me wrong BMWs are nice machines, but I wouldn't want to have to pay for the repairs on one.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: horse123

The problem with that dependability study is it doesn't say how long the period of time was that they "measured" dependability. You have to take into account that most luxury car owners only keep their vehicles a few years before the next best thing comes along.

 

[Volvohead]

Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Daimler-Benz bought Chrysler,and ruined them.Fleeced them of their cash reserves


This is also quite true. Chrysler was financially much stronger than DB at that time, with improving product and substantial cash reserves, and was poised to make bigger moves as it fully recovered from the Iacocca turnaround era. DB was cash-strapped and needed money. Chrysler should have been the purchaser in that marriage.

MB took all the money, gave Chrysler its second-tier technology, and strangled all meaningful product development. There are some pretty scathing stories over at All-Par about the "takeover", which is what many viewed it as. By the end, Chrysler was turning out garbage (my opinion), and Mercedes was not better off for it, either. Then Mercedes jettisoned the dead Chrysler carcass that they had sucked dry. Again, all my opinion.

I will never, ever forgive Bob Eaton for giving away the farm and being totally duped in pursuing that deal. Chrysler NEVER needed DB. Eaton panicked.

He's on the list for it:

http://fortune.com/2013/04/03/historys-10-worst-auto-chiefs/

 

[JHZR2]

Most folks know I love old MB diesels. Have owned a few W123s in the past and own two of the nicest examples out there currently.

Id consider a w124, w126, w107, and maybe a few newer models. But IMO their engineering went downhill at some point after that. My boss's recent c-class has been a nightmare in terms of repairs off warranty, and it wasnt a very complex model.

Do I like them overall? Sure. And if I could get an e class with an underpowered diesel, steel wheels and hubcaps, vinyl seats, no fancy GPS/nav/screen systems, etc, Id be happy.

But their pricing and options strategy in the interest of shallow "I deserve" luxury types has gotten me to the point to be fairly disenfranchised.

I own a late model BMW, and could get a higher end variant of the model, but down-optioned in ways that I desired. I wish I could get that on an E-class diesel.

I love old-school MB, and think the closest to it is Toyota's ripoff which spawned the Lexus brand.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL

I haven't found my M5 to be overly expensive to own

I think the newer one with the plastic water pumps, electronic thermostats and other doodads may be a lot more expensive for truly long-term ownership though.


Yeah the older ones aren't as bad. The newer ones with all plastic cooling systems are a nightmare. Don't get me wrong BMWs are nice machines, but I wouldn't want to have to pay for the repairs on one.


People have been saying that since the early 1990s. My M42 had the same claims about plastic impeller water pumps and whatnot.

Im not a fan, but do have a car with some of this stuff. I will do PM at some point when mileage gets high enough, but then again, some folks do this with old-type tech too.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
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.


MB vs Lexus and Acura. There is only one winner and its not a pimped up Toyota or an even uglier Honda. LOL

 

[Volvohead]

Originally Posted By: Trav
MB vs Lexus and Acura. There is only one winner and its not a pimped up Toyota or an even uglier Honda. LOL


I agree with you as regards most Acuras. I agree with you as regards some Lexuses. I am not talking about other than an S-Class, however.

But the big Lexus sedan is extremely well-engineered, built like a watch, and a model of reliability. It has significantly eaten the sales lunch of the big S-Class sedan in recent years for a reason. A friend of mine who was sales manager of a major west coast Mercedes dealership dreaded the Lexus. Their S-Classes were constantly breaking, and customers were trading them for Lexuses.

Not that I would own either. I still like a little excitement with my driving.

 

[Jeffs2006EvoIX]

I think MB has great styling and innovation, BUT look at their Dash Board and HVAC area. GOOD G O D its a mess. Small buttons, and TOO MANY of them. They need to clean it up and make it simpler.

I prefer the Audi/VW layout much better. To each their own.

If someone gave me the keys to a C63 AMG I wouldn't give them back, I will say that much

Jeff

 

[FocusTi]

True that. I do appreciate MBs tendency to cram big engines in small cars.

 

[Trav]

The problem is heritage. The Lexus is bound to the Toyota name as is Scion.
The Scion is seen as a even cheaper Toyota and the Lexus a more expensive one. Whether that is accurate or not isn’t the point, they are all well made cars.

The MB is a good car and its value for the money could be debated forever but the three pointed star is priceless (maybe not as priceless as Emily).

 

[bepperb]

Originally Posted By: Trav


MB vs Lexus and Acura. There is only one winner and its not a pimped up Toyota or an even uglier Honda. LOL


The only reason "there is only one winner" in your mind is that you are applying your personal preferences to everyone. And that's silly.

There are plenty of people who don't really care about handling or rear wheel drive, don't really care about interior quality. They want a reliable car with a luxury badge. Not everyone looking to drive a nice car is a shadetree mechanic, or leasing for 3 years to look like they can afford something they can't. There are plenty of reasons to buy a Lexus over an MB, those reasons just aren't important to you.

Generally they are a pimped up Toyota, but that's not a bad thing to many of their buyers.

 

[GSCJR]

Pass, I prefer Asian makes.

 

[OneEyeJack]

A co-worker has a 70 MB 300SEL 6.3 V8 he inherited from his father. This makes him the second owner. It came time for a lot of little things to get fixed and while keeping the car he purchased a new V8 MB something or other sedan. After driving that new car for 3 years he took the older SEL to his mechanic. They went from front to back and fixed every little problem, painted the car and patched the interior as needed. The next thing he did was sell the newer MB. His response was that never again will he buy a new MB. He was tired of the frequent trips to the dealer. He said the problem was that the dealer could not fix most problems in less than 2 or 3 attempts because of sloppy work or back ordered parts. Also the dealer close to his home was not where he purchased the car. As a new owner he said the dealer near his home was very reluctant to spend any time helping him with all the buttons to answer one specific question and told him to go back to the other dealer for those kinds of questions, that they really could not help him. He was told the other dealer has been paid to do that kind of service at the time of the sale. Right now that old SEL is looking much better. Oh, by the way, the rest of us around here call his car a "gentleman's express". It's seriously fast but you'd never guess that by looking at the car standing still.

By the way, he replaced the new MB for his wife with an Acura. It's been almost 2 years and absolutely nothing has gone wrong and the car is approaching 50K miles. Her job keeps her on the road a lot. Her comment about what she likes about the car is that almost no one knows what it is. She likes the anonymous factor and the fact that everything works all the time.

 

[285south]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
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.


That is a FACT about Lexus in the 90s and Acura in 00s. I would never buy a MB because I think people do just for the name.

So if I was giving a free car MB or BMW? I would take the BMW.
It's the same with Rolls and Bentley. I would take the Bentley.

My ranking for a Luxury SUV
1) Lamborghini
2) Maserati
3) Acura
3.5) Audi
4) Bentley EXP 9F
5) Land Rover / Range Rover

 

[Chris142]

i only see junk so i may be wrong but imo mb's are very problematic and dont last on our roads. every mb that we saw had a cel on, several other problems as well as completly worn out suspensions. the engines and trans seem ok. its the rest of the car thats junk.

we no longer offer to work on mb's.the owners dont want to spend any money on them as they think a mb wont ever wear out parts. all those clunks and rattles are "normal".