What do all of you think of Mercedes-Benz?

[Trav]

When they are supporting cars that were made so long ago it amounts to a massive parts inventory stored around Germany.
The parts guy possibly wasn't even born when some of these parts were made, how are they supposed to know what optional color or style will fit? They must go by VIN.

They can provide the part the car came with, you want option or different colors thats on you to find the part # (that info may be not available to them) and they will sell it to you with no VIN. Thats a fact!
I cant buy new OE seat cushions and covers for a 2000 GM but i can get them for most post war MB next week. In the original color of course.

 

[Volvohead]

No. A good parts man can work around the system for most manufacturers with just a part number. Do it all the time with other makers. If an MB parts department has it in local inventory, they can work with you, too. But not every dealer has every part for every car. So then they must log in to Germany.

And if it must come from Germany, MB apparently won't even let you in the system without the VIN, and then you're locked to that parts list. The only way around it is to cheat the VIN from a car that has what you want. I've done that since.

This part was used on many MB models over a 6-8 year period ending within the past ten years, so it's not obscure or specific by any means.

Bottom line, no VIN, no part.

Other than the parts Nazi aspect to it, I do like that I can still get every single part on the car. Some are eye-watering expensive, though. Many are dirt cheap. Most are average or what I expect -- a bit more than a Chevy part, but nothing to cry about.

Another thing I have heard that MB will do is go and have a vendor fab a new part if it is sold out of warehouse inventory, regardless of vehicle production date. I have not personally encountered this yet, and don't know if they do it in every case, however.

 

[rjundi]

MB has so few cars produced compared to VW, GM, Honda, Toyota, Ford etc they need to carry old parts. Its much easier and sense of pride they can maintain.

It is impossible/cost prohibitive for other car makes to do such a thing. Also chances of finding a vehicle at wrecking yard are significantly higher by sheer volume.

MB was excited last year by 350k in auto sales yet Honda bested that with one model the Honda Accord. Ford F150 is 650k-700k units per year. You'll find the parts used easily.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: Volvohead
Other than the parts Nazi aspect to it

I wish someone would add that word to the censor!

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
MB has so few cars produced compared to VW, GM, Honda, Toyota, Ford etc they need to carry old parts. Its much easier and sense of pride they can maintain.

It is impossible/cost prohibitive for other car makes to do such a thing. Also chances of finding a vehicle at wrecking yard are significantly higher by sheer volume.

MB was excited last year by 350k in auto sales yet Honda bested that with one model the Honda Accord. Ford F150 is 650k-700k units per year. You'll find the parts used easily.


Who cares? It is not a cheap appliance for the masses.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
MB has so few cars produced compared to VW, GM, Honda, Toyota, Ford etc they need to carry old parts. Its much easier and sense of pride they can maintain.

It is impossible/cost prohibitive for other car makes to do such a thing. Also chances of finding a vehicle at wrecking yard are significantly higher by sheer volume.

MB was excited last year by 350k in auto sales yet Honda bested that with one model the Honda Accord. Ford F150 is 650k-700k units per year. You'll find the parts used easily.



OK, but the same availability applies to BMW and they sold close to 2 million cars last year (1,963,798 units).

 

[Volvohead]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: Volvohead
Other than the parts Nazi aspect to it

I wish someone would add that word to the censor!


Trav,

Why?

The general term "Nazi" has become popular vernacular in modern American culture, through such events such as Seinfeld's "soup Nazi" TV episode -- and if anyone would have been offended by the word, it would have been Jerome Seinfeld. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soup_Nazi . It's even been ba$tardized in popular political parlance on broadcast radio (feminazis to one radio talk host). I don't see the FCC stepping in to play PC police on it. There's no need for it here, either.

I can't even write the last paragraph without the PC filter taking out perfectly acceptable polite English words [ba$tardized was actually censored with the "s" added, what's so offensive about that?]. It's overboard already.

We all know what real fascism and the Nazi Party actually stood (& stands) for, which is not a jocularization of on overly officious or rigid minion or process. I know I can separate the evil from the jocular meanings. Most of us here are intelligent adults.

Again, let's not go overly PC about popularly jocularized terms. Everyone knew exactly what I meant by it.

 

[glock19]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: rjundi
MB has so few cars produced compared to VW, GM, Honda, Toyota, Ford etc they need to carry old parts. Its much easier and sense of pride they can maintain.

It is impossible/cost prohibitive for other car makes to do such a thing. Also chances of finding a vehicle at wrecking yard are significantly higher by sheer volume.

MB was excited last year by 350k in auto sales yet Honda bested that with one model the Honda Accord. Ford F150 is 650k-700k units per year. You'll find the parts used easily.


Who cares? It is not a cheap appliance for the masses.


I think his point was that even though high volume manufacturers don't keep making parts for their cars doesn't necessarily make it hard to find those parts.

 

[cptbarkey]

post 1998 - 2006, garbage. post 2006, still wouldnt touch. i could be convinced on a 190, or the fat one in the late 80s to mid 90s.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Volvohead
The general term "Nazi" has become popular vernacular in modern American culture, through such events such as Seinfeld's "soup Nazi" TV episode -- and if anyone would have been offended by the word, it would have been Jerome Seinfeld. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soup_Nazi . It's even been ba$tardized in popular political parlance on broadcast radio (feminazis to one radio talk host). I don't see the FCC stepping in to play PC police on it. There's no need for it here, either.

But there is Godwin's Law, and perhaps it needs another corollary.

 

[Volvohead]

Originally Posted By: Garak
But there is Godwin's Law, and perhaps it needs another corollary.

Garek, you must be referring to this guy:

Beware the Wiki-Nazis

With just three days' notice to the staff, Mike Godwin is out as Wikipedia's GC



It seems to be a more recent cause célèbre with PC Police, though:

Is it ever OK to call someone a Nazi?

Oh my, did I just offend the Police?



Not everyone in the UK is as PC-stuffy as the BBC, though (including its web readers, it seems):

How I took on the parking Nazis and won



So, when are we putting "Communists" in the censor filter?

I'll stand with Jerry Seinfeld on this one.

 

[Nebroch]

W124/W201/W140 ok, W210/W203 failed, W211 fine (after facelift), newer models mostly overpriced garbage. They look good at the showroom, but durability/reliability is poor and maintenance costs way too high.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: Volvohead
Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: Volvohead
Other than the parts Nazi aspect to it

I wish someone would add that word to the censor!


Trav,

Why?

The general term "Nazi" has become popular vernacular in modern American culture, through such events such as Seinfeld's "soup Nazi" TV episode -- and if anyone would have been offended by the word, it would have been Jerome Seinfeld. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soup_Nazi . It's even been ba$tardized in popular political parlance on broadcast radio (feminazis to one radio talk host). I don't see the FCC stepping in to play PC police on it. There's no need for it here, either.

I can't even write the last paragraph without the PC filter taking out perfectly acceptable polite English words [ba$tardized was actually censored with the "s" added, what's so offensive about that?]. It's overboard already.

We all know what real fascism and the Nazi Party actually stood (& stands) for, which is not a jocularization of on overly officious or rigid minion or process. I know I can separate the evil from the jocular meanings. Most of us here are intelligent adults.

Again, let's not go overly PC about popularly jocularized terms. Everyone knew exactly what I meant by it.


Nothing personal if you want to use it go ahead but we cant have a conversation when you do.
I know Americans like to call anything they find too correct like Nazi this that and the other e.g spelling Nazi. I know the difference and still have no time for it.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
MB has so few cars produced compared to VW, GM, Honda, Toyota, Ford etc they need to carry old parts. Its much easier and sense of pride they can maintain.

It is impossible/cost prohibitive for other car makes to do such a thing. Also chances of finding a vehicle at wrecking yard are significantly higher by sheer volume.

MB was excited last year by 350k in auto sales yet Honda bested that with one model the Honda Accord. Ford F150 is 650k-700k units per year. You'll find the parts used easily.



Back in 1983 I needed a rear window gasket for my 1973 BMW Bavaria as well as a battery tray for my 1974 Monte Carlo. I ordered the gasket on a Wednesday morning from a BMW dealer in PA and received it Friday afternoon. I stopped by my "Hometown Chevy Dealer" for the battery tray, and 2.5 weeks later they finally got the -apparently-rare and specialized part....

 

[edwardh1]

if a system is very complicated and has lots and lots of parts, that all must work...... then quality tanks when individual part quality falls off.

lexus 4 me

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: Volvohead
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Mercedes parts support puts everyone else to shame, as you said you can get just about anything for any car they have made and the prices are usually pretty good. You can still get brake parts for a 300SL Gullwing, right from the dealer counter. Try doing that with a 1955 Ford or Chevy at one of their dealers. They have records of every car they have ever made, all you need is the VIN and they can look it up. Handy when your trying to restore a pre war car with missing parts and in a none original color.


This is true. But other than for consumables or the generic fastener, they are extremely VIN-specific about it. Any requested substitutions or changes from MB's parts computers are strictly Verboten.

When I wanted to swap out the slightly garish red/black steering wheel on my SL for a plain black one, the parts man plugged in the VIN. I could have a replacement red/black steering wheel from Germany in under a week -- but that was IT. No chance at a different wheel of any other type or color. None whatsoever. MB would have none of it, and the parts man was helpless to do a workaround. It's all VIN-based. I was told that MB still offers just about every single part the car was built with - which is great. But MB would only ship in exactly what the car was built with.

I wound up getting a used steering wheel and sending it to Dallas for a custom recovering. Looks and feels better than anything MB could make for it, and stitched exactly like the original one.

But still, talk about parts Nazis.



Well they are made by Germans....WHO WILL BE OBEYED!


Seriously though the major difference between German cars and the rest is their design philosophy. German cars especially Porsche and Mercedes were built to be fixed, hence you can get parts. They also do things a bit differently but once you figure out how they think they are very easy to work on.

Cars like Lexus and Audi for that matter while nicely made are not designed to be fixed. They use clips and glue, MB uses screws.

This has changed a lot I think in the last few years. But for awhile in the 80's and 90's the quality gap was massive. You compare the fit and finish on a 560SEC or 560SL to say a Lambo, Ferrari, Audi, Jag, or Rolls Royce of similar vintage and the rest of them are a few notch's down, Cadillac wasn't even in the same business. The only thing RR had going for them was their handmade quality but the engineering was not their. Now in 2014 that may not necessarily be the case, everyone has pretty much come up and now makes pretty good cars.

Two cars changed all of this; the LS400 and the NSX.

 

[Garak]

On topic, I was other manufacturers were like MB for parts availability. Ten years ago, I wanted a windows crank for the old F-150 in my signature. I expected to pay large dollars for OEM, but that's what I wanted. No, it was discontinued. Instead, I had to buy Dormans, and I mean plural, because they have the structural integrity of a Popsicle stick.

Originally Posted By: Volvohead
Garek, you must be referring to this guy:

That's the one!

As for the BBC, whatever you do, don't mention the war!

 

[Y_K]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
German cars especially Porsche and Mercedes were built to be fixed..
So were Tiger tanks. Great machines, served well. Over-engineered, required highly skilled mechanics, too much downtime. And soft armour on top of that. Still fantastic machines when running. Like our S550 in my limo fleet. Great for the end-of-year tax write-offs. I am eying something like Blue Clover by Daimler now

 

[cptbarkey]

Originally Posted By: Trav

I know Americans like to call anything they find too correct like Nazi this that and the other e.g spelling Nazi. I know the difference and still have no time for it.


utter hogwash.

 

[Trav]

Keep your useless comments to yourself.