Mercedes is a Fraud....Do not buy

Mercedes sucks!

My 1997 E320 have cost me over 20k in repairs (exclude maintnance) to keep it running, I finally got rid of that piece of junk.

Their service is horrible too, broke my rear view mirror and wouldn't admit to it, had to call headquarter and threaten to sue before they fixed it for me (750 bucks). This was at Mercedes Boundary road in Vancouver. I highly suggest that (if you're unfortunate enough to own a Mercedes now) to go to a private garage for maintnance, I was reviewing my maintnance record and found that....
$4500 transmission failure occured 1 month after transmission fluid replacement
$4000 A/C compressor broke almost right after coolent replacement!!

Mercedes is a fraud....stay away.....if you have money to burn, just burn it!

Well usually the people that can afford meredes can also afford the maintenance on them as well. It's not like you got a cavalier there or something that you can take to your local GM goodwrench crappytire garage.

It comes with the territory, sorta like how SUV drivers don't complain about gas prices.

I dont think anyone deserves to be ripped off just because they could afford a more expensive car.
Sorry to hear.
All I can say is even the best manufacturers put out lemons.
MB is actually in trouble as one of the least profitable divisions of Daimler Chrysler. they got a new boss from Chrysler whos supposed to fix things up.
I think they are experiencing what Cadillac did in the 70's, where they just havent done much in terms of improving and staying ahead of the pack, and everyone else is catching up, and able to do so more affordably.
Look for more innovations, and probably for them to move manufacturing to somewhere like mexico instead of expensive germany.

my dad's 94 E320 is in very top shape even though is mileage on it is probably astronomical

he drives it in taipei taiwan
sends the car to private garage when it needs something to be repaired
and usually much cheaper than benz factory jobs...

IMO, mercedes is still doing great
their new E series is beautiful
i would buy that over BMW 5 series

btw my dad just got a new S500 in LA
and hes loving it

Originally Posted by Evil Techie

my dad's 94 E320 is in very top shape even though is mileage on it is probably astronomical

he drives it in taipei taiwan
sends the car to private garage when it needs something to be repaired
and usually much cheaper than benz factory jobs...

IMO, mercedes is still doing great
their new E series is beautiful
i would buy that over BMW 5 series

btw my dad just got a new S500 in LA
and hes loving it

MB is junk in reliability according to all published sources. carwise, compared to a BMW, MB is overweight and very unfulfilling to drive. I know someone's family who drove had 2 E320's, ML320, SLK320, SLK350 and all have had extensive problems that could not be fixed. the E320's (2000+) all went back to dealer atleast monthly, ML320 was a nightmare, SLK320 had electrical problems every few months and the SLK350 has been on the road for 3months but in shop for 3 weeks already. needless to say, no more MB's.

MB's are status symbols to most asians who could not tell the difference between driving dynamics of a civic with a 911. They just care about the badge eventhough the car is junk compared to its competitors in reliabilty and design. MB has been in the crapper for a long time and while in Munich they crank out highly engineereed precision automobiles, MB puts out big hp cars that have a chasis that cant handle it.

mercedes does suck,
i was driving a 2004 CLK320 convertible and was filling up gasoline and after paying for the gas, i tried unlocking the doors to get in and i couldn't get in, thank god I had the top down and was able to open the door, but then I tried starting the car and nothing happened.

Turns out the wiring around the battery got deattached and the whole car was basically useless since the mercedes depends on the battery to perform basically everything.

Had to call mercedes road side assistance and they towed my vehicle to the dealership. what a waste of my time.

Originally Posted by gilboman

MB is junk in reliability according to all published sources. carwise, compared to a BMW, MB is overweight and very unfulfilling to drive. I know someone's family who drove had 2 E320's, ML320, SLK320, SLK350 and all have had extensive problems that could not be fixed. the E320's (2000+) all went back to dealer atleast monthly, ML320 was a nightmare, SLK320 had electrical problems every few months and the SLK350 has been on the road for 3months but in shop for 3 weeks already. needless to say, no more MB's.

MB's are status symbols to most asians who could not tell the difference between driving dynamics of a civic with a 911. They just care about the badge eventhough the car is junk compared to its competitors in reliabilty and design. MB has been in the crapper for a long time and while in Munich they crank out highly engineereed precision automobiles, MB puts out big hp cars that have a chasis that cant handle it.

I think the statement above is kinda stereotyping Asians. I am sure not only Asians drive MB. Just because they can afford them, alot buy BMW, Lexus, Audi etc. And are you saying ASIANS can't drive or tell the difference between a Civic and 911? too bad you will never be able to afford a 911 so you woudln't know either.

Mercedes Benz scored 3rd last ahead of only Jaguar and land Rover in CR's 2005 New Car Reliability.

In other words MB is crap.

Buddy have a C230 kopresseor(sp?) and pay $1200 for the first maintainance at 12000km. That is a rip off.

Originally Posted by Jovi

Mercedes Benz scored 3rd last ahead of only Jaguar and land Rover in CR's 2005 New Car Reliability.

In other words MB is crap.

maybe you should try driving one of these vehicles you continually trash based on CR's reliability reports, rather then just reading a magizine on the 401 in your ford pinto.

Originally Posted by SoNgMaN

maybe you should try driving one of these vehicles you continually trash based on CR's reliability reports, rather then just reading a magizine on the 401 in your ford pinto.

Hehe, very descriptive

Again, like mclaren has said earlier. German cars are more expensive to maintain. That's the reality, don't buy it if u are not prepared to pay for expensive maintenance.

Originally Posted by Focus

Buddy have a C230 kopresseor(sp?) and pay $1200 for the first maintainance at 12000km. That is a rip off.

Originally Posted by Neb

I think the statement above is kinda stereotyping Asians. I am sure not only Asians drive MB. Just because they can afford them, alot buy BMW, Lexus, Audi etc. And are you saying ASIANS can't drive or tell the difference between a Civic and 911? too bad you will never be able to afford a 911 so you woudln't know either.

its stereotyping asians who drive MB. Yes i may never afford a 911 but i can even feel the difference between a SLK350 which is heavy and disconnected and quite unfulfilling to drive compared to even a RX-8 which is the exact opposite.

Originally Posted by Neb

Again, like mclaren has said earlier. German cars are more expensive to maintain. That's the reality, don't buy it if u are not prepared to pay for expensive maintenance.

MB is not worth it..the car drives like crap, has poor quality yet you are paying extra for car and maintance and for what? certainly not its always fail engineering or disconnected driving experience.. just the badge and nothing more. atleast with a BMW you are paying for a superior chasis and driving enjoyment.

a MB is paying a 20k+ preimum on an accord but one that breaks down 5x as often but costs 5x more to maintain but is worse than an accord.

when you buy a MB, you only pay for the Badge b/c everycar in the class it competes in is better than it (maybe not worse than Jag though)

Originally Posted by SoNgMaN

maybe you should try driving one of these vehicles you continually trash based on CR's reliability reports, rather then just reading a magizine on the 401 in your ford pinto.

its not much enjoyment when the whole dash on the SLK350 is dead even the horn with the seat squeaking madly. Or how about the E320 with the steering wheel vibration that 10trips to the dealer couldnt fix?

there is no driving enjoyment at all in a MB