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Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedans
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kirstie_h
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If this is not now available as an option, does anyone know if it will be on the 2004 or 2005 models?
merrel: agree that Teleaid is a ripoff. After the free first year I stopped the service. Many other people were commenting about this when it was first introduced in the 2000 model year. It's worth maybe $100 a year at the most IMO.
When I used the service to call about warning lights going off on a DTS Cadillac I once had, they told me..."to consult with my authorized dealer" about it.....no dah! The service IS worth about $5-10 per month and should be included during the 4yr. warranty period with the E-class IMO.
Don
Ask for this week's (September 15) issue. The Page One lead article is "Bugs Bite Mercedes Quality". According to the article "This is the first time Mercedes-Benz has acknowledged the wide spread quality problems." The article goes on about a 2000 vehicle buy back of E class vehicles, M-B's ranking Number 15 (BELOW Chevy) in the JD Powers 90 Day Initial Quality Study, etc. etc.
M-Bs Joachim Schmidt, head of worldwide sales isn't upset. "We have problems but ...we are very successful in terms of sales and we are very successfull in terms of brand awareness." Later he says "Our image is great". Fantastic he seems to be implying. As long as we can pump these units out to gullible nouveaus, we're all set.
Gee, it seems to me that to plunk down the cash (or, more likely, to sign the lease documents) to get into one of these things is beginning to sound like Not A Good Idea. And to do this for "status" reasons? Might as well put a bullseye on your chest as a "fish" easily taken by the fake-rolex crowd offerring off shore tax shelters, resort time shares, and unregulated hedge funds (sorry about the oxymoron).
I figure the possibilities might be either a leftover 2004 or a new 2005.
Any thoughts on this subject will be appreciated as this is my first car leasing experience.
blockislandguy: I remember visiting an MB dealership in the early 90's when they were losing money and getting their butts kicked by Lexus. The dealer at the time told me "do you really think that this is going to continue? MB is the greatest car company in the world and has been in operation for 100 years. They won't allow this to continue."
And, sure enough, they changed their model lineup and are now selling more cars and making more money than ever, criticism from nonowners (and some owners) notwithstanding. MBs main problem with their cars is a lack of consistancy in reliability. As they are spending a billion dollars a year repairing these cars under warranty I'm sure they will soon do something to change this.
Thanks
Thanks for your response! You told me that you got bad experience from Fairfield Mercedes Benz, could you tell me more specific? How good is the after sales service at this place?
The salesman at Mercedes Benz of Greenwich looks ok too me, I met him last week, but I heard their after sales service is bad, which is very important to me.
Other Benz dealer in Fairfield county would be in Danbury, which I didn't visit yet.
I want to buy a 2004 E320 with a good & honest sales & service before and after the sales. Still undecided in this matter. Any advise from anybody out there?
But that raises another subject; why are automotive retail types so poorly read? Most salesman don't even read their trades -Ward's Dealer Business, etc., let alone general business magazines or even their regional ones (e. g., Boston Business, Maine Biz) from which they could pick up leads.
The NAV system is very good, not as easy to use as some others (Acura, Lexus) but it does have good features for finding places in unfamilar cities and it is much better than the older CD based system.
I asked the same questions to a dealer in CT too, and he said that he will know within a week, at the same time he pointed out the ML 350 for 2004, with an engine size of 3,724.
Go to the MB USA website for this engine spec.
what we have experienced with our C320 2001 at the MB Greenwich:
1. We need 3 weeks in advance to make appointment for the first service for oil change and we don't get a loaner car, because you need to reserve the loaner car at least 4/5 weeks in advance. Thats what they say at the time I call for a service appointment. Is this normal ?
2. Steering wheel off center. They said they will fix it the next time I bring the car for service, they said it's just a small job. I trust them, and I brought the car 13 months later to the dealer for fixing the steering wheel, odometer was around 9000 miles. Brought the car Friday morning, no loaner car, get the car back on Saturday, they need 2 days for doing it?
The bad thing is that they want to charge me a couple hundreds dollar for doing the job because I brought the car 1 month too late " for adjustment you should bring the car within a year". I explained to the service guy that the steering was off from day one I got the car, but he won't give up. After I complain with the service manager, then they waved the charge.
I observed that their service area is too small, so they can't accommodate enough cars for service.
On the other side they are selling the new MB a lot its like "selling hotdog".
After sales service is important if you get a car with problems. Shouldn't happen to MB.
At MB Manhattan, the wait is about 2 weeks. When I was there last (Early July), MB Manhattan said that they no longer take drive ins - You MUST schedule an appointment. Ugh.
The Steering issue was the worst - but more attitude than problem. If they showed that they cared and couldn't fix it, I would have been upset, but not angry. MB Manhattan at least seems like they care somewhat about your happiness.
And thats why I bought the car to begin with!
(PS- Where did my posts go???)
I felt that MB Greenwich just didn't care. I brought the car there about 5 times:
1st: No car wash. Service Rep said sorry. Other cars did that got picked up that day did get washed.
2nd: Service Rep: "This will get fixed on Friday." Friday came and went, so my Saturday morning was spent at the dealer.
3rd: Same visit as above (Problem not resolved): I wanted PHONE menu to show up. Mechanic says sure, it takes 5 minutes. Some how, I ended up waiting until he got back from lunch to this 5 minute job). It is only my time.
4th: The steering was off on the car. SIMPLE: Star on steering wheel at 80 - the car drives straight. I was told for about 5 miles of driving with a mechanic that it was the crown on the road, the cars don't drive themselves, Tire pressure, blah, blah, blah. I wish I taped all of this! This mechaninc did not want to admit there was a problem. (MB Manhattan finally fixed this). MOST ANNOYING THING - It took 3 visits before I gave up!
5th: 2 out of the 5 loaner cars were from the rental place across the street. This is after having your name on the reservation list.
I thought the nice guy approach would have helped me along. That if I didn't complain loudly, that I would get treated well. Boy, was I wrong with that approach!
He gave me a list of 'after-sale' options to buy (Radar detector, car detailing, etc) from a Xerox copy that must have been through the copier a thousand times (Very blotchy, not lined up). This came across as very tacky.
Also, at the time, from the finance guy's desk area, you could see all of the salespeople's sales on a wall. Tacky!
Then the extended-warranty discussion came into play... All I had to ask was "If the cars are that good, then why do I need an extended warranty..." Conversation did not go that well after that.
Needless to say, I was with the finance guy for a total of about 3 minutes!
Watch out.
I don't want to get into any details (Mercedes is fully aware of what happened) except to repeat to you, if you're looking for a dealership that you CAN'T trust, you now know where to go, from my last message to you.
I'm sure that you will choose the right dealer to buy from, since you are taking your time with the research.
Best of luck to you!
Being in 15th place reliability-wise means that you have lotsof choices above MB. This helps you avoid the dealership issues.
While the Germans are laughing all the way to the bank, the MB driver's employer/employees/vendors/clients/customers/patients/etc. are just LOL at the insecurities expressed in such a move.
I'm not a card carrying member of the "different social order" (higher?) and therefore my current E320 may be the one and only MB I ever own because I am now retired and unless my investments skyrocket back to where they were 3 years ago, I'm doomed to own a lower strata car in the future. But I bought the 96 E320 (exactly 5 years ago today, by the way!) for it's ride, handling, solidity, and perceived durability. It's been a great ride so far (125K miles) but not without some expenses for repairs. And MANY sets of front brake pads.!!
Given the recent apparent decline in quality, if I were to have the funds, I may opt for something other than MB, something that is nearly as solid and luxurious and much more reliable. Even though I have the free time, I don't want to waste it in the MB service department.
The MB has had annoying habits, one of which (but not the only one) is an uncorrectable lurch when slowing down at, say, a stop sign. The Jag, on the other hand, has been smooth and perfect. Both have about the same one-year mileage.
There seem to be real reasons for the realignment of marques in quality surveys!
Happy motoring...
"The recent launches of the E-Class sedan and Maybach super-limo have not offset a 26 percent drop in M-Class SUV sales, a 15 percent drop in sales of C-Class cars and a 31 percent drop in sales of the C-Class sport coupe worldwide."
Merging with Chrysler has really put a damper on MB's ability to deal with it's own problems..
Per the DETnews article "Publicly, Mercedes executives say their plans have not been affected by Chrysler's cash burn -- estimated by analysts at more than $1 billion this year. But privately, executives say Mercedes is slowing down technological innovation, its hallmark for the past century."
Tick ... tock ...
This is IMHO a much better alternative than the Mercury Grand Marquis or Lincoln Town Car which seem to appeal to a lot of retired people. Not only is one paying for a tremendous depreciation hit but to me it would be psychologically painful to have to put maintenance money into one. Not so with a MB that you had some history on and wasn't being driven 20K per year.Finally, after working all your life, to have to drive around in a car with a padded (Landau is it called?) roof doesn't do justice to the effort you put in. Your MB sounds like a well cared for English shotgun that you don't to have to use hard every day.
The MB "Timeless" commercial is the perfect example of the allure of these cars: It starts and ends on a Hollywood backdrop... you can take it from there
If my car lasts about 12 years, it paid off. Figuring that I would have purchased 2, 25 to 30 grand cars in that timeframe.
One thing to remember is that, as in any big company, each MB car is unique to its owner, but just a model number to its manufacturer. I see an individual "My Gullwing...", they see trends with model W210...
Anyone heard anything?
Also, for any 1998/1999 E300 turbodiesel owners out there: how has your ownership experience been? Repairs/maintenance costs? Problems? Would you get another?
Happy Motoring,Indeed!
So - Warranty is everything! I have an extended warranty with my insurance company and that is the only thing that gives me piece of mind later on.
Get the Warranty. All you to hear is that this small part costs a thousand to repair and fix (not under warranty)!!!
I did a quick search of all dealers within 100 miles of me and cars roughly comparable in mileage are advertised at $32,900 to $38,000. Some have heated seats, others have Timeport; all have moonroof and tele-aid.
The price your dealer is asking would be excellent if you can talk them into extending the Starmark for an additional 2 years.. For a total coverage of 59,000 miles and 37 months. When I bought mine (2 years old exactly to the day) I opted not to get an additional year on the Starmark. I ended up with 62,000 miles and 3 years and the time ran out before the mileage did. Fortunately, nothing serious happened between 85,000 and 100,000 miles so it paid off for me to avoid the extra $900 or so for the extra year. But it's a gamble you might not want to take especially having only 13 months of coverage. At 76,000 miles MB paid for all new bushings in the front end, (shocks, sway bar, tie rod ends, etc.) which would have cost me about $1000... And replaced the outside mirror switch in the console at 82,000, probably another $150 or so.
You didn't mention what year the MB is which is crucial since in the last few years the first couple years of a new model have been troublesome.
Here in Boston you can buy either of these cars for $500 or less over invoice. NOBODY pays sticker.
This and their very, very low problem levels is one of the reasons why they are such great values compared to a MB.
Most Lexus and Acura go well into the hundreds of thousands of miles with nothing like MB maintenance issues and remain every bit as solid and great driving.
My mother-in-law drove her Acura legend to 258,000 miles before passing it to her grandson. My sister has had back to back Acura's - Legend and RL - 160K on the former and in the 80's now on the latter. No problems like you hear here on the MB boards.
Enjoy your choices. If you want something sporty and fun to drive, try the G35 from Infiniti. It's all grins and very comfortable. Infiniti shows up right behind Lexus in the low defect, long durability championship. MB is 15th.
Good shopping.