MERCEDES....Are they expensive to maintain?

Been checking out a the new Mercedes SUV's. I
love them, but what are the maintenance costs on
Mercedes (any of them). My wife had a BMW at it
seemed like we were paying alot everytime we took
it in for "routine" maintenance. I've been driving
GM care since. Gotta love $14.95 oil changes.
Anyway, considering a foreign car again. Has this
changed?
Thanks.
love them, but what are the maintenance costs on
Mercedes (any of them). My wife had a BMW at it
seemed like we were paying alot everytime we took
it in for "routine" maintenance. I've been driving
GM care since. Gotta love $14.95 oil changes.
Anyway, considering a foreign car again. Has this
changed?
Thanks.
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Comments
My bottom line
If you keep the car less than 5 years then yes the MBZ is expensive.
If you keep the car 10-15 years it probably will cost less than any other brand.
It is essential that you only consider a car that has a full record of service from an MB specialist. Five oil change receipts from a Chevron station doesn't cut it. Also, I would reject extremely high mileage cars (over 150,000).
The Mercedes of today is a lot better car than the older ones, which were very well built but had any number of deficiencies. Typically, early 70s Benz's will have virtually worthless a/c systems, troublesome climate controls and a propensity to rust and eating lots of fuel (the V-8s). You may also have problems with vapor lock in hot weather, very rough shifting automatic transmissions and a truck-like feel in steering and handling.
Still, if you find a clean, well-cared for car and you don't overpay for it, you could hardly do better in driving around in luxury for cheap, especially if you're willing to overlook some of the car's less admirable characteristics. They can be made reliable and are a pleasure on long trips.
The mechanical inspection is *everything* in determining success or failure.
Thanks very much,
jscottk
Thanks very much,jscottk
only on Benz it is imperative to do so.
My wife has a 87 300 TD with 135000 miles on it and get 28 miles to the Gal., expences have been normal repair items brakes, water pump, benz engine mounts (hydraulic), AC still working yet some repairs, etc. The Benz after almost 12 years it runs like a top still looks classy and and gets comments like that is an 87.
Worth repairing for the long haul
Parts are, indeed, a bit more expensive than, say, a Toyota or Honda. But from my experience, they do last longer. Example: I used to do the minor tune-ups on my Toyota and Honda. The cost for plugs are almost the same. The spark plug wires for the Toyota ran to about $40.00 a set (this was a few years ago). The MB ? $149.00 (for the steel-braided ones)! But then, the forty dollar wires lasted about a year. The MB wires : 4 years, and still going !
Labor is also more expensive, depending on your mechanic. So, I only go to the mechanic for major repairs, of which there hasn't been much of (new exhaust system) or when I feel lazy !
Changing the oil, oil filter, and air filter is a snap. You don't even have to lift the car. Takes me about 30 minutes, tops. It's so easy and cheap that I change my oil every month (I drive about 90 miles everyday.) Cost: about 99 cents per quart of Castrol GTX Oil, $5.00 for a Purolator Oil filter (or a bit more for the German-made Mann Filters), about $10.00 for the air filter. To go to a Jiffy Lube or similar would cost me $49.00, as they do charge more for these cars than they do for a Toyota or Honda.
I've owned a Mitsubishi Galant, Toyota Celica, Volvo 240D, Honda Accord, a Saab 2000 over the past 15 years. We leased a 1998 Subaru Outback Limited, which we'll be returning in September 2000 Limited . I still take my '88 MB over all of them. Don't get me wrong. All those cars were pretty good and reliable. But the MB is just more satisfying to drive everyday.
To emphasize my point, my 11 year old MB, rides and drives better than my wife's 2-3 year old Subaru. It's faster, handles better, sounds better and is generally more satisfying than the Subaru. Of course, it is a bit unfair to compare these two cars, since they're in a totally different car class. And the Subaru would probably beat the MB in Winter driving hands down. But since we haven't had any bad winters in NJ in the last few years, this hasn't become an issue. Besides, if the weather's really that bad, I stay home and play with my son.
If there's one negative thing to say against the MB (and the BMW, for that matter), is that the electrical system (power locks and power windows) is not as good as on the Japanese makes. I NEVER had an electrical problem with my Japanese cars but I've had my power windows and doorlocks go out in my MB. Easily repaired by the mechanic. But a nuisance, nonetheless. All my close friends have either an MB or a BMW, so we get together on some weekends to service our cars.
By the way, for anyone thinking of buying a used MB, my mechanic (as he loves to say: he's a REAL German, trained in Germany too! Well hoop-dee-doo) says that as far as cost of parts and labor, the most expensive to maintain among the three brands are: Audi, BMW then the Mercedes, in that order. He just told me to keep this in mind cause I am currently looking to get another MB or maybe a BMW for my wife.
If this continues, I will sell this thing and get another Honda or Toyota. They may not be as fancy but you get to enjoy their lack of problems very much. To say the least, I find my Mercedes to be a mechanical pain in the neck. I've also had a couple oil leaks develope that have been fixed under warranty, but, hey, what gives?
Engine is doing fine, still lots of power and just a bit of oil consumption. Transmission is still great and suspension is simply the best. Brakes are great too. These cars already had 4 wheel disk
brakes over twenty years ago. Climate control is the only problem; A Japanese servo-control unit that just decided was time to go.
i haven't taken the car to a mechanic for a professional diagnosis, but plan to soon. any comments are appreciated.
Thanks for any/all help!
I'm a factory trained MBZ tech.As for your check
engine light coming on,welcome to the wonderful
world of German electronics !!!! (I'm sorry,I just
had to tease.)The c-class for some reason does
seem susceptible to repeat check engine light
probs,along with the e-class. #1,make sure after
you fill your gas tank that you put the gas cap
back on correctly,and tight.The emission control system does a self check to make sure that the fuel vapor control doesn't leak vapor to the atmosphere.If the cap is loose,you just turned on
your own check engine light. And what really sucks
is that I don't get paid to get your car from the
customer parking lot,bring it all the way into the
shop and check codes,just to find out that you left your cap off.And yes,we can tell if you did.
#2-If you are gas-cap "smart",the codes set could
be for other leaks in the evap system,the mass air
flow sensor, the up-shift delay system, the rear
oxygen sensor, or,if the transmission is having a
slippage problem,it may set a check engine light
on,too. Make sure whoever is working on your car
is doing the right repair for the particular code
stored. These suggestions may help.
I used to drive a Mustang convertible with 3.8 liter engine and going to a 2.2 liter is hard but I expect good gas mileage. Does anyone the expected mechanical problems on a 95 C220? I am wondering what kind of repairs to watch out for.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
1. Has anyone been able to purchase the shop manual for this (and like) models?
2. This is my first MB, how ez or difficult is it to domy own oil change?
Thanks.
Does anybody have any input on:
a) How self-servicing the vehicle would affect it's value.
b) Where to get a decent service manual. (I'm thinking about buying a German one...but I'd hate to explain what 'Treibstoffschauglas' means when ordering parts in Ohio.)
Any input would be greatly appreciated...
After getting it home, I took it to a local mechanic who sees a lot of MBs to have it checked out, thinking even if I had to spend a few thousand on it, I'd still be ahead of the game at the price I paid. So here's what I found out. The first thing he told us is that the engine wiring is very corroded from battery acid having spilled out all over the engine, and it needs a new engine harness (about $1500, maybe more). He said it also needs front struts, front brakes, and new tires, and the front spoiler had been cut off by the previous owner below the bumper, probably because of some cosmetic damage. I was so thrilled w/ the thought of owning a Mercedes that I didn't even see that!
The brakes, struts and tires don't really concern me because these are routine maintenance issues, and I'd expect some of that. But the mechanic insisted that we get the car in there immediately for the engine harness job because he said there are exposed wires touching each other, and it's very dangerous to drive because of the possibility of an engine fire.
I was out of town the day he looked at it, so he was telling this to my wife, and showed her places in the engine where this was a problem and consequently, scared the heck out of her, and created an urgency to get the car right in there to take care of it. When she showed me what the mechanic showed her, she pointed out 2 connectors near the front of the engine that had a little bit of the insulation peeled back at the connector, showing maybe 1/4 of an inch of exposed wiring. Frankly, this didn't look too alarming to me, and actually looked as though the connectors could be replaced easily enough, without a complete $1500 wiring job.
I also started thinking about his explanation that these were corroded by battery acid, and I noticed that the battery is mounted at the back left hand corner of the engine, while these connectors he used as examples were located at the front of the engine. Consequently, I started wondering how this battery acid could leak out and travel all the way to the front of the engine without corroding other parts of the engine. The engine to me actually looks quite clean, and other connectors in the engine look normal w/ fully insulated wiring leading to the connector. And frankly, the insulation at the questionable connectors looked like it had receded more from heat and tension, rather than corrosion.
Am I making any sense at all? I'm not a car expert whatsoever, but I like to think I have a little bit of common sense (despite the fact that I was foolish enough to buy this car before having it check out!). This thing is just sounding to me like a classic case of a mechanic trying to take advantage of a woman and creating an urgency to get the car into the garage for an expensive repair.
Next week, we're taking the car to a mechanic near the house who has worked on my cars for years, and is absolutely honest. The only reason I didn't have him check it out to begin with is that I wanted to take the car to a place that specializes in eurpoean cars, and MBs in particular.
I'm curious if any other MB owners have ever had to replace an engine harness on a 7 year old Mercedes, due to wire corrosion from battery acid, or if this sounds, as I suspect, like a complete crock. We're really looking forward to several years of safe and pleasurable driving from this car. We just have to get over this initial hump, and I really believe it'll be a great car. Even the mechanic I'm questioning told me it appears to have never been in an accident, the transmission is in good shape, and aside from the wiring issue, he agreed it drives very nicely. I'm just wondering if he's on the level w/ the wiring thing.
these are good cars. I've had about 10 different Mercedes in the past 20 years, and from any price range of $1500 to $15.000, and some with as high as 250,000 miles on them.
it takes a lot to kill a Benz, and not a single of of these cars were inspected before purchase. if it looked good, drove straight, and engine and transmission sounded and shifted right, and there were no fluid leaks, then I bought it.
to this point have done no major repair outside of 'normal' maintenance except one transmission over haul, which happened about 3 months after I bought the car (you can't hide tranny problems for 3 months).
don't know about the wagon model, but you should enjoy the 300 engine for many many miles and years to come. spend a little and go with top notch oil and filter and change no later than 5000 miles.
as for wiring, I've seen cracked insulation on my old Benz as well. a little electrical tape will take care of that.......
Let's continue our discussion on any Mercedes maintenance or repair issues (including whether they are expensive to maintain!) in this new place: General Mercedes questions (Topic #1295).
Thanks again, ataie. See you there!
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference