Don't Buy Mercedes
While the title of this posting may seem irrelevant to our industry, it's highly relevant and here's why.
First, let me just restate, don't buy a Mercedes. Three years ago I bought a convertible CLK320. Since I was 18 I had dreamed of having a convertible Mercedes. Once my daughter was old enough and finances were strong enough I finally got my car. Since that time I have found myself on a first name basis with the service department, in and out of service for one reason - Mercedes quality has definitely declined. While I could go on and on at the ridiculous things that have gone wrong I want to make this relevant.
Yesterday I attended and presented at the WOMMA Basic Training. When I arrived at the Hilton in SF my Mercedes trunk would not open, leaving my speaker notes and laptop locked inside my car! During the conference there was some debate on the measurement of word of mouth online vs. offline. One of the studies presented showed that 90%+ of Word of Mouth is offline. My collegue from Nielsen BuzzMetrics blogged about that last night .
When I got up to make my presentation I started by sharing with the audience my dissatisfaction with being a Mercedes owner, and suggested to the 100 or so people in the room that they not buy a Mercedes. I have also shared this with all my collegues at work and anyone who sees my "beautiful" car and says "how do you like your Mercedes"? You can imagine my answer.
So, while there is a large percentage of word of mouth that happens offline, until we find away to get an RSS feed from people's mouths it's going to continue to be difficult to measure it's impact on your brand. However, if you assume that the online conversations are a proxy for what is happening offline, you see the opportunity to better understand the perception of your brand and what is top of mind to your target audience.
If we use my Mercedes experience as an example, I would agree that the majority of my Mercedes bashing has happened offline. To Mercedes that means that this posting (and any other postings like it) represents only a fraction of the people that have been told "Do not buy a Mercedes". If they were smart enough to mine blogs for consumer sentiment, they may find the impact word of mouth is having on their brand and multiply that by at least 100 since one online conversation may translate into 100s of offline conversations.
This weekend I think I'll visit the Audi deal. Audi owners have shared nothing but stories of satisfaction.
posted by Deborah Eastman @ 6:58 AM
44 comments
44 Comments:
Hi Deb
sorry to hear all your woes about Mercedes.
i am also a Merc owner but i find it to be extremely reliable as compared to my husband's Volvo S60. maybe yours is maufactured from other countries as mine is CKD model-assembled in Malaysia.
most malaysians are quite pleased with Mercs, so it was a surpise to me to read yours which i happen to stumble as i was scrolling thru all the Blogs.
anyway, i wish you the best in your future choice.
warm regards
ee hooi
It's true that the amount of people who blog about a product they are dissatisfied probably only represent a small number of the total people dissatisfied with that product. The assumed "inconclusiveness" may lead some marketers to disregard blogs altogether, but that would be a mistake. The quality that all bloggers share is their desire to share information and opinions. A representative from Mercedes may make the mistake of assuming Deb's opinion represents "one person" without an understanding that it's one person who has influenced countless others.
What timing! I just heard I needed to put $1000 into my Mercedes after it broke down earlier on 101 (my poor wife was driving).
But, then again, mine is a "beater" 1988 model with 205k miles.
But your point about WOM is very well taken. The blogosphere is becoming a very well-honed echo chamber.
It's funny how WOM goes both ways - I made the decision to purchase MB recently because of positive WOM recommendations. I eliminated some other brands from consideration - Audi, VW, and BMW - because of negative WOM from family, friends, and colleagues. I guess there's two sides to every story.
Hi Deb,
I am telling everyone I know not to get one, too.
I had all kinds of problems - windows not closing, sun roof not working, strange sounds when the car backs up, TeleAid control unit went bad, display backlight stopped working, rear window heater stopped working, part of the door handle broke, turn signals stopped working, wipers stopped working,...
I would NEVER buy mercedes again.
I would never buy another Merc too. I had many Mercs, they were good before the 1990s, then, disaster. When I switched to Lexus I found heaven. They are soooooooooo good. Carefree, problem-free.....smooth quiet. Sadly, many are ignorant of this, and continue to be attracted by good looks of European cars.
Stephen.
I am ready to buy your MB, if it is C230 Kompressor in good condition. Pay cash! Please, contact me at fredquentine@yahoo.com if you're intrested. Best.
It kills me when people go on and on about "don't buy Mercedes". If it's so horrible, sell it and buy yourself a nice, boring, disappear in the crowd Lexus. Mercedes is one of the highest tech., sophisticated, most thoughtfully and geniusly engineered cars in the world. So, yes, some people are going to have problems!! Look at NASA; the people there are building SPACE ships and even they have mundane problems. The difference is NASA isn't pumping out hundreds of thousands every year. With beautiful machines like BMW and Mercedes it's a compromise and always has been. You buy them because they're works of art and the pleasure of driving them is unparralleled. What you give up is any kind of notion thay you're never going to have a problem. One last thing: Next time you're out and about drive around the service department of any dealership you can find; Honda, Toyota, Nissan, whatever and I guarantee their service bays will always be full and not because they're all doing oil changes.
Hey Deb. I will be posting my C240 on Youtube for everyone to watch as it rots away! My car is a 2002 and is rusting so bad it is embarrassing. I plan on just watching it go though, it should be real fun. NEVER will they get a red cent from me again.
-Brian
I have been very happy with my Lexus IS300. I have never had any problems with it and know many other happy Lexus owners. Although, I am sure Lexus has produced some lemons, look at its JD Power rating.
We were faithful (7) Mercedes diesel buyers (240D though 350SDL) until our 1991 350SDL's engine gave out owing to a design defect that it turns out Mercedes well knew but concealed and has to this day refused to aknowledge. When soaring oil consumption occurred, owners were met with feigned "surprise" at dealerships who concocted fatuous excuses, hoping that the warranty would expire. Once it did, MB USA was only too happy to tell the customer, with a smirk, that the company's corporate position was to deny liability, and to ask, by the way, "was there anthing else they could help you with?".
We've bought our last piece of MB's now largely plastic junk. The fact that MB has tossed its name into the gutter does not detract however from the quality and splendor of the cars they once built. It is regrettable but nevertheless a fact that the engineering masterpieces Mercedes built in the 1970's, 80's and half way through the 90's, along with the Daimler Benz company that built them, are gone forever and now belong to the ages.
I worked as a Mercedes dealer mechanic for 30 years and I understand the frustration. The cars really started going downhill in the early 90's The company also started to cut the mechanics throats and this affected the attitude of doing a good job. Why work for way less money on crap cars that in some cases that could not be fixed? Generally the new hires seem to be inexperianced flat rate pirates. Not all but alot of them. I have not worked for one of their dealers now for 5 years and don't regret it at all. Our family car is an 87 300DT that is starting to cost a lot of $$ to fix because of a major design flaw. The failed engine vacume pump that wiped out a lot of other parts with no forwarning. Why spend 3K to fix a car worth 2K because of a bad reputation? It cost 45K new. Percentage wise just about anything is a better buy as far as depreceation is concerned. And the new ones are worse!
My 2000 E320 Fourmatic has been an absolute nightmare from day 1. I blow a light bulb every few weeks, requiring repeat trips to my service department. Yesterday, for the second time since I purchased the car, my rear window fell into the door - a problem with the window "regulator". The first time it happened was a snowy, cold January night in Boston (that was my left rear door). Yesterday, it happened in the Bay area on a really hot day (that was my right rear door). In the meantime, my kids' Hondas and my wife's Lexus run like clockwork - nothing ever happens to them (I am now utterly convinced this kind of boring is good). It's not about having to spend money on repairs. It is the huge inconvenience of missing work to bond with my service person, unexpectedly.
Hi Deb,
Thank you for your info.
Also never ever buy an Acura MDX. My problems included..
- Failed transmission
- Failed starter motor
- Failed navigation system
- Failed rear air conditioner
MDX = Multiple Disappointing Experiences
Thanks
Malibu
I recently sold my Mercedec C180 Compressor after a lot of dissapointments. At 74 000 km the engin top had to be replaced at a cost of R35 000 (1$ = R9). At 104 000km I was told the Compressor needs to be replaced , Cost R36 000. At 106 000km the stearing angle sensor need to be replaced and some bracket , cost R18 000. Total cost for 1 year = R89 000 on a car with less than 110 000km on the clock. Although the motorplan cover 50% it still adds up to R44 500. Mercedes Benz South Africa attitude is "Tuff Luck"
I recently went throught the exercise of buying a new car. I am 30 years old, Male, live in Cape Town South Africa.
I evaluated all the compact sedans in the class: Audi A4, BMW 3, Lexus IS, Mercedes C200K. The Lexus won Hands down ito build quality, comfort and luxury. I bought the Lexus. Within a week the gearbox failed, the front speakers stopped working and the handbrake failed. The car now had 1000km on the odometer.
The sales staff lied to me, and then returned the car to me without fixing anything. So i got my lawyer involved, and within days i had a commitment from Lexus South Africa to replace the vehicle with an upgraded model.
I should be collecting it tomorrow. So lets just hope its smooth sailing from here on in. I am very tempted to sell it and buy myself a cheap reliable car. My dad has a 2006 Merc CLK500 and has had to replace the engine and cooling system. They all have their lemons, i suppose.
I drive a mercedes m class and I love it it is extremely reliable. I have had it for two years now and had absolutely no problems with it. Unlike my wife's cadillac escalade which has been in the shop 3 times in the last 2 months, i even let her drive the mercedes because i know she can rely on it.
Most of you have the cheap I cant afford a real Mercedes c class model no wonder you are having trouble. Pick the right car and you will have no issues a Mercedes that is well cared for will last longer than anything. I have a 2001 e320 with 130,000 miles that has not been to the shop for anything other than breaks oil changes and basics in 5 years the dash says 30,100 miles past service. The car is still as reliable as ever. Mercedes makes the best most reliable cars in the world you just have to buy the right car and make sure that car was well cared for. If you buy cars that were abused of course you will have issues next time buy a Mercedes and buy right. As to the author my friend has a 2001 e420 convertible (same car with 8cylinder motor) She bought a used well maintained one and it is her favorite car she ever owned even with the 120,00 miles it now has the car has never let her down. Also the new Mercedes line up is extremely well built thanks to an increase of $3 billion in production costs that was invested to increase quality (even the c class is a great car now). Also make sure you have the right mechanic that helps more than anything.
Hi Deborah, could it be that you are jewish and is using negative propaganda for german quality. The brand you are talking about has class, reliability, quality, and number one car listed in the world. Plkease if you racial comments because of your ethnicity, keep your comments to yourself. Being jewish like all jewish people as I am you would say this about german technology. Be fair like I am eve thoiugh I am jewish the car is rthe best car I have seen my friends drive.
Folks,
I am sure these experiences are true but my experience not yours is that my 7 mbs since 2001 have been without exception very reliable cars. My experience in business that such posts here are data points, not necessarily a trend. My thought is that on average MB owners are higher income more educated folks on average that speak their minds and are advocates of their positions more so than the average "joe", and such people are more predisposed to rant about injustices than about positive experiences, therefore we see a higher rate of posts from this group because of socio- economic reasons. ask any statistician data points without a statistically significant representative sample and stated confidence factor are nothing more than meaningless noise than an true. To wit I have owned 5 audis during the same time and each one cost me much more to fix due to non-covered problems. My 2 cents
We bought Mercedes diesels from 1976 [240D] through 1991 [350SDL]. We know that Daimler Benz once built truly handsome and very well engineered cars. We also know that, sometime in the mid-1990’s,, Daimler gave over control of the company to pitch-men and too it form the engineers. That was the beginning of the end
The principal if not the only difference between the 350SD and SDL was the "L" part. The SDL was about 6 or 7 inches longer and boy did it give the rear passenger some leg room. Each was a splendid car, but each suffered from the now infamous 6 cylinder #603.970 diesel engine that had an often fatal design defect. Mercedes knew about the defect but kept using the engine anyhow, hoping that the problem of soaring oil consumption wouldn't show up until the car was "out of warranty". At that point, MB USA would tell the owner, as they did us, where they could go. It was the beginning of the end for the Daimler Benz Company. In the mid-1990's, they decided to scrap the fine company they once were and to begin building plastic junk they knew they could sell if it but had the nose star. It worked, as most scams, do, for a while, but, like all scams, it didn't work on everyone and it certainly did a job on their repeat buyers. We owned 8 of their cars but there will never be 9th I can assure you.
I know this is a long answer to a simple question. I felt I owed it to whomever might see this to alert them to the fact that the Daimler Benz Company that built the beautiful cars of yesteryear is gone forever. You will never be able to buy anything such as the W140 again. If you doubt this, go to a dealer and see just how much of their new cars are plastic. Ask if you get a spare tire and why the owner's manual has to be 500 pages and why is has two batteries, one of which is bound to fail in the first year of operation. You can't use the heated seats in winter nor the air conditioning in summer. The cars they build today are fragile and break down more often than oil tankers leak.
Good luck to anyone buying a Mercedes today and better luck to anyone looking to MB USA for help.
Hi Deborah
It was also my childhood dream to drive a Mercedes. Funny, how we all had a "Dream" Once. Mine since August 2010 just turned into my worst nightmare.
I purchased a C280 and in the first month after I got my vehicle I was stuck for six hours along the side of the road. Since then my cars engine -warning light came on six times. Well can't get rid of it, the model is taken from the market and no one wants to purchase it. I'm unable to come to any agreement with the neither dealer nor Mercedes SA. After an interesting discussion with a friend, who's MB went in 35 times, "Engine warning light" and twice no brakes, I need to rather pump the old bicycle’s wheels and leave the Faulty product in their garage where it belongs. Regards Jacques Terry
I am truly sorry to hear your experience with your car. I own a 1986 Mercedes 420 SEL and have had no problems with it. It is reliable and dependable and we have done very little to it. We are faithful with our routine maintaniace and at 285000 miles it out performs most of our friends newer vehicles. I would recommend and older Mercedes to anyone I know. That being said I have heard the newer ones don't hold up as well anymore.
I love my mercedes and the trunks have a valet lock feature that this lady may have put on and she is just ignorant on how to operate the car..
this car could save her/your life some day just by build /engineering perhaps she should get in a high speed wreck in a toyota and see what happens to her
This comment has been removed by the author.
I heard both the terrible reliability on MB, as well how reliable they are.
I just got my MB S550. I put on so far, 600 km. It is too soon to report any long term reliability on this car, but it feels "solid" and "well-built." I've owned various cars (Ford Mustang, Hyundai Poni, Eagle Vista, Camero, Honda Prelude, Mazda Miata, Saab 9-5, Infiniti M45, etc), and usually in my first few weeks I could tell how the vehicles would turn out. I haven't found one so well built as this S550. It is perhpas because this model existed from 1997, and is being replaced by a new 2014 model next year. I bought this "out-going" model simply because I found that these models are really greatly priced, and they have worked out all the bugs throughout the years. When the new ones come out, they tend to have bugs, which take a few years to correct. Anyway, I am not so concerned about prestige of owning the newest. I actually don't like attention. But I truly like cars that are well-designed and carefully crafted. If you test drive an S550 after test driving a C class or E class, you will know what I mean by well-designed and carefully crafted.
I will keep you posted as I drive it a little longer.
But what a well made car this really is. Every time I get in it, I get impressed again and again with small details they put their thought to.
I previously owned a Mecedes R350 with 63,000 miles. I religiously followed all Mercedes recommended service including regular oil changes. Without warning, pistons 1 and 4 came apart...at least that is what the dealership informed me...with an estimated repair cost of $15,000. I expect a well-maintained engine to last well beyond 63,000 miles. I requested assistance from Mercedes USA and they suggested that I not fix the car and offered $2,000 toward a new Mercedes. I was forced to sell the car for salvage value and lost more than $10,000. I will never buy another Mercedes.
I own a 2007 C230 Sport V6 engine. Car has been rock solid albeit some plastic failing in the passenger door. Engine, transmission and overall build quality is unparalleled. This car feels safe and solid on the road all while being quite powerful, sporty and luxurious. Have owned many vehicles and the Mercedes is clearly the winner in overall satisfaction in my book. I tend to agree that many vehicles are being built with more and more plastic which I think is in poor quality.
I'm agreeing with Deb on this one. My Sprinter van wore out a set of tires in 25,000 miles ($1200.00). A set of brakes at the same time($675.00). Broke the key recently ($180.00). Four headlight bulbs in two years (dealer recommended fix each time: $240.00, ten bucks if you can DIY. DEF fluid: $35 per gallon plus $80 to put it in (less than $10 at checker and DIY). The list goes on and on. If you can afford to pay all the dealer fixes not covered by warranty, and if you can deal with losing the use of your vehicle for days at a time, then go for it. Otherwise, listen to Deb!!! Don't buy Mercedes! I will never again.
that is so true all cars have problems no matter what make even new ones.
If you want to enter a realm of troublesome vehicles then own a Volkswagen. Volkswagens by and large have inflicted major frustration and anger amongst the owners of these cars. I had two VW's. A GTI and Jetta from the early 90's. They were absolute junk! I know Audi's can be problems and BMW's (once the warranty is up) can rape you of your finances. My brother had a BMW, a 2003 3 series, that was very expensive to repair and maintain. He couldn't trust his BMW and bought a Lexus. The Lexus has been a very trusty vehicle. As for Mercedes? Well, that's an iffy proposition. I know that the older models, especially the diesels, are tough son-of-a-guns and will out live their owners.But now with so much technology bundled into cars, cars like Mercedes are extremely complicated. Technology isn't infallible. Things WILL go wrong. From a minor blip here and there to a major fall out. Yes, sometimes Mercedes do succumb to major "illnesses." Your best bet is to lease a premium vehicle. When the lease is up so will be the car's warranty in most regards. Unless you're willing to pay some serious cash when something does go wrong without a warranty.
I have a 2011 ML550. I have a vibration while driving that started 18 months ago. I have been to 2 dealers and still have the problem. The last dealer had the car for a total of 20 days and never founf the problem. When the warranttee expired they told me there was nothing wrong with the car.
I love my car but the service department at Surrey Mercedes in Surrey BC Cananda is incompetent and deceitful. I am now waiting to have the car checked by a "real" mechanic, not those technitions that Mercedes employs at the dealership. Its OK to buy a Mercedes but first check out the service department. I found out after the fact that the service department at Surrey Mercedes has a terrible reputation!!!!
hi Debby,
sorry about your bad day.owing to the crucual nature of your appointment your caption is understandable though it smacks of a mercedes anticampaign. permit me mrntion to you that everything comes with a high price. let me base my argument on two points:
1. the incorporation of Information technology in our everyday life comes with a price. even the internet which is our indispensable tool has come with high a price, privacy, crime you namethe rest. our cars have become more sophisticated in a bid to maximise performance and simplify diagnosis and exploitation with the imcorporation of all kinds of microchips into the electronic circuits and like your desktop or ipad back home, it is bound to malfunction once in a while as it gets older.
2. globalisation has lead to much outsourcing with companies turning towards the south east block for cheap labour and low quality products being the end result all these.
as a consequence, mercedes has lost its originality as it is manufactured and assembled in many countries like south africa, brazil and many european and asian countries other than GERMANY. i have been a mercedes fan for over 15 years and an owner since october 2006. i consider it a privilege to have owned and sold the 190D, w202 c class, many 124s, w203 c class (april 2012 to date)and currently building a G Class and looking forward to buying an s class w140.
amid all the challenges i can assure you that not even the porsche 911, the aventador or the ferrari tempt me one bit. i dont imagine owning a car that isnt of the mercedes make after so many unalloyed years of service and with thousands of kilometres covered by road.such unspeakable fidelity and reliability. there are only two cars in the world. mercedes and the others. since 1888 with karl and bertha benz and the first 180km distance ever covered by land in the history of automobiles from mannheim to pforzheim-germany to present date, mercedes remains a force to reckon with, with millions upon millions of owners and even more millions of aspirants and fanatics around the world. kudos-mercedes. AYELBENZ from Cameroon.
MR PONSONBY,
SIR, your sarcasm is simply overwhelming and im even more impressed by your choice of words (simple but strong), ive been laughing my lungs like a fool since i started reading your post. im trying to figure you your frustration and its hard to say that your expectations were so high and were not met or you must have spent a fortune in acquiring and maintaining tho cars over time that your reaction is so irate. all thee same i suggest you try other marks which i wouldnt like to mention and then youd know the difference. like its said, you cant compare one thing. i agree with you that mercedes like many other cars have their faults and the w140 s class has its peculiarity. im at the verge of buying one and ive read a lot online about its faults. petrol versions mired with a plethora of electronic problems and diesel versions with over smooking and heavy oil loses due to head gasket give-way and bent rods and turbo failure. yet the car is stil soo imposing and spacious.
true also that todays mercedes is simply a junk of plastic which is the case with other brands anyway due to the quest for more profits, globalisation and increased technology that has lead to the use of recycled material and extensive use of aluminium and other alloys which are cheaper. without which these companies will be kicked out of business. imagine that the 1970 benz are still solid and performant. a neighbour of mine used his G CLASS for 14 uninterrupted years. if the companies kept making rock solid cars that can last for 30 years like they did in the 70's and 80's then one could use a single car in a life time and this will be bad for business. the company would fall, jobs would be lost, governments wouldnt benefit from taxes to run their economies etc so they resort to low cost cars and keep modifying in a bid to stimulate and keep consumtion. true that from a comsumer point of view we the users feel cheated but lets look at it from a global perpective. myself im not very happy with the over incorporation of digital technology into cars or the much use of light materials in manufacture but that is the world trend now and mercedes cannot exclude itself or be left behind. lets focuss on the bright side of things. i assure you that the fuel consumption of mercedes is simply OUTSTANDING for its size. with my 200D i could do 300km with just 20 litres of gas. this alone is a cost advantage to me and its hardly the case even with small cars like the yaris vvti engine. speed graranteed even on climbing steep hills. kudos-mercedes. AYELBENZ from Cameroon.
HI ALL,
please lets note make personal issues the order of the day. is suggest we express our frustrations to the company so that these problems can be solved. companies do recall dont they? here in african with our low technology on maintenance etc mercedes still ranks very high on our roads after toyota. many peole have discovered the tricks in cost effectiveness and are turning towards mercedes day by day, maintenance and consumption wise. the cars are relatively durable. mercedes isnt in the decline. check the records if you doubt me. even in the heart of the current world economic down turn mercedes is one of the few car companies that recorded up to a 12.5% sale in a single quarter.
If you want the ultimate luxury car buy a Lexus. The Germans are notorious for building troublesome automobiles. The Germans aces at manufacturing two things: music boxes and Birkenstock sandals.
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