>>>First about Mercedes quality: <snip> <<<
You’re right. Mercedes does not have 10’s of millions of cars being recalled or pending class action suits, but then again, MB does not produce that many cars. However, don’t kid yourself if you think MB is not a defendant on class action lawsuits or involve with recalls in recent years.
>>>The space shuttle program <snip> <<<
I do not get the analogy. If an F1 car or the space shuttle explodes, my family will not be in harm’s way unless I’m within the immediate vicinity of that explosion. However, if my S55 stalls in the middle of the freeway, my whole family is in jeopardy.
>>>If those of you out there have problems with a techno-giant like MB <snip> <<<
How convienient, you don't want me to buy another MB so you don't hear my whining? If the E55 I'm getting is as reliable and trouble free as MB is capable of producing, you will not hear anything from me other than praises. I never bash any car or car company that I've never owned. I don't read negative comments from car rags and regurgitate it somewhere online.
The last Honda I bought was an NSX 13 years ago. That was cutting edge back then, but it did not have the gremlins that my S55 did. The last Toyota I bought was my wife’s GS400. It was at the time the fastest sedan in the US. Cutting edge as you might say, still one defect, and Lexus bent over backwards to make me happy. Something MB should learn to do. In contrast, the three D-C cars I’ve had were all plagued with problems, starting with the Jeep GCL, 18 months of ownership, nothing but headache. My Viper GTS was even worse, only lasted for a year. Granted these are not MB cars, but it is from the same parent company. After spending $100K+ on a car, I expected at least to be as reliable as my wife’s GS. I held my piece for three years, saying something about my bad experience with my S55 and the way MB treated me as customer is not out of line.
>>>Secondly, does anyone out there actually believe that someone else out there is making a car that is even close to the equal of an E55, and has no problems whatsoever? <snip> <<<
Like you said, there is no other car out there that is equal or close to the E55. Believe me if there was, I’d be all over it. I am not asking MB to produce a car that is as reliable as bicycle. All I’m asking for is for them to produce cars as reliable as their pre-D-C cars. That is not much to ask for. They used to crank out those kind of cars. The problem is MB seems to come out with cutting edge technology without proper R&D.
>>> If your dealer can't fix your problems, maybe it is their fault, not the cars. <snip> <<<
Ah not quite, my car was seen by 3 different authorize service centers. MB even sent one of its experts from Germany to see my car. Sure after 5 tries, my car no longer lean on one side, but its still registering an ABC malfunction message.
ML is just not to blame. It is a widespread problem across their entire model range, be it made in Alabama or Germany.
>>> <snip> Go out tomorrow and ask someone what they would buy if they won the lottery-- bet you know the answer. <snip> <<<
Not true. Nouveau riche buys Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc. It used to be MB was part of these choice group, but with the introduction of MB’s sub-$30K cars, they took themselves out of that elite group.
>>>Finally, if you are pondering whether to buy something other than an E55, remember this. Mercedes-Benz spent TWO BILLION dollars in R&D on this latest redesign of the E! <snip> <<<
Wow, two billion! All I’m asking is for MB to improve their customer service and build a car free of defects. I’m not asking for a miracle, after all MB was known for this before the D-C merger. Maybe, they should spend a little more for customer service.
Again, in case you missed it. I’m giving MB another chance. I would probably be taking home an E55 within the end of the week. The Caddy idea just crossed my mind as an alternative. Having said that, I’ve visited the Caddy dealer 3 times in 3 days and I still could not get myself to buy it.
Raymond
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