It seems Mercedes-Benz is none too happy with Consumer Reports
these days. Can you blame them, as CR
has lambasted the vaunted German carmaker's reliability over and over again. The folks at MB say it ain't so, at least not according to their (internal) data. Specific models that CR says have issues: S-class (prior to the recent redesign), CLS, E-class sedan, SL, CLK, the V6 SLK, and the M-class...
CR has tested 11 Mercedes models, and not one is on their "Recommended" list.
braverichard says:
07:17 AM, 11/21/06
Well I don't know, CR has always bashed MB reliability while heaping incredible praise on the design, ride and overall engineering of MBs, and while I believe CR to be impartial and fair, MB's sales and loyalty rates have not been affected as they should have when you consider that people "listen when CR speaks." Maybe the MB owners just complain too much about negligible issues on their cars because they expect everything to be perfect. Perhaps they are more picky than the owners of other luxury cars, afterall the average MB commands 10% over the price of similarly equipped competitors. I don't really know what it is, but it makes no sense to me that MB reliability is so bad yet the brand still has the industry's best loyalty rate and sales and revenues are at their best point ever.
estreka says:
02:02 PM, 11/21/06
I agree with braverichard. When you're paying primo pricing for autos, you expect flawless execution of design and engineering. I'm curious how badly the well-to-do would rate a Honda or Toyota.
On the other hand, German companies have always had reliability issues. That's one reason Lexus does so well. I'm curious how many recalls MB issues in comparision to, say, Toyota.
kurtamaxxxguy says:
04:23 PM, 11/21/06
Agreed. For that premium price, a luxury car needs to offer a premium buyer experience, most importantly better than average reliability.
Also, the article mentioned two other surveys found the same issues with Mercedes.
billt9 says:
02:08 AM, 11/22/06
Mercedes gives rich buyers a great experience when new.
Presumably, the rich buyers can just trade in and buy another Mercedes when the one they have starts acting up.
But they are excellent cars while they work right.
As the Mercedes spokesman claims, Mercedes gets the good marks for ride, handling, comfort, safety and performance.
He left out reliability.
But buyers don't care.
With an entry price higher than that of a BMW, Mercedes makes sure they're buyers are rich enough to trade in every 1-3 years.
hondacura4 says:
04:10 PM, 11/22/06
My best friend has a 2005 Mercedes C230 Kompressor Sport, with the 6 speed manual. Looks identicle to the AMG C55. Anyway, he has had the car in 2 times for VERY unecessary issues. The first one was one night after a hard drive his car started sputtering. The culprit was that the valve springs werent installed properly and he bascially got a new head. The Merc tech said this was starting to be a common thing with the 2004 and 2005 C230 Kompressors. This was at about 15K. The same time they did the head swap they also replaced the passenger side airbag under recall. Of course all of this was done under warranty.
The last thing is that the LED's in the mirrors stopped working and he had to have both replaced. Its a nice car, but I just cant see spending this much on the purchase of a car and always having to take it to the dealer for repair. Mercedes is supposed to be the "best in the world" but in the last few years they have certainly lost that title.
cdoke says:
09:25 PM, 11/22/06
I had a friend who, oh about a year ago, purchased a new ML 63 AMG, I believe it was. At the end of about 6 months she was so angry with it that she sold it, with less than 10,000 miles on it as I recall. I swear it was probably being fixed every two or three weeks, with the exception of the first month and a half. It had everything from engine to trim problems. I would hope that this, and I believe it is, an extreme case of Mercedes' problems., but what consumer reports says does not really surprise me.
ateixeira says:
11:38 AM, 11/27/06
I know more than a few unhappy Benz owners so they should stop whining and figure out a way to make their electronics less problematic.
Spend more on R&D and less on PR.