Mercedes 2004 C240 Elegance

[lostchild]

I bought a 2004 C240 Elegance on September 2003 and spent about 60K on it. These guy sold me a car that had the catalytic converter changed twice within 11 months time, crankshaft sensor replaced, transmission replaced and dashboard panel replaced because my wiper just shutdown on me during a winter storm, all within 2 years time and they won’t do anything for me. The suggestion from the Markham Mercedes Manager in Ontario, Tom Hiscox suggestion was to trade in the car (which they gave me a lesser trade in value than Acura and Lexus gave me), pay another $2000 to extend my warranty or just get rid of my car. That was their suggestion. Doesn’t make sense for me to pay more for an extended warranty on a junk car that they sold me, or give them more business. Tom's response to the catalytic converter problem was that "it could be anything. It could be the gas you put in if you put regular into it". That pissed me off, I took that car in for each scheduled maintenance and put nothing else in it but premium gas.

Their service manager Brian tells me that the problems I am having with my car is not that bad at all. I explained to him that my previous 2 cars, which were Civic and Accord never had such problems and I put on 405K on my civic, he told me "Oh yeah, they're built like a tank but the problems you're having is not that bad." When I went to the DVP dealership in Toronto to fix the transmission, they didn’t have the parts. They told me to drive off with the car until they get the parts, knowingly that the car would break down any time in the middle of the road. We had to complained to Mercedes Canada to get them to give us a courtesy car.

Would I recommend the Benz to any of my friends? NO
Would I ever consider buying another Benz? NO
Did I get the quality and luxury that comes with Benz? NO

Now I'm trading my car in for an RX400H. I should have done more research on the net to see what people thought about Mercedes, I would have saved myself a world of headache.

[The General]

Did I get the quality and luxury that comes with Benz? NO



I find it funny that people equate big $$ with quality, durability and reliability. I guess because I was not around in the 60s and early 70s, I did not fully experience the myth of the durability of cars like the Mercedes and Volvo. I have read much about it and I have seen old 280E and P1800 driving around but all this is now way behind these car makers.

These stories and exploits served to add prestige to the makes and put them on the map. Nowadays, these cars are at the forefront of technological developments (to justify the big $$). The problem is that this new technology is unproven and will have glitches. Mercedes has had many many problems in the last few years. They are probably some of the least reliable luxury cars in the World. But the name Mercedes will always be tops.

The Japanese luxury cars may not have all the history behind them like the Germans however, they are presently building one and hopefully they will remain a good purchase.

[lostchild]

They are probably some of the least reliable luxury cars in the World. But the name Mercedes will always be tops.

The Japanese luxury cars may not have all the history behind them like the Germans however, they are presently building one and hopefully they will remain a good purchase.

They used to be reliable and my parents had the older models which never gaved them any problems and that's the reason why we bought it. The name itself does give people the perception that they are luxurios but after what I've experience, that perception went down the drain. Even when we were speaking to the Service Manager he kept insisting that "When you ride the car, you must feel the luxury?" I explained to him "how can I feel the luxury when every time I get in that car, I get so paranoid and worried, that I have to listen for little sounds that the car makes which might result in another problem."

They even tried to get me to trade it in for the C230 or the new C280. I've heard worse reviews and experience from people I know who drove the C230. My co-worker told me that his C230 was in the shop every 3 months when he had his.

You're right about the Japanese cars. Even though they don't have the long history, they are building their names and I find it now most peolpe are starting to go with their luxury cars rather than the Benz. Quality and safety definitely far exceeds that of the Mercedes.

Thanks for your comments

[woohoo!]

It's sad to see that Mercedes had dropped considerably in quality over the years. Maybe they will wake up someday and realize that they've got serious work to do in order to regain profitability.

They could start by lowering their sky-high prices... geez, come on, Mercedes, you're not alone in the luxury segment anymore.

You could get an Acura, Lexus or Infiniti that will cost you much less, you'll give up some prestige but it'll reward you with years of worry-free driving pleasure.

[ASQ]

Hi I am new on this board, having read about old benzez, in old days there were no power windows,power staring,brakes,seats,catalytic convverter etc, so cars were simple and made easy.

Now a days Hi-Tech know how and a good design concept including people's choices is mandatory.

Back than car manufecturer made what they made and people had no choices.

In to-days market, design, wellbuilt systems, feul consumption and powers are integeral part of cars.

Some find it hard to put all together and make it work. it is technology at its best.

some have it, some don't.
But Mercedez is a big old car company and they should know their stuff and i am sure they will pull together. besides it is German technology.

[fedakj]

I have a 2004 C240 Elegance. No problems in 3 years. Ecellent driver, good fun and very comfortable. The trick to have good experience with a MB or BMW is to first: properly break-in the engine. Two don't drag race, this cars are build for high speed cruising. Have service done more frequently than shown in the manuals. In particular, the change oil and filter every six months.

This C240 is my third one - the second one saved my life when an SUV run a red light and t-boned me.

We also have a BMW 3 series, simliar expeience, however sportier than the MB, with a harder ride.

John Fedak

[fedakj]

Understand your frosteration. Here is how I cured problems with MB, which resulted in far better service and 3 more MB cars, all with good performance and no problems.

When frist MB refused to eliminate some problems, I simply made a hughe lemon painted on a 4x4 card board. On a nice saturday, I walked front of the MB dealership on Steeles.

On the following monday, had a new car, and when my name comes up for service appointment, I have no problems, neither have any more issue with quality of work, however my last 2004 never had any problems.
Good luck, John Fedak

[Crash]

I was heavily involved with MB back in the 70's MB when the company made great vehicles, solid and reliable. In my mind, the trouble started when they introduced the small 190 series and tried to bring the cost of ownership down.

Today, I feel that they are simply trading off of their reputation made a couple of decades or so ago.

Speaking of price...what has happened there???

An S class MB in the 70's was always in and around the price of the competition (BMW 7 Series, Jaguar XJ etc). Price up a loaded S Class today and then compare it to a Jaguar XJ, or a 7 Series BMW???

What happened? Did the man in the moon suddenly look down and proclaim that a Benz was worthy of a much higher price tag than the others!

I think they’d better wake up, as it is not only the Japanese who are now digging into their market, but also their own kind. Audi is taking its vehicles more and more up-market everyday, in fact, with vehicles like the R8, they are pushing ahead in some respects.

Another sad fact is that MB used to have a 10 yr turn around on models which kept the vehicles sought-after in the used market. Today they are changing models around rapidly, which might just be another reason for their reliability issues.