Mercedes exec admits to poor quality

"Lexus, which is currently dominating the U.S. and global luxury markets."


Enough said. What a great article. Finally some truthful articles about the overpriced and unreliable German cars we have to deal with. My grandfather was silly enough to buy an Audi A8 and it it is in the shop like every week. My uncle's ML500 left him stranded in the Sahara twice. Now he drives a Lexus RX400h and he can go places without refueling or breaking down.

The question needs to be asked. Why by a POS Benz when you can have a quality Lexus?

Mercedes sucks.

How about you quote the article correctly instead of injecting lies into it?

"...compared with Lexus, which is currently dominating the U.S. luxury market."

Now your uncle got stranded twice huh? You need to go away already.

and that comment was specifically in reference to lexus dominating SERVICE at dealers.

"Service quality is one area where Mercedes admits it’s lacking in, especially compared with Lexus, which is currently dominating the U.S...."

Superior Lexus service is a driving force behind Mercedes finally treating their customers better. This is a good thing for everybody.

david989, don't be such an asshole. I drive a leased A6 Quattro and it represents an exponential improvement over the lousy Audi cars I used to drive in the eighties (I'm guessing that was when your grandfather got sucked in also).

Audi interiors are better than those of Toyota and even the overpriced Lexus. Come back and sing the praises of Toyota when they start making AWD cars with Torsen differentials.

Stock RX400h. More offroad capable than the ML, reliable, better looking, better interior and more comfortable too. I've driven his RX400h and its such a quality product. I would trust this car to get me through the Sahara anyday.

There is no way the rx is more off road capable than the Ml. It may be more reliable, but how can a Toyota Camry/Highlander based front wheel drive setup with all wheel drive do better? Lexus is a good car but come on, be realistic. kinda like when you said the ISF would trounce the m3 and veyron. You say some of the most retarded things. Next thing you'll say the rx will beat a land rover off road. Give it up.

so your saying a RX400h can go through the sahara more better than an LC prado? when has that been done before?

The 400h cannot go off road - Toyota even say "don't take off road".
Know why? The rear wheels are electric only, no petrol power, and at low, off road speeds, it overheats, leaving you with a FWD SUV.

Why blame it on lack of focus?> MBZ didn't lose focus in the MSRP area they made sure they made money. No, the quailty issue was a direct problem with Bosch and MBZ didn't want to make a major recall to correct all the bad chips installed. Instead they let the dealers smow the public and hope that they would think their car was the only lemon.
Now they are getting back on track, after they had a little talk with suppliers, i think MBZ quality won't be a major isssue anymore but they should have address it straight forward, it got a lot of owners including me thinking about a lawsuit, it never should have come to that?

Now, will the execs admit that the new C-class has a rather mundane interior?

My wife and I test-drove the 2008 C300 4MATIC. The C still has a slightly cramped interior with seats that are too firm and a ride that is too harsh. The front bumper is too low for shopping center curbs and concrete lane separators to park against without risking costly damage. Other than that, the new grille makes the C look very sporty.

"The C still has a slightly cramped interior with seats that are too firm and a ride that is too harsh."

This can be interpreted very positively, Enn. For people like me, firm, well-bolstered seats and sporty suspensions make it a better driver's car.

At the end of the day, MB had their problems, they were the best. And now, with their new line up, will achieve that status again. And a mundane interior? Simplicity can be good, and it works well in that sector.

Lexus fans seem to think, more buttons = better, i feel that all Lexus interiors look clumsy and are way overrated.

I dont know if their new lineup will achieve their superior status of yesteryear but it's a start. I think people need to see a few generations of quality and hear it from their neighbors, friends and co-workers that quality is back up before Mercedes can fully restore itself. However, I do think they will find their way to that end now that Jurgen Schremp is gone

I am not a MB fan and never see having one of their cars in the family, but they will rebound from this situation. These honest comments may be an indication that they have the quality issue under control.

I can not stand the styling of new E350, but drove a friend’s yesterday and was no disappointed. With the sport package, it was not a BMW, but still drove very nice.

Even if they had some bad years I don't see the disparity in quality between MB and other manufacturers during those years. My friend has who has owned a so called "bad year" Benz did have some issues (window switches, and other trinkets) but the drive train never failed him. Engine and transmission are still holding up very well.

while other friends of mine have owned some of the purported higher quality asian vehicles; have had serious engine (one had the sludg-o-matic V6) and transmission problems.

I think most of the problems with MB's during those years can be attributed to electrical problems, mechanically they were still very good.

They were pretty good mechanically but you could still see the difference in quality of materials. Headlight lenses turned from glass to plastic, interior leather went from a thick material that was durable to a thinner, quicker wearing one. Analog clock replaced by a digital, the carpets got thinner, ect. Having owned a W123, W124, W210 and W211, it's easy to see the humps and valleys. The W210 just wasnt up to the standards of the other vehicles in terms of quality materials even if I've never had a drive train issue.

True, a friend of mine has a W210 which is suffering from rust issues, although it does have over 200,000 miles on the odometer. The W124 on the other hand was built to survive a nuclear winter.

I predict the next Lexus LS will be as nice as the 2005 Mercedes S-Class.

The S class is nothing compared to the LS. Don't compare the S class to the LS. The LS competes with Bentley, Maybach and Rolls (and outclasses them all). The S class can compete with inferior products like the A8, Phaton, 7 series and Ford XJ...

LOL!! Thanks for the Friday laugh David...

Screwball david989 has it ass backwards as usual. The Lexus LS front seats are not nearly as comfy and full of adjustment features as those in the S-Class. Both cars are overpriced however.

HOW OLD IS THIS ARTICLE????

Indeed, Mercedes admitted to poor quality and the need to address the problems a few years back. Heres an article on the issue from January 2006: http://www.whatcar.co.uk/news-article.aspx?NA=218083

Try telling that to my brother and his crappy 06 Honda CIvic... the biggest hunk of junk yet from Honda... tranny messed up, power windows failed on him TWICE.... and now a few recalls, current one being wheels may fall off (probably why he says it shudders some when it rides...) Japan does not mean high quality all the time, trust my brother and his Civic POS

Xenon means idiot, apparently...

I hope one day Lexus starts planes, office buildings, hamburgers, space stations, game shows, or even human beings, artificial beings or something like that. Maybe mechanical hearts so Houston and David can have one implanted to sustain life and go live there in Lexus Land, that would be great for them and us....

Mercedes may have admitted to less than perfect quality compared to lets say Lexus but we Americans are they only ones buying up Lexus. Mercedes and BMW have the #1 & #2 spot in other markets where does Lexus fall in? Um i guarantee it's not 3rd or 4th. Lexus' are just overpriced Toyota's w/an "L" on them. I would take an S550 over an LS460L anyday. Mercedes is still recongnized as a prestige automaker. Lexus is well...just Lexus.

Tonee, lets talk money, WHO CAN BUYOUT WHO?,

David989,

Crawl back into whatever gutter you managed to pull yourself out of. Your behavior has tested my patience to its end. With the possible exception of a few posters whose delusions you manage to reinforce, you are a laughing stock here. If you are trying to be funny, or are another poster- the joke is no longer funny.

All of that could change were you to behave like a normal, well-adjusted, rational and mature human being. None of those things preclude you from having your own opinion.

Is it so difficult to behave yourself?

MB does have a quality issue. The issue has mainly to do with the brand being expensive. People expect more from a MB. If the same issues happened in a Hyundai or Honda then not as noticable.

MB is a premium brand and should have higher quality standards equal to or better than BMW, Cadillac, Lexus, and Audi. Lexus is smart with quality assurance so that its brand does not get bad rep.

I will give David that much! lol This will be a knock on MB for sometime until reports are more positive.

The W123 model was the most bulletproof followed by the W124. The W210 was a piece of junk with poor quality materials. The W211 model was a slight improvement over the W211 model but still has a lot of major electrical issues.

I wouldnt say the W210 was a piece of junk. Mechanically, my E430 sport is more reliable than my 500E. But, I also have cracks in my leather, I've replaced all of my window regulators at least once, and in some cases twice. I've gone through more headlight bulbs then I can shake a stick at (though, I'm beginning to think that's my bulb selection) and my digital clock is always off by 5 min. All these things are simple annoyances at worst. Otherwise, my E430 sport is almost as fast as my 500E and certainly handles better. It gets better gas mileage, doesn't overheat in traffic, doesn't rip my head off during shifts and I've never once had trouble with the drive train. In design concept, my W210 is a step in the right direction from the W124 even with it's material quality deficit. Most of my complaints, however, with the 210 went away completely in my 211 never to show their faces again! The W211 is what the W210 should have been IMO (all except for the placement of the window switches on the door! ARG I hate them there so much!) As to the W123, I've never owned another car that went 500K miles, let alone one which I could actually sell to a person rather than a junkyard.

The only reason Lexus has not done well in europe is bacause the are just getting started there.In time If they want to they can dominate just like they did in the U.S. It may take longer than ten years to go to #1 but I sure wouldn't want them to come in my market with gun's blazing if I were Mercedes or BMW.They have so much money they can dominate anywhere they see fit.They may not have the production to really dominate in europe.Toyota is already producing 10.4 million cars and trucks a year.

Just getting started?
They've been in Europe as long as they have in the US...

Lexus has been there just as long as it was marketed in the USA. But thats where it ends. Lexus is made for the USA, not Europe, not even Japan when it was launched.

"Historical Performance Cannot Gaurantee Future Results"

The classic broker/dealer disclaimer for the securities industry - can easily be applied to the automotive industry.

Sure, Fixed Income securities (T-bills, corp bonds, etc.) are safe and conservative investment vehicles (no pun intended) - but are they 100% reliable? No. (i.e., Toyota)

Small cap/emerging market or alternatives are extremely risky (i.e., Land Rover) - but do you always lose your money? No.

Stop assuming that because a vehicle has a high reliability rating that it will never fail you (and if it does, do not codemn the brand) Likewise, do not assume an unreliable brand will ALWAYS fail you. People should look at historical performance as a factor in their choice - as opposed to the only reason.

Take in the entire scope of a company's reputation and what their current goal/focus is. Don't base your opinion on one article, comment, or crazed fanboy. Do the research, and make the decision yourself.

i have a CLK and the quality is so poor there were 40+ repairs in 3 years time. cheap fake wood siding cracking and pitting. the cheap plastic door siding falling off because of the cheap glue holding it in place. the shift wood cover coming unglued. cheap phony aluminum siding on the interior door panel that bubbles(!) and rusts and unglues. rear taillight falling into the trunk. the idiotic way they have screw nuts under the trunk so if a screw gets stripped you have to rip them off and break the trunk permanently or replace the entire trunk of the car just to fix the license plate mount. windshield wipers that fly off the car WHILE you are driving. auto-dimming mirrors that dim at all the wrong times so you cant see the road properly. fabric from the convertible falling down from the roof of the car due to shoddy clips. constant need to fix the convertible alignment. antilock breaks locking up. the very *dangerous* habit of mercedes wheels to lock up if you are stuck uphill on ice which would make you slide backwards because the front wheels no longer spin. the stupid mercedes ABS locking the wheels so if you hydroplane or skid on ice you cant spin your wheels which will make you ram into something. cheap electronics that constantly short out in the car. cheap circuitry and electronics that constantly cause the light bulbs to not work randomly so they light on and off for days for no reason even though the bulbs are perfectly fine. mechanical seat belts that do not work. motors in the car which automatically spin even though you stopped moving the seat. cheap composite mercedes leather that looks really similar to leatherette and cracks easily. rediculously complicated air conditioning and instrument panel that is completely counterintuitive, impossible to understand and everything is backwards (eg a full tank shows up as white on black, on a BLACK background ?!?!) i could keep writing but im getting tired.. dont get me started on audi and VW - the entire car interior is cheap plastic...and they break down all the time

fyi: the abs is so dangerous it will literally CUT all power to the gas pedal so if you are sliding on something, like ice on a driveway, or an oil slick on the street, you are S.O.L. and U will crash into something since you cannot spin your wheels out of the situation.