4 ms·

A few years back I worked for a large engineering services company (that nobody has ever heard of) and one of the senior managers from Germany described the qua

A few years back I worked for a large engineering services company (that nobody has ever heard of) and one of the senior managers from Germany described the quality of Mercedes-Benz cars as a "national disgrace" - he was genuinely upset about it.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
kevin_thibedeau 7y ago
The original owners keep them for 5 years max. Nothing has to last longer than that.
- helij 7y ago
  Exactly. I change cars every three years now. The last one I changed after 2 years. I really don't care how reliable they are after 5 years as long as they are comfortable, frugal and safe during my ownership. Technology today just moves too fast to see myself driving 50+ miles a day in a 5+ years old car.
  - CapricornNoble 7y ago
    I'm genuinely curious what sort of technical innovations of recent cars you feel make something like a 2012 Lexus IS-F an unreasonable automotive experience by comparison, let alone a used Mercedes S65 AMG.
    - helij 7y ago
      Cameras all around. Safety systems are much improved since 2012 as well. Neither of these two mentioned has blind spot monitor for example.
      - CapricornNoble 7y ago
        Interesting, I call that stuff "nannies for people with poor situational awareness". I suppose they have utility as the size of the vehicle you drive increases (would have loved it when I drove a fuel truck in the Army[1]). In a mid-size sedan or smaller, with an attentive driver, they seem like a waste of resources to me. Side effects of living in a bubble of car modders and street racers, who almost never buy anything brand-new anyway. I wonder how blind spot accidents in the US are affected by driver education? I'd love to see a comparison of data between the US, Germany, and Japan on incident rates of such accidents... [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_Expanded_Mobility_Tactical_Truck#/media/File:HEMTT_M978A2_with_HEMAT_trailer.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_Expanded_Mobility_Tactic...
        helij 7y ago
        Well these new systems actually saved me at least once (probably more but it didn't feel as dangerous). It happened when van drove in front of me when I was in a runabout. Automatic brakes reacted immediately and halted the car. Interesting that you call this stuff like you do. All these systems actually prevented many accidents around the world as cars are getting more and more safe all around. As for blind spot system. I use it just as another data-point when driving around M25(London). Of course I look at the mirrors and those are perfectly aligned so I have no blind spots but when I look at the mirrors and see no blind spot warning I am sure all is good and I move to the other lane.
- magduf 7y ago
  Why is this downmodded? It's true, at least in America: the people who buy these cars new don't care if they still work 10 years later, because they don't keep them that long. The people who buy cars intending to keep them a long time don't buy expensive luxury cars here.
  - hcnews 7y ago
    Couple of reasons I can think of: 1. Most people want cars to run 10+ years, even in America (I live in California). Capital, environmental implications, not many new features etc. are valid reasons. 2. Higher quality cars are better to ride in 5 years than lesser quality cars. I would rather drive first 5 years of a car than the only 5 years of a car.
    - kevin_thibedeau 7y ago
      None of that applies to Merc buyers. These cars use an unusually high amount of plastic parts in critical areas that reliable vehicles don't ever attempt. Modern Mercedes is not the same as it was 30 years ago. Quality has been sacrificed on the altar of profit.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
paganel 7y ago
For what it’s worth early 2000s Mercedes Benz models are not known for their reliability, and some of them were pretty prone to rust. Of course, Mercedes models built until the early-to-mid 1990s are a whole different thing.
jotm 7y ago
Well, yeah, it's widely accepted that the W124 was the last "quality" (i.e. long-lasting) car made by Mercedes. They switched to a more planned obsolescence production in the early 90's.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

kevin_thibedeau 7y ago

The original owners keep them for 5 years max. Nothing has to last longer than that.

helij 7y ago
Exactly. I change cars every three years now. The last one I changed after 2 years. I really don't care how reliable they are after 5 years as long as they are comfortable, frugal and safe during my ownership. Technology today just moves too fast to see myself driving 50+ miles a day in a 5+ years old car.
- CapricornNoble 7y ago
  I'm genuinely curious what sort of technical innovations of recent cars you feel make something like a 2012 Lexus IS-F an unreasonable automotive experience by comparison, let alone a used Mercedes S65 AMG.
  - helij 7y ago
    Cameras all around. Safety systems are much improved since 2012 as well. Neither of these two mentioned has blind spot monitor for example.
    - CapricornNoble 7y ago
      Interesting, I call that stuff "nannies for people with poor situational awareness". I suppose they have utility as the size of the vehicle you drive increases (would have loved it when I drove a fuel truck in the Army[1]). In a mid-size sedan or smaller, with an attentive driver, they seem like a waste of resources to me. Side effects of living in a bubble of car modders and street racers, who almost never buy anything brand-new anyway. I wonder how blind spot accidents in the US are affected by driver education? I'd love to see a comparison of data between the US, Germany, and Japan on incident rates of such accidents... [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_Expanded_Mobility_Tactical_Truck#/media/File:HEMTT_M978A2_with_HEMAT_trailer.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_Expanded_Mobility_Tactic...
      - helij 7y ago
        Well these new systems actually saved me at least once (probably more but it didn't feel as dangerous). It happened when van drove in front of me when I was in a runabout. Automatic brakes reacted immediately and halted the car. Interesting that you call this stuff like you do. All these systems actually prevented many accidents around the world as cars are getting more and more safe all around. As for blind spot system. I use it just as another data-point when driving around M25(London). Of course I look at the mirrors and those are perfectly aligned so I have no blind spots but when I look at the mirrors and see no blind spot warning I am sure all is good and I move to the other lane.
magduf 7y ago
Why is this downmodded? It's true, at least in America: the people who buy these cars new don't care if they still work 10 years later, because they don't keep them that long. The people who buy cars intending to keep them a long time don't buy expensive luxury cars here.
- hcnews 7y ago
  Couple of reasons I can think of: 1. Most people want cars to run 10+ years, even in America (I live in California). Capital, environmental implications, not many new features etc. are valid reasons. 2. Higher quality cars are better to ride in 5 years than lesser quality cars. I would rather drive first 5 years of a car than the only 5 years of a car.
  - kevin_thibedeau 7y ago
    None of that applies to Merc buyers. These cars use an unusually high amount of plastic parts in critical areas that reliable vehicles don't ever attempt. Modern Mercedes is not the same as it was 30 years ago. Quality has been sacrificed on the altar of profit.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]

paganel 7y ago

For what it’s worth early 2000s Mercedes Benz models are not known for their reliability, and some of them were pretty prone to rust. Of course, Mercedes models built until the early-to-mid 1990s are a whole different thing.

jotm 7y ago

Well, yeah, it's widely accepted that the W124 was the last "quality" (i.e. long-lasting) car made by Mercedes. They switched to a more planned obsolescence production in the early 90's.