Traded in the 330ci for a CLK 500
- Thread starter LoMo987
- Start date
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Yeah, I was not particularly thrilled with the fact that my parents traded in my car that I bought without telling me. On the flip side who the hell am I to bitch about getting a new Mercedes?? They thought it would be a nice surprise and don't get me wrong it definetly is. I just hope I will be happy with the car and the quality issues of Mercedes definetly frightens me. My life does not really permit to go to the dealership very often, college keeps me extremely busy. We shall see, really I am just glad that I went from one safe car to another. Safety is my biggest concern when buying a car and I know the Germans have it down to a science. I will def give everyone feedback when I get the car, I am picking it up on Thursday....
yo Mercedes autos are among the best. They shift extremely quickly, quietly, and smoothly. And, Mercedes has pretty much perfected the auto transmission...there is no longer a 0-60 difference between a Mercedes auto and a Mercedes manual, which is partially why most of the cars come standard with an automatic transmission (the other reason is MB's focus on luxury). Mercedes makes a damn good car...they're not naturally fun to drive the way a BMW is, but they're still German and they know how to make a car handle well. [driving2]
Hey again Lomo,
It is not that Mercedes' transmissions are bad...in fact with all of our 15 Benzes...the tranny was probably the ONLY thing that never broke :-o
They just do not feel as spirited and crisp as a BMW, and they sometimes (quite often) do not know what gear to be in. You can be driving up a hill, step on the gas and the transmission will give you an odd, rough downshift, then upshift, then realize it needs a lower gear, then downshift you again.
This is not a new issue for MBZ...reason some people love BMWs. The main problem is that since 1999 or 2000 Mercedes has been on the blacklist with Intellichoice, Consumer Reports etc.... Jaguar and SAAB scored higher on reliability...now that is scary!!!
Your new CLK will be comfortable, have lots of features, Benzes have great A/C and will practically glide on the freeway.
Your new CLK will also send you to the dealer for ABS, BAS, ESP, SRS and ABC warning malfunction lights. The LED lights will fault, the windows will intermittently not work, the driver seat will click and creak, the sunroof tracks will snap and break, your gas gauge will need to be replaced multiple times (trust me!), the battery will probably lose it's charge, the smart key will not start the car, multiple and various warning lights will appear on the dash, then disappear when you take it to the dealer ("sorry Sir, can't duplicate problem")
I wish you luck, patience and I really hope you enjoy Enterprise rent a cars. Don't mean to be an ass or negative....but we have had EVERY model Mercedes up to model year 2003....unreliable, frustrating, scary and annoying. Fingers crossed for you!!!!! [bmwkick]
It is not that Mercedes' transmissions are bad...in fact with all of our 15 Benzes...the tranny was probably the ONLY thing that never broke :-o
They just do not feel as spirited and crisp as a BMW, and they sometimes (quite often) do not know what gear to be in. You can be driving up a hill, step on the gas and the transmission will give you an odd, rough downshift, then upshift, then realize it needs a lower gear, then downshift you again.
This is not a new issue for MBZ...reason some people love BMWs. The main problem is that since 1999 or 2000 Mercedes has been on the blacklist with Intellichoice, Consumer Reports etc.... Jaguar and SAAB scored higher on reliability...now that is scary!!!
Your new CLK will be comfortable, have lots of features, Benzes have great A/C and will practically glide on the freeway.
Your new CLK will also send you to the dealer for ABS, BAS, ESP, SRS and ABC warning malfunction lights. The LED lights will fault, the windows will intermittently not work, the driver seat will click and creak, the sunroof tracks will snap and break, your gas gauge will need to be replaced multiple times (trust me!), the battery will probably lose it's charge, the smart key will not start the car, multiple and various warning lights will appear on the dash, then disappear when you take it to the dealer ("sorry Sir, can't duplicate problem")
I wish you luck, patience and I really hope you enjoy Enterprise rent a cars. Don't mean to be an ass or negative....but we have had EVERY model Mercedes up to model year 2003....unreliable, frustrating, scary and annoying. Fingers crossed for you!!!!! [bmwkick]
Yeah believe me, my parents both has two benzes each and they are almost nightmares and my biggest fear is the quality issues I am going to run into. I know my dad was saying that this car is the last one they will buy if it gives me problems. He actually said he will crash it through the showroom window if it gives me a lot of problems. I am picking the car up in NY on Thursday and driving back Friday morning to Rhode Island. It will have a nice trip to break in. Every benz my parents has had never gave them problems until 5 months into owning the car. Our ML actually never gives us a headache at all go figure, but my moms E-class, WOW, endless problems. But every concern you listed is practically the issues our cars have had, so I am curious to see what is going to happen, but I am quite worried.....
Yeah, but you also have to consider the technology that goes into these cars. And I can't say that my family shares your experiences. We currently have two 2004 S500 4Matic's and a 2002 ML500. The ML500 has been completely trouble-free. My dad's S500 4Matic, when he took delivery, the tire pressure monitor was not working, so he got that fixed. Now, both models are running almost perfect...once in a while, both of the S500's will give my parents problems with the COMAND Center (radio or integrated telephone won't be functioning properly). But the next time they get into their car it works just fine...strange, huh? I mean, sure Mercedes will give you problems, but if you treat the car right, it will treat you right. Any issues that occur, just take it to the dealership and have them fix it. My parents are die-hard Mercedes fans (they lease, so we get new cars every 3 years) and I don't think they will ever change. My dad keeps talking that he wants to get the 6-series Convertible but I think he's just talking shit...he prefers Mercedes too much.
My family has a '96 C220 and the auto transmission is nowhere near smooth when it shifts. In fact, the car jerks whenever it shifts (esp from 1 to 2 and 2 to 3)... reminds me of the M3 w/ SMG-II in auto mode, though not quite as rough as the M3. Also, the car "hesitates" occasionally -- step on the gas, the car won't respond until maybe 1 or 2 seconds later, which makes very unpredictable handling. I still prefer Honda's auto when it comes to smoothness.
I guess everyones experience will MB varies. I know that my parents on the whole has had an awesom experience with their vehicles. Plus my mom was in a serious car accident with her S-class and she walked away while the women who hit her in a Lexus suv broke both her legs. So right there that tells you a little something about their engineering. It is just a wait and see kind of situation right now, I am picking the car up today. I am glad that everyone gave me all different kinds of feedback, keep em going and wish me luck!!! [headbang]
BMW's ALWAYS RULE!!!!
BMW's ALWAYS RULE!!!!