My problems with the Mercedes C180. And Mercedes Benz India.

Deeps · 17th April 2005, 16:24

GTO, i respect your decision to go to court and become loud about your case rather than just getting rid of the problem as others do. The case will definitely save the hard earned money of other potential MB victims.

We have already established that the major factor contributing to the reliability issues is the electronics. But RX quite rightly said that MB have one of the most comprehensive/rigorous testing programmes. So it makes me wonder why these electronics problems do not come to attention during the testing or do MB just refuse to acknowledge them?

ajmat · 17th April 2005, 17:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deeps

But RX quite rightly said that MB have one of the most comprehensive/rigorous testing programmes. So it makes me wonder why these electronics problems do not come to attention during the testing or do MB just refuse to acknowledge them?

Mercedes has gone on record to admit that electronics have created the failures/ unreiability issues and that pressure to get systems into production fast is the cause. Future cars will come with less electronics and more rigorous testing is being actions.

GTO · 18th April 2005, 16:03

Or Probably Mercedes has picked up one more thing from Tata (beside sharing the paint booth) i.e. letting its customers do all the testing

Of Course Mercedes will acknowledge the electrical problems when they have expanded to such a degree. What bothers me is the problems that existing customers have to face.

GTO

GTO · 21st April 2005, 14:22

Wonder what Mercedes have been smoking....after all their talk of newer and 2005 cars being trouble-free!

Not only are they ranked below Daihatsu, Hyundai, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Ford, Vauxhall etc....they are BELOW THE INDUSTRY AVERAGE!

GTO

tsk1979 · 21st April 2005, 16:28

Interesting! Fiat is ranked very low in UK too. Honda. Skoda. Toyota rule the roost. I guess its better to go for the Superb and get 'e' features for 'c' price

ajmat · 22nd April 2005, 08:14

[quote=Rudra Sen]
GTO, during those time we were in touch with each other on a regular basis. Downloading your experience with DCIL service dept. If I remember correctly, somebody came down from Pune with a white guy as escort. What happened with that post mortem report?

GTO, do me a small favour. Just take it up with them. This time no coming back without a positive result.

7 pages or so on - The wise old man has indicated which door to open and constructively confront them - any progress ?

No doubt you are angry but anger generates a lot of enrgy - this can be used constructively to define boundaries, resolve problems etc. On the other side of the coin, it will just seal yourself and our problem up within this forum. Tell us what the resolution mechanism has been and its result ?

Enough on anger management - just thumbed through the latest CAR - the ex editor Gavin Green wrote about how his W124 was the best car he ever had. He went on to buy a C class and an A class ....and you can guess the rest. From "Engineered like no other car" to "Engineered like any other car". However, he mentioned that the new A, M , SLK, CLS are showing a sign of the return to old values. At a corporate level (Stuttgart), Mercedes are not in denial and are working thing through this unlike VW who suddenly find out, VW cannot sell VW's in the S class /7 segment and that the chinese will get fed up of buying 25 year old Passats.

Anyway - no need to complain about Mercedes quality when 90% of us cannot afford the damn machines - at least the quality will be on track when we can afford them

jesal · 22nd April 2005, 12:07

wow man am i having a hard time believeing that chart or what. whatever happened to the beatiful car company. im so glad my fav. merc is the SEL series only since they are old and most of them i see are in tight shape. its not right to lost hope though. they might just build it again with passion rather than building a production car

RX135 · 22nd April 2005, 12:31

@ajmat, Why do I get this strange feeling that, like me, you too are passionate about Mercs ? May be I am wrong.

ajmat · 22nd April 2005, 14:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by RX135

@ajmat, Why do I get this strange feeling that, like me, you too are passionate about Mercs ? May be I am wrong.

I am - but am not blind to their problems

RX135 · 22nd April 2005, 17:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajmat

but am not blind to their problems

Was that for me? Most likely it was. Anyway, any new developments with GTO's case?

Rover · 22nd April 2005, 17:17

GTO

This may seem naive. However, if I were you I would write to Dr. Eckhard Cordes with a copy to Prof. Jurgen Schrempp detailing all the trouble you have encountered and that the car was off the road 6 months in a year.

Ask them to compensate you with a replacement and upgrade you to a S-Class for the mental anguish you faced.

Should you wish to do that, here is the contact details of the two gentleman who have the means:-

Dr. Eckhard Cordes, Member - Board of Management, Mercedes Car Group
Prof. Jurgen Schrempp, Chairman - Board of Management

DaimlerChrysler AG, Stuttgart

Fax: 49 71117222444

What has one to loose?

Having worked in a German company for some years, I know that most times these things are taken very seriously.

viel Glück
(That's good luck in deutsche)

Deeps · 23rd April 2005, 15:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rover

GTO

Ask them to compensate you with a replacement and upgrade you to a S-Class for the mental anguish you faced.

HAHA, GTO also mentioned how much anguish a certain Sclass owner has gone through. And i am guessing after the C Class experience, maintaining another Merc in the near future will be the last of his priorities.

dipen · 24th April 2005, 14:26

GTO , why not take some help from CLS55, and why do I feel his absence felt on this thread.

GTO , have u tried getting addtional warranty from Auto-Hanger ?
I would like to know their response.It would be very difficult for them to deny especially after looking at all your invoices.

Mikeo · 24th April 2005, 15:41

Oh my god, that is real shame for Mercedes Benz India. Over here in germany they are one of the most respected cars around. Is this happenning to most of the merc's over there? coz last time when I came in 02, my uncle had bought a new 02' E-class and he is still happy with it. I almost felt that it had the same quality of a merc.
Mercedes Benz India should have a rough ride ahead if these problems continue right? and how is it doing in India? Are they getting
their proposed sales?

Beemer · 26th April 2005, 00:10

These problems are bound to be there . I just cant understand how can we all expect the same quality of work when the car is MADE IN INDIA . I mean , IMHO its not possible to get the international quality(we expect) when the local content in the car is so high .
Otherwise , the tatas would 've given a serious run for its money to the mercs or for that matter any brand .

Take any car and compare the same make/model with the international one , the specs/looks would be exactly the same but once you get behind the wheels , the reality ll be revealed !
There has to be a diff (if the car is not a CBU) coz its very simple , We indians are way behind in the terms of quality and cant produce the same quality which these brands are known for worldwide and its not only limited to the automobiles .

Though , we all fully agree that Merc(worldwide) is not anymore known for producing the same troublefree , reliable cars (atleast for the time being).

17th April 2005, 16:24	#106
Deeps Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: Delhi/Noida Posts: 1,116 Thanked: 170 Times	GTO, i respect your decision to go to court and become loud about your case rather than just getting rid of the problem as others do. The case will definitely save the hard earned money of other potential MB victims. We have already established that the major factor contributing to the reliability issues is the electronics. But RX quite rightly said that MB have one of the most comprehensive/rigorous testing programmes. So it makes me wonder why these electronics problems do not come to attention during the testing or do MB just refuse to acknowledge them?
	(1) Thanks

18th April 2005, 16:03	#108
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,546 Thanked: 300,779 Times View My Garage	Or Probably Mercedes has picked up one more thing from Tata (beside sharing the paint booth) i.e. letting its customers do all the testing Of Course Mercedes will acknowledge the electrical problems when they have expanded to such a degree. What bothers me is the problems that existing customers have to face. GTO
	() Thanks

21st April 2005, 14:22	#109
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,546 Thanked: 300,779 Times View My Garage	Wonder what Mercedes have been smoking....after all their talk of newer and 2005 cars being trouble-free! Not only are they ranked below Daihatsu, Hyundai, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Ford, Vauxhall etc....they are BELOW THE INDUSTRY AVERAGE! GTO
	() Thanks

21st April 2005, 16:28	#110
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	Interesting! Fiat is ranked very low in UK too. Honda. Skoda. Toyota rule the roost. I guess its better to go for the Superb and get 'e' features for 'c' price
	() Thanks

22nd April 2005, 08:14	#111
ajmat Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 14,866 Thanked: 27,980 Times View My Garage	[quote=Rudra Sen] GTO, during those time we were in touch with each other on a regular basis. Downloading your experience with DCIL service dept. If I remember correctly, somebody came down from Pune with a white guy as escort. What happened with that post mortem report? GTO, do me a small favour. Just take it up with them. This time no coming back without a positive result. 7 pages or so on - The wise old man has indicated which door to open and constructively confront them - any progress ? No doubt you are angry but anger generates a lot of enrgy - this can be used constructively to define boundaries, resolve problems etc. On the other side of the coin, it will just seal yourself and our problem up within this forum. Tell us what the resolution mechanism has been and its result ? Enough on anger management - just thumbed through the latest CAR - the ex editor Gavin Green wrote about how his W124 was the best car he ever had. He went on to buy a C class and an A class ....and you can guess the rest. From "Engineered like no other car" to "Engineered like any other car". However, he mentioned that the new A, M , SLK, CLS are showing a sign of the return to old values. At a corporate level (Stuttgart), Mercedes are not in denial and are working thing through this unlike VW who suddenly find out, VW cannot sell VW's in the S class /7 segment and that the chinese will get fed up of buying 25 year old Passats. Anyway - no need to complain about Mercedes quality when 90% of us cannot afford the damn machines - at least the quality will be on track when we can afford them Last edited by ajmat : 22nd April 2005 at 08:16.
	() Thanks

22nd April 2005, 12:07	#112
jesal BANNED Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 2,323 Thanked: 13 Times View My Garage	wow man am i having a hard time believeing that chart or what. whatever happened to the beatiful car company. im so glad my fav. merc is the SEL series only since they are old and most of them i see are in tight shape. its not right to lost hope though. they might just build it again with passion rather than building a production car
	() Thanks

22nd April 2005, 12:31	#113
RX135 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: pune Posts: 2,106 Thanked: 75 Times	@ajmat, Why do I get this strange feeling that, like me, you too are passionate about Mercs ? May be I am wrong.
	() Thanks

22nd April 2005, 17:17	#116
Rover BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bangalore, Airplanes, Hotel Rooms Posts: 112 Thanked: Once	GTO This may seem naive. However, if I were you I would write to Dr. Eckhard Cordes with a copy to Prof. Jurgen Schrempp detailing all the trouble you have encountered and that the car was off the road 6 months in a year. Ask them to compensate you with a replacement and upgrade you to a S-Class for the mental anguish you faced. Should you wish to do that, here is the contact details of the two gentleman who have the means:- Dr. Eckhard Cordes, Member - Board of Management, Mercedes Car Group Prof. Jurgen Schrempp, Chairman - Board of Management DaimlerChrysler AG, Stuttgart Fax: 49 71117222444 What has one to loose? Having worked in a German company for some years, I know that most times these things are taken very seriously. viel Glück (That's good luck in deutsche)
	() Thanks

24th April 2005, 14:26	#118
dipen Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: mumbai Posts: 2,236 Thanked: 727 Times	GTO , why not take some help from CLS55, and why do I feel his absence felt on this thread. GTO , have u tried getting addtional warranty from Auto-Hanger ? I would like to know their response.It would be very difficult for them to deny especially after looking at all your invoices.
	() Thanks

24th April 2005, 15:41	#119
Mikeo BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: ger Posts: 9 Thanked: 0 Times	Oh my god, that is real shame for Mercedes Benz India. Over here in germany they are one of the most respected cars around. Is this happenning to most of the merc's over there? coz last time when I came in 02, my uncle had bought a new 02' E-class and he is still happy with it. I almost felt that it had the same quality of a merc. Mercedes Benz India should have a rough ride ahead if these problems continue right? and how is it doing in India? Are they getting their proposed sales? Last edited by Mikeo : 24th April 2005 at 15:42. Reason: mistake
	() Thanks

26th April 2005, 00:10	#120
Beemer BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: delhi Posts: 384 Thanked: 4 Times View My Garage	These problems are bound to be there . I just cant understand how can we all expect the same quality of work when the car is MADE IN INDIA . I mean , IMHO its not possible to get the international quality(we expect) when the local content in the car is so high . Otherwise , the tatas would 've given a serious run for its money to the mercs or for that matter any brand . Take any car and compare the same make/model with the international one , the specs/looks would be exactly the same but once you get behind the wheels , the reality ll be revealed ! There has to be a diff (if the car is not a CBU) coz its very simple , We indians are way behind in the terms of quality and cant produce the same quality which these brands are known for worldwide and its not only limited to the automobiles . Though , we all fully agree that Merc(worldwide) is not anymore known for producing the same troublefree , reliable cars (atleast for the time being). Last edited by Beemer : 26th April 2005 at 00:24.
	() Thanks