Team-BHP - My problems with the Mercedes C180. And Mercedes Benz India.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beemer

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 .

i dont think Mercedes plant in India(pimpri,PUNE) uses parts made by Indian component suppliers.At the most they must be using the Paints and some components from Bosch which are made in India.Most parts must be Imported from manufacturers(suppliers) in Europe.

Even that Palio comes with some parts like tail lamps from Brazil,speedo from some italian company(which makes speedo for Ferrari too) and rear Glass from Saint Gobain in Italy.

The issues in Mercs are not Quality(like manufacturing Quality,trim Quality) issues.Most of them are reliability issues with electronics(improper implementation) and some less tested Bits and also due to bad fuels and road conditions.

Quote:

The issues in Mercs are not Quality(like manufacturing Quality,trim Quality) issues

You really havent paid attention to recent Mercs, have you? Come check mine out with falling interior parts and switches that come off in your hand. Also, the failing suspension componentry cant be segregated under the "electronics" category.

If I have electrical problems in my Jeep, the lights wont work - tops. However, with modern machinery its not as simple as saying "yeah, the car ONLY has electrical problems". Reason? The entire damned Mercedes runs on electronics!!

If the electronics dont work...there goes your support structure.

GTO

Mercedes doesnt make them like they used to in the 80’s. A relative of mine owned a 300D which is about 2 decades old (dont know for sure) but it still runs as well as it used to when it was new. It has around 185000 Kms on the odo. He still has it, but doesnt use it much since he got a Camry. But he still swears by his trusty Mercedes. But according to a recent Jeremy Clarkson article, the no. of letters he receives complaining about Mercedes has reduced drastically. Maybe Mercedes is back on track. Not too long ago, Cadillac had a reliability record which would make Mercedes look reliable as the sun. But they got their act together, and now the CTS actually outsells the 3 series(and C) in its home market, and the STS (esp the V) looks promising too. I hope Mercedes gets their problems sorted out, and by the time I am able to afford one, I hope to get a reliable, fast,well engineered, solid car...all of which applied to Mercedes was until a few years ago.

Read todays FT - a subsciber site so text reproduced below:

Mercedes deploys quality squads
By Bernard Simon in Alabama and James Mackintosh in London
Published: May 6 2005 03:00 | Last updated: May 6 2005 03:00

Mercedes-Benz is sending hit squads into suppliers and test driving more cars as they leave the factory in order to overcome quality problems that prompted a record recall of faulty vehicles last month.

Hans-Heinrich Weingarten, Mercedes' head of production, and Bill Taylor, president of Mercedes-Benz US International, said the carmaker, part of Germany's DaimlerChrysler, had dropped a few suppliers and assigned its own engineers to many others.

The moves are part of a "quality offensive" designed to eliminate problems with Mercedes cars, which have cost the company hundreds of millions of euros.

In the first quarter of the year Mercedes Car Group made a record loss thanks to extra repair costs of €454m ($587m), mainly for the recall of 1.3m cars, and restructuring costs at its Smart car division. Mercedes says cars now being produced are once more of high quality and problems are only with cars already sold.

Among other corrective measures, more cars are being test driven as they come off the production line "so we get not only the static problems but also the dynamic problems", Mr Weingarten said.

Mr Taylor said: "At this point in time, we're more vulnerable, so you put in more safety nets."

According to Mr Weingarten, consolidation among parts suppliers has made it more difficult for Mercedes to monitor the supply chain.

While the company previously dealt with relatively small, owner-run enterprises in Germany, it now buys entire systems and modules from much larger suppliers.

The two executives were speaking at the official opening of a $600m expansion of Mercedes' only North American assembly plant, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/2c89ce0e-bd...00e2511c8.html

Hey merve extreme i totally disagree with you with all your aspects and your example of the Palio 1.6 is totally irrelevant with this thread.. since that is a once in a blue moon problem.. wheras if you have happened to read the whole thread then you will understand that his car aint the only car which has problems..
Well Mercedes have cheated GTO by selling him a car below quality standards..
If he is paying extra price for the eptiome of luxury, techonology he should get it rather then be paying expensive bills??
And as far as the sticky thread goes while signing up you must have read that moderatos can do what they like.. and if you want justification go make your own site..
p.s nothing offensive

This is the mindset that has to change. One who can afford to buy a Mercedes should not be expected to turn blind to issues related to quality. If anything, when you pay such a premium for a car, you really don't expect it to have problems with cars lower down the strata such as a Palio 1.6 GTX. Hell, even the Palio that I buy could be worth that last penny I must have saved to buy my first car, why should I accept a sub standard product?

If you read his detailed report, you will realise that his car has been in service station for a quarter of the period of ownership. When for christsake are they supposed to drive the car, after they sell it? Costs incurred on the car, in a couple of years, is a fortune. He should be able to pay for servicing bills, which I'm sure he can, but fork out a fortune for quality related niggles, I don't think so.
And Rs. 35,000 for a second service?? You really have to be kidding me. German engineering alright, but it's still a car, not a space shuttle in disguise.

And the Indian mindset to readily and quietly accept sub-standard products, compromised safety, doesn't have to change? Why should MB owners in India react in anyway differently to any of the MB owners abroad? Someday has to take a stand, right?

Magnitude of the situation, 25+ lakh car, 164 days off the road, Rs. 300,000+ worth expenses incurred, Rs. 35,000 service bills,it's all about the numbers pal. Plus, the 3-pointed star always gets the priority everywhere, hence a sticky here too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by merve_extreme

i'll tell u an experience...

My uncle and i have Palio 1.6GTX.recently his car was behaving erratically,like it used to rev to 3000rpm on its own while idiling or stopping in trafic.Though it used to happen only when his Son or driver used to drive it.I have seen it happen.I drove it for more than 500kms i did not face the issue nor did my uncle.Went to the fiat service centre and it could not be traced on the engine inspector.they said it could be a fuelpump problem and will cost 10K.so just brought it back.the way the problem was i thought it could be due to gumming deposits on the vaules. i told him to fill up with 93OCT Speed.and since then the problem vanished.

But the deriver and his son were like the car is crap.it is a huge problem.Problem occur in different ways with different people.

I'll tell you an experience too. I'll keep it short though.

Mercedes C200 CDI, on the expressway, belting around corners, feeling very secure with the 3-pointed star guiding me down the road. 130 kph into a large radius corner, the MID cheerfully displays, "ABS Failed" and "ESP Failed."
If that wouldn't have killed me, the rear seat was terribly squeaking, slowly paralysing every nerve in my body. I thought I'd drown out the squeaking by music, so I turned on the music system, only to discover that the horn interferes with the music setup.

What was the retail on one of those again?

We have owners of Mercedes Benz changing Engines left right and center here in Dhaka....they opt for the 3.0 straight 6 of the toyota crown/ supra for the E classes and C classes and 4.0 V8 Lexus LS400 engines with the complete engine management system for the bigger S classes.... its pretty common here now... infact there could be more mercedes with toyota engines than its original... and then u never have to open the hood...except for the brakes and suspension issues!