[dipen]

Originally Posted by GTO

Car is currently at Four Seasons for a new compressor + some related parts. Looking at about 70K for the job. Note that this will be the 3rd compressor in 6 years.

This is why testing matters. Every Maruti, Tata, Hundai must be doing about 10000 km test run before launching their their bread and butter products. Mercedes does it too but do they do it in india. It is a ?

While we understand that the air-con unit or compressor may not have been thoroughly tested in Indian conditions like how a Maruti factory AC would have, wouldn't it be possible that some electrical glitch or malfunctioning sensor may be causing the compressor to conk off.

Maybe you would be doing it but if not - you could try getting your air-con serviced every year. If nothing else the amount of dust which the air-con is not used to would at-least be cleaned resulting in a physiologically longer life.

[chevelle]

Hi GTO,

i have been following this thread for a long time. Makes for sure an exhaustive read.

I read you don't recommend mercedes from 2000-2006 range for any class because of its reliability issues. What would be your opinion about 1995-1998 mercedes especially s500 and e320 and likes. It would be based in USA with approx 180k miles (288k kms) on them and in good condition.

Can i expect large bills like you do? The reason i ask is, for same year range, i am getting honda civics, accords, toyota camry's, corolla for more or less the same money. So i am confused.

Would appreciate your advice.

[avishar]

Originally Posted by dipen

This is why testing matters. Every Maruti, Tata, Hundai must be doing about 10000 km test run before launching their their bread and butter products. Mercedes does it too but do they do it in india. It is a ?

Not too sure about mercedes,but i remember before BMW began selling their cars in India,they had bought a couple of 5,3 series and had tested them extensively in Indian conditions.After that they had shipped back the cars to germany and stripped them completely to see how well the components have stood up to the test.And they made changes accordingly.

[dipen]

Originally Posted by avishar

Not too sure about mercedes,but i remember before BMW began selling their cars in India,they had bought a couple of 5,3 series and had tested them extensively in Indian conditions.After that they had shipped back the cars to germany and stripped them completely to see how well the components have stood up to the test.And they made changes accordingly.

Maybe BMW may have done it.
But I don't believe that the Germans would have been able to change most components some of which may need re-engineering efforts, cost and time.

The air-con is a weak link in most German cars in India. I don't see anyone changing the compressor or fitting a different heavy duty compressor more suited to Indian conditions. The most I have read up or seen changes are with respect to filters and sensors only.

Engine mounts are another weak link as seen in our reviews.

[vina]

Originally Posted by GTO

Damn'ed white elephant strikes again!

• ESP Malfunction : Steering sensor busted. Cost Rs. 22,000.

• Engine mounts shot again. Apparently, replacing them every 40,000 kms is usual stuff (when Japs & Koreans last atleast twice, if not thrice, the distance). About Rs. 7,000 odd for the mounts.

• Air-con compressor replacement pending. Rs. 70,000

History:



Owning the Civic & Jeep are far more satisfying. The C220 is at the bottom of the list, sharing a spot with the Tata Indigo.

Manza copied their rear seat recline angle, they copied Tata's quality

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by dipen

The air-con is a weak link in most German cars in India. I don't see anyone changing the compressor or fitting a different heavy duty compressor more suited to Indian conditions. The most I have read up or seen changes are with respect to filters and sensors only.

Not really, this problem is common in Mercedes not in all Germans. Most survive the Dubai heat well so handling India is not as bad.

I am very pleased with the AC in my Germans- 5er,Superb and Vento.

GTO's generation of C-class is prone to this problem. It's something he'll have to live with as a wear & tear expense, even though it essential is a defect !

[PlatzdaTurbo]

^^
Yup , could vouch for that.
A latest gen C i have recently traveled in had cooling issues as even post 8 pm it wasn't effective enough.
On the contrary, the air conditioning in my Audi has been a chiller so far. Also i would like to add that , the Audi A/C cooling is in no way superior to my Civic's A/C which is impossibly quick and effective.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by dipen

While we understand that the air-con unit or compressor may not have been thoroughly tested in Indian conditions like how a Maruti factory AC would have

The real issue here is increased wear & tear. Look up Ajmat's comments in the Passat drive. Basically, they are using the same Euro-spec compressor. Thanks to our heat, it works twice as hard and thus, twice the wear & tear.

Funnily enough, and as a testament to the W124 build, I have never heard of such failures for the E220 / E250 of yore.

Originally Posted by chevelle

What would be your opinion about 1995-1998 mercedes especially s500 and e320 and likes.

Avoid that gen of the S Class; it's the W140 you are talking about. It's HUGELY complicated. Rather, consider the W126 or the W124.

Originally Posted by dipen

Engine mounts are another weak link as seen in our reviews.

Engine mounts, batteries, air-conditioners, electronic glitches...the list goes on and on.

Originally Posted by vina

Manza copied their rear seat recline angle, they copied Tata's quality

Originally Posted by Sahil

Not really, this problem is common in Mercedes not in all Germans.

The Skoda Laura suffers from the exact same problem. Lets wait till Superbs cross the 2 - 3 year mark.

Originally Posted by PlatzdaTurbo

the Audi A/C cooling is in no way superior to my Civic's A/C which is impossibly quick and effective.

+1 to that. The Civic's air-con is one of the best I've ever lived with.

[vina]

GTO

I don't think being Euro spec has much to do with the AC quality. Plenty of places in Europe go very hot in summers (Spain, south france ...). Also people tend to maintain lower temperatures than we do (in England in 2002 you could sue your employer if the temperature increased beyond 20C. Needless to say I used to shiver because they kept the AC at 16 always) - so the AC would be loaded similarly even in India.

[stanjohn123]

After reading this thread, it seems like the Passat and Audi are out of the window. Again a big confusion. Damn.

[Aditya666]

After going through this whole thread, I feel that maybe the problems lie with the Indian Mercedes models. I don't know how many BHP-ians own a CBU Merc, but IMHO, they have way lesser problems.
Let's take my dads cars in Dubai. He's owned:
2007 E200K Elegance.
2003 ML350
2008 C200K Avantgarde and
2009 ML350 4MATIC (Current car)

We didn't have any problems with the E or the C. The 2003 ML gave us one problem of broken power steering hoses or something. Possible on a 5 year old car which it was at the time. The current ML hasn't had any problems as yet apart from a faltering LED in the tail lamp assesmbly, specifically the turn signal. (It has the LED tail lamps)

A lot of my friends in Dubai own Mercs and they have not had such a bad time as the Mercedes ownership reviews on T-BHP.

This is why i think that maybe the problem is with MBIL and not Mercedes Benz worldwide.

German cars can be temperamental at times. However, I feel that the occurence rate in India is on the higher side.

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Not really, this problem is common in Mercedes not in all Germans. Most survive the Dubai heat well so handling India is not as bad.

Originally Posted by GTO

The real issue here is increased wear & tear. Look up Ajmat's comments in the Passat drive. Basically, they are using the same Euro-spec compressor. Thanks to our heat, it works twice as hard and thus, twice the wear & tear.

I too used to think that weather gets extreme in India but I was so wrong, Here on East coast the weather varies from extreme cold & extreme hot in a single year, In India Cold regions dont get extreme hot & vice versa. So I am not sure why dont they use parts designed for US or UAE markets if Europe doesnt see that much heat.

One thing which would be different could be dust but then too it should not have this much effect.

[TheARUN]

I've noticed a lot of sophisticated imported car garages. Which one are better? The authorised service stations or the individual garages?

[procircuit_234]

i guess even if you drive your civic for 6lac kms,she wont give you half of the trouble this c is giving.i just wonder this is the condition when we use our cars like our babies what when they are abused??for how long you are planing to keep this car n what wil be replacing her?german again?

i was just calculating you have spent close to 1 lac only for the ac.that is all most 2rs per km only on ac.i still remember my baleno ac compressor was making noise at 75000km.so i just decided to replace the unit but found the new one is costing close to 28kand was not available.so just went to chor bazar and got my old compressor serviced thinking that it would last for a year.my car is now showing 120000km.and ac is still working well.

[Abhi_Automobile]

GTO,

I know it is not your regular time to replace a car (you like to keep your cars for a while, IIRC).

Still, don't you think that's its time you moved up/moved parallel to a new 'Luxury' car now I mean, your Merc has shown fairly average reliability record so far. And its getting to the time when German cars start acting up. Plus, you yourself say that this particular model was not one of the better Mercs built. So..Food for thought!

Having said this, it will be interesting to note your choice of car, once you decide to replace your current three pointed star. As a self confessed pre owned car lover, would you go the pre owned way when it come to buying a German too? Very well aware of the fact that it is much riskier to buy pre owned German than pre owned Jap. And if stick to the buy pre owned (and thus buy Jap) philosophy, would you be ready to give up the German quality (and snob value of the 'holy trinity-Merc,BMW,Audi') by average Jap quality (for a luxury car). Do let me know your thoughts on this.

BTW, I think the best upgrade for you could be the upcoming new 3 series (with BSI package). I really would not recommend you going a pre owned way with 'expensive to maintain' cars.

Abhi