We're looking at replacing a couple of cars in our household -- a '93 300E and a '94 Miata. For both we're considering newer Mercedes-Benzes (a CLK and an SLK, more specifically) but are wary of them because of the reputation of the newer cars as being more troublesome than the old ones.

I've done a fair amount of reading on this forum about the quality issues and have found some good information. I do still have a couple of questions, however, and would be grateful for some assistance.

1. What sort of problems do the newer cars have? We don't expect cars to be perfect, but consider problems that can leave you stranded to be much more serious than nuisance problems. An Audi that nearly stranded us three times far away from home is fresh in our memories.

2. Is it still possible for a DIYer to work on the newer cars? One thing I love about the 300E is that I can do a lot of the maintenance myself; it goes to the mechanic only for major services and when there are problems I can't diagnose myself. If I had to take its replacement to the dealer/independent mechanic for every little thing that could be a dealbreaker.

Thanks in advance for your input.

-Mike

Should you be wary of a newer MB? Is a frog's ass watertight?

Excellent point. Guess I should have asked how wary I should be.

Overall, lately it seems that the newer models are less bulletproof than the ones in the early nineties (more or less) according to the quality surveys that
monitor this kind of thing. That's because they were built more to a price point than to the company's original credo "The Best or Nothing" Look at the ads you see for them, saying how cheap you can buy or lease one for.

That's not to say you can't find a great example. Lots of folks own the newer ones and are very happy with them. But there are lots ot "Toads" out there now also.

Certainly, with the introduction of the W140 for 1992, complexity skyrocketed and quality went down somewhat.

For sure after 1996 you would need access to an OBD II diagnosis analyzer at the least. Fixing electronic gremlins in these new ones won't be for the faint of heart either. Things in that area have gotten so complex that some Independent mechanics would rather not have to try and fix them

This isn't really an answere to your question, but were I to get another Mercedes, a newer one, I would definately try and get one with a Starmark Warranty. True, they are not cheap, but they are like insurance and could
really save you if something big and difficult went wrong.

The passive/active safety features are still good and getting better so a good argument for them is still, you can survive and walk away from a bad accident, that would be very quite horrible for you otherwise.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

My '96 E300 has the OBD-II port for a scanner, but as this is required to show only PCM codes, that's all it does show. You still need to connect the Mercedes tool to read any codes from any of the other computers. There are a bunch of other computers in my car.

Our "06 C 280 4Matic has been flawless. 11,500 miles

John

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President Minuteman Section MBCA
www.mbca.org/minuteman

Thanks for the responses, everyone. Sounds like if I'm going to take the plunge with a newer M-B (or two) it would be wise to get one with a warranty in case expensive things go wrong.

In this 10yr indie tech's opinion MB quality has been going down ever since the dreaded merger. Chryslers, however have been getting somewhat better.

I'd have zero heart bunr buying a very late model MB, actualy I am looking forward to doing that in a couple of years.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

There are good cars to be had, but you have to pick carefully. As an example, the early W203 C-Class cars (2001-) can be very troublesome. Of course, some are perfect, but many owners had headaches returning to the dealers for all kinds of electrical problems.

The more complex the model, the more chance you have of having problems. Try to buy the simplest model you can in the range you want.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

M.B.Doc commented on this issue not long ago. Electronics from 1995 on has been awful.

You have no idea if the car you'd like to buy is going to be plagued with elect. gremlins. Starmark or not, you could end up with a real nightmare.

Personally, I wouldn't dream of buying a newer MB until we know that Dainler has actually taken measures to correct the problem. It will be some years into the future before this gets resolved, but in the end, it's your money.

If I were in the market for a luxury car, MB would not be on the list. Quite frankly, no European car would.

Good luck.

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Mike Murrell
1991 300-SEL - Model 126
M103 - SOHC
"Fräulein"

If you own the repair CD for W124, just look at all the "field fixes."

Hard to think new cars could be much worse.

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Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles

I am happy with my 95 E320 but I have to say also that I am lucky. I bought this car used with some warranty left. So far all major components and repair was covered by insurence. I Think you will be happier with any Jap's car. They are more reliable. I want to own MB only becoz it is diff from all others. I am willing to put up with repair.