German cars...Are quality controllers asleep or something? S-320 1996: issues

Okay. This isn't a rant and rave, or a hate mail.

German cars are beatiful. Very comfortable. And their drive is outstanding.
The one thing I have not been able to unerstand is their quality control... why do so many little things have to happen to practically new german cars? Someone in the family bought a 1996 S-320 Benz with only 65,000 miles. All records indicated car had been meticulously maintained and dealer serviced, one owner before, an older gentleman.

Check this out. 15K miles and 7 months later: dash board gauges blew. Rear window stopped working. Radiator blew. ECU shorted. CV boots needed replacement. Tail lights kept going every month. Sunroof jammed. Door locks ceased to central lock. A/C stopped functioning. I mean, WHAT THE F*#K?? Its not that old and not that many miles on it!? EVERYBODY here is aware of Hondas and Toyotas that have been running for donkey's years and refuse to die. We had a 89 civic, EVERYTHING worked, with 200K miles on it. A 92 Accord with 160K, perfect condition!

Dont tell me: Oh, you asked for it, its an expensive car and expensive to maintain. That's BULLCRAP. Why the hell did that Benz fall apart?! Coudlve been a lemon, but jeez, my aunts 1998 E-320 with 32K miles on it blew 2 windows and its AC shorted. My uncles 1999 BMW 740 had the same problems. I see so many brand new German cars on the road with either a tail light or headlight out, it sickens me the way they overprice their crap and feed it to the public. Please, no "Oh well, dont buy a german car, get lost" responses. I have lived in Europe where these cars barely sell. I think the Japs have won the game. You buy an Acura or Lexus, the last thing you worry about is stupid unseen issues like all the above happening. I am a true auto enthusiast, I want an S65 AMG and a 911 Carrera in my garage some day too, but it just pisses me off how poorly these German cars are made. Or maybe they are over-engineered. I dont know.

Any people want to save me from myself? Shum.

I hear what you're saying. I'm a technician for Mercedes and I've seen a lot worse than what you've described. The only explanation my fellow co-workers and I have come up with is that most of the technology on these cars is brand new (yours at one point was) and a lot of the cars seem to be rushed into production. I often find myself shaking my head at some the problems I encounter because I know how expensive they are. All I can say is that I hope you bought an extended warranty on the vehicle.

You feel me on that one, huh blindside ? I agree with you 100%...buying these cars without a warranty is suicide. And no...we didn't get get a warranty. BIG mistake. We were actually discussing this together yesterday. If you buy German, you better automatically include a warranty extra onto the price tag by default. My bro has spent over $8,000 since he bought this car to get it fixed. Can you beleive that?? All the stuff I could get for my eclipse for that money...or even buy another!

I can understand the technology part though. Ah well. I just hope they start understanding why the Japs are top of the food chain... quality controllll, material and part life, etc.....i really wanted an S600 V12 (tank shape) but im having second thoughts now!! shum.

The new E Class has been having a lot of problems as well, maybe more. The cars were pushed onto the market with brand new technology sooo fast, they had beta level software controlling most of the electronics.

I know man, a family friend just bought one and its been at the dealership getting something fixed already. Thats just so bad man, these are sweet sexy cars u just have to own a gold mine to afford to maintain one (if you didnt buy it with a warranty that is).

I am a car guy, not an educated technition but have made a living and supplemented other incomes by fixing all types and brands of cars for about 36 years. I have learned that they ALL come up with crappy cars from time to time, some great cars with bad hardware from time to time, some great cars with bad electronics ie ; Jag with their horrible forever failing "lucas" electrical crap. Chevrolet new trucks have their stupid "fall apart" parking brake issue. Ford has all of their 6.0 problems. Did you ever see a newer Caddillac that the doors and hood actually fit ? I havent yet. O I almost forgot !! Jap cars like Nissan and their forever failing EGR valves. All Hondas, Accuras share a common AC issue It simply is not adequate enough to cool the car off on a normal Texas summer day. The cost of repairs ? most Mercedes parts I have found are about 1/2 the cost of Jap parts Porsche parts are a bit higher. Mercedes and Porsches are easy repairs most of the time. I'll rave on a bit more to say not to forget that todays Jap car technology came from American designers that could simply make a better living over there. If you drive by any car Brand dealerships repair bays you will see them FULL of cars with Quality Control :banghead: problems.

I have a brand new S Class and it's been in the shop five times in the first two weeks. It's all electrical problems.

Yes, I think the Germans have fired all the QA inspectors and are pushing out cars with untested software and components. Shame on them. The dealer has been wonderful in scrambling to fix all the problems though.

I also have a Lexus and the difference is amazing. I think it is a much better car quality wise.

I think the problems are due to the fact that German car makers hand almost all supplier contracts to Bosch or Siemens. As they say, keep it in the family.

Denso makes the same parts as Bosch, but for Lexus and Infiniti and Acura. They make them cheaper and better.

If Mercedes and BMW were being smart, they will start outsourcing some of their electrical work to Denso. But these inward-looking purchasers are ruining the reputation of their product. Most of the problems are electrical/electronic in nature. Those things are fragile and can't handle a little extra juice.

Give me wind up windows and a stick shift anyday