05-RS1

i dont see it..btw what do you mean benz are the same quality as hyundai? thats the first i've heard of that

djct_watt

I forget which studies they were, but I think it was either initial quality ratings and/or problems per vehicles produced. I do know that on both accounts, they rank very low, and I believe Hyundai currently ranks above MB.

djct_watt

I don't know what you mean by this, their marks have been declining prior to the Chrysler merger. If anything, it's opened up US production facilities, and has GREATLY increased productivit at Chrsyler. Furthermore, Daimler picked up a valuable (and profitable) asset.

I don't think that they intended for Chrysler to rescue the company, but rather that they saw a good buy when it was available.

Biznox

They went south before that.

Mercedes started cheapening their cars in the 1990's partly as a necessary move to compete with the onslaught of the new lower priced Japanese luxury cars and an increasingly competitive market.

It's not really Chryslers fault. Daimler is the dominant partner in that merger anyway and Chrysler benefits by getting some MB hand me down technologies they wouldn't otherwise have.

HighlanderMac

I had a 1986 300SDL.. Man that thing was pimp.. First off it was Diesel.. haha, AWSOME.. second it was an 86, had heated seats, front and back, the rear seats moved electronically and I rolled the odometer over 400,000 miles.. Yeah, I had one problem. At about 350,000 miles the starter went out.. hahaha..

Biznox, you are correct. Benz cheapened up there quality to try and compete with other companies, so they could make more of a profit. But they have now realized thats not such a smart move, so they have gone back to the old days of building a beautiful machine.. Lets just hope they have.

xbox360

I almost bought one from Car Max well they puppy doged to me for a day a so and I got the thing home and it was leaking oil. It was E-320 1997 (35000 miles) and it wasn't all that, but like car max policy is I took it back and went to the Scion dealership and purchased my Xb. The best thing I ever done. I have own Saab, BMW and Volvo and Scion has top all of these cars. By me being in the Military and stationed in Germany for over Four years I had the chance to drive and own all of these cars and they are overrated except for one. The VW GTI this is a real tuner but the rest are junk. Just my opinion

djct_watt

1997 Benz and newer? You bet! But I still stand by older MB production. . .

And I thought Saab and Volvo were Swedish, not German.

Biznox

Have you ever accidentally slammed one of the rear doors in your xB with 0.5 lbs too much extra force? Try it. You won't hear that blood curdling metallic twang coming from anything out of Germany.

Sure, Scions as a whole will probably have statistically higher reliability than European brands but lets not pretend they are better in every way than cars costing $1000's more that are much more substantially constructed.

Great little cars and probably the best deal out there for $14k but it's not an appropriate alternative for a $50,000 luxury sedan.

I also agree with djct_watt. Anything newer than an early 90's MB is trouble, reliability-wise. It's well known. But very few cars can rival the overall quality, longevity and sound engineering of the older Mercedes-Benz. A disposable Scion economy car isn't even in the same universe no matter how many red circles it gets in the Consumer Reports chart.

djct_watt

Yeah. . . if it came down to downright luxury\, a Scion doesn't hold a candle to a Benz. And yes, the xB doors do suffer from that annoying door noise (when slammed). Not that I think xA's are better, but I think it's something to do with the size of an xB's door. We don't get that with xA's. . .

And try slamming the door on a Lexus, especially the higher end models (like a GS or LS). For build quality and luxury, Benz just can't match Toyota's rivals (in the same category). But if I were purchasing a car for the sole purpose of prestige. . . MB is still a good buy. And then there is BMW. . . they still really have the whole "driving feel" thing down, which is their forte.

heyitznosaj

they may be unreliable but they are oh so tempting....

heyitznosaj

minus the yellow ^^ The black one is just