Looks like my S2000 is going the way of the do-do here soon too. I have no idea what to buy next. I would really like a noble, but it's hard to find out good info about financing, insurance, and registration.

 

CLK's are nice, but I'd HIGHLY recommend a one year old model. Depreciation on the CLK's is absolutely BRUTAL. You can pick up a cherry 1-2 year old CLK500 or heck a 55 for dozens of thousands off sticker.

 

I get the employee discount & employee lease specials...depreciation is not a problem...lol

But you are right as far as purchase. There was an 04 with 30 miles (3 year warranty) for 14K off...

 

Already done, and Daimler bought Chrysler.

Quailty and style has improved in both since merger...lol

 

The style quotient has certainly gone way up @ Chrysler.

The quality factor at M-B though has dropped significantly.

 

The last 3 I've owned (2 present) have had NOTHING but great quailty and service.

early/mid 90's mb's had shitty quality (although I have only heard this...not from experiance)

The ML's had a lot of complaints though....(have a few friend who had electrical and trans problems)

 

Oh yes... the 1st gen. ML is just about the worst M-B ever.

The early W211s have had many, many problems. Multiple SBC/brake recalls.

Multiple tranny failures due to several causes - one of them has been coolant leaking into the tranny. Strange upshifting/downshifting issues.

Electronic gremlins that won't quit. I had every SRS "failure" possible on the MFD. Multiple incidents of the MFD (multi function display) telling me to "Visit Workshop" due to brakes or SRS or some other damn thing.

The audio gateway problems (stereos would get hot and just quit) Fiber optic problems causing the brain of the electronics to get disconnected.

Pano roof problems.

Squeaks (mine had a-pillar squeaks - most had seat related problems)

I'm certainly not saying that all M-Bs are going to be problematic but mine sure was (as have a huge number of the early W211s) and my brother's '04 SL500 hasn't been a paragon of reliability either. His SL sure looks good though!

I still hang out @ mbworld.org because the W211 forum is rather entertaining. Lots of guys with problems and plenty of blindly devoted fanbois in denial who say they would rather eat sh!t than drive a Lexus.

Even the new CEO knows that they absolutely need to make sure that quality is a focus - he pretty much admits that there have been significant problems in the quality arena:

This is a recent interview on Edmunds:

{How much have recent quality problems hurt the image of Mercedes-Benz?

A brand is like a savings account. For most of the past 100 years, Mercedes has paid into this account and built its brand equity. We have withdrawn from that account in recent years. But it is still a strong account and we certainly intend to build it up again in the future.

Yes, there were issues. But I am very grateful for what my predecessors have achieved in improving quality in the past few years. We have made big strides, and our internal measurements show our quality now is the best it's ever been. Clearly we need to prove this to customers. We have to make these quality improvements sustainable and without exception so that every single car we offer to our customers proves we are back on top.}

Another interview in Der Spiegel:

SPIEGEL: How is it, that things have gone so wrong for the once glorious Mercedes-Benz brand, that its fall should be so hard? There are problems with quality, profits have slumped and thousand of jobs are being axed.

Zetsche: I'm going to have to really put that statement into perspective. Although things have been a bit rocky, the Mercedes-Benz brand is still envied just as much by all of its competitors for its power and its strength. We have great new models, such as the S-Class. Our new products are beating other brands in tests, partly thanks to our new engines and motors. And the quality of our products today is once back to the level which Mercedes customers expect of us. We will also quickly prove that we don't have to cower behind BMW when it comes to profits. If you look at how things are developing, then that is already the case. And besides, playing the historian and digging up the past for possible causes, doesn't help anyone.

SPIEGEL: For years statistics dealing with quality have shown that Mercedes-Benz has deteriorated. Why did the company react so late?

Zetsche: Of course we realized early on that things were going in the wrong direction. And we reacted. But it takes a while for changes, such as amending production procedures, to kick in. For more than a year now, the most important figures have shown a continual and noticeable improvement in the quality of our vehicles.





I applaud Zetche for his honesty and wish him well on bringing M-B back to where they should be in terms of quality - but they have lost my business for sure.

 

I think MB quality is very good, but reliability is universally regarded as near the bottom. Merging with Chrysler isn't the cause but is an easy scapegoat. I do have first hand experience with two SLKs before my S.

All that being said, if you get rid of a MB before the warranty runs out, they generally don't depreciate horribly and the dealers do treat you well. Buying a used MB out of warranty is risky, IMO.

 

I'd argue the opposite, actually, and this from a guy with a Dad that owns an early 90s ('94) S-Class. He's also had a late 80's model (the big coupe - 560 SC?) that was bulletproof.

I've said this before and I'll say it again - it's not the QUALITY that's dropping, it's the RELIABILITY. I put a distinction between the two, as the new cars have nicer, more luxurious interiors with more options and nicer materials (in general). It's just that the gizmos don't appear to be as reliable as what you had in the old cars.

 

Congrats.. an entirely different animal you got there.

Not really my cup of tea, never really been a big MB fan. Something about the cars just doesn't do it for me. I might have gone with a 545i or you maybe could have gotten into a 645Ci for just a little more.

But hey, what I would do doesn't matter.. because it's your car, enjoy!