Mercedes - Page 2

Originally Posted by WildeMan 

Best value automobiles available, IMO.
I was picking up my niece and nephew from school a month ago, and they asked me to wait so that their friends could see them getting into my Mercedes. Happy to oblige, but my new C-Class cost less than their mother's Honda Odyssey...

Originally Posted by idfnl 

Value? I don't know. Wait until you have a few services under your belt. Japanese cars are a fraction of the price from a maintenance perspective. In addition, most German cars use more fuel.
Just to say you had a lower purchase price doesn't tell a complete story.
I've driven German cars for the last 15 years. I feel I sacrifice some value for the quality of the ride. I don't drive a Merc, my current car is an Audi, they are pretty comparable cost of ownerships. 4 brakes for me is a $1500 bill. An Odyssey would probably cost $400. Talking to other owners I know, its generally understood you don't go this route to be frugal. Even a Jetta would cost more to maintain than an Odyssey.

With no-charge scheduled Carefree Maintenance, Volkswagen will take care of changing your oil, rotating your tires, and more for three years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first, so you can focus on the important things. That’s the Power of German Engineering.

Originally Posted by JayJay 

I also prepaid for service, and I'm glad I did. Huge savings. Also, they offered a loaner, but I didn't need one, so alternatively, they offered to pick the car up from my house and return it. The best thing though is that I wanted to switch out my summer tires for winter tires, but my car is an AMG with staggered wheels for which MB doesn't offer a winter tire set up. The guys searched other vendors until they found a staggered set in the OEM specs. By the way, I also checked with other vendors and they all wanted to sell me front and rears in the same size.

I've dealt with this dealership for over 10 years now and have witnessed a complete transformation in their approach to service. The guys are great and the service they provide is impeccable, and this is coming from a customer who had a five figure repair bill on my previous car.

Originally Posted by dah328 

That's because the value of a staggered tire setup is generally increased lateral traction in good road conditions. Staggered setups are generally of little or even negative value in adverse weather conditions which is why narrower tires are often preferred for winter and especially for snow conditions.

Originally Posted by poorsod 

Interesting. The E class owners manual suggests a non staggered winter setup for the AMG. Does yours suggest otherwise?

Originally Posted by GreenFrog 

lol! I love how you took the car least suited (technically, due to the RWD) to drive in the snow instead

Originally Posted by idfnl 

Considering you have other options sitting in your garage, I'd think twice. While I'd also prefer to take the car thats more fun to drive, I wouldnt, and you wont feel that way anymore in a ditch.

Originally Posted by idfnl 

Value? I don't know. Wait until you have a few services under your belt. Japanese cars are a fraction of the price from a maintenance perspective. In addition, most German cars use more fuel.
Just to say you had a lower purchase price doesn't tell a complete story.
I've driven German cars for the last 15 years. I feel I sacrifice some value for the quality of the ride. I don't drive a Merc, my current car is an Audi, they are pretty comparable cost of ownerships. 4 brakes for me is a $1500 bill. An Odyssey would probably cost $400. Talking to other owners I know, its generally understood you don't go this route to be frugal. Even a Jetta would cost more to maintain than an Odyssey.

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba 

Four brakes for $1500?? My race car didn't cost that much to repair the brakes.

Originally Posted by Piobaire 

That sounds about right. I've not had to replace brakes on an MB yet (thank god) but my Rover was 2k.