SRSport

8 months ago I sold my Impreza for a Mercedes '06 with 27,500 miles.

These have been the running costs so far, just keeping it going.


Steering rack £500 (used)+ 10 hours labour,
Front right shocks - £130 + .5 hour labour,
Top mount - £80
Springs - £100 + 1 hour labour
Caliper, front left - £70 (recon) + .5 hours labour
ARB - £91 + 3 hours labour
Starter motor - £305 + 4 hours labour
Ipod link left front speaker - Fixed myself
Rear ARB bush and drop links - £30 + 1 hours labour

Ongoing issues -
rust on tailgate - £220 (+£550 contribution by Mercedes Germany)
Front left shock + top mount failure. £440 + .5hours labour


Total - £1766 in parts + 20.5 hours labour.


Also all 4 doors have been replaced due to rust from the previous owner.

Do you think I could ask Mercedes for a contribution to the front shock and top mount I still need to buy?

grahamc

iTrader: (10)

Thats shocking!!!

A friend of mine had similar issues with one of the high end mercs, SL63 AMG... had to replace all shocks and all brakes about 1.5 months after the warranty ran out. Low miles, nearly new car...

I know he tried speaking to Mercedes and was looking at trading that in on a ML merc, but they had no interest in helping. I think the dealer helped where he could by reducing some of the labour and their profit on the parts, but HQ said no.

Ste RB5138

I cant believe a 6 year old Mercedes has got tin worm already, they must be using poor quality steel?

a5h

iTrader: (3)

Wow absolutely shocking not what I would of expected from MB

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Amazing. Mine has been fault free and one of the most reliable motors I've owned.

Just goes to show that low miles is just as bad as too many miles as it has just been either not moved much or hammered when it has been out.

That said, Subaru had to replace the suspension in my WRX at 3 years old.

5t.

hodgy0_2

wow, that's crap

always shocked to see how much people are prepared to pay for motoring

and that is without the massive depreciation

SRSport

If I got Mercedes to do all the work it would have cost


£2572.50 labour and
£3146 parts

£5718.50.

Thats not including the 4 doors that were replaced before I bought it so add another £2000 onto that!

The labour was worked out at another 6 hours as they insisted that it took 10 hours to fit the starter motor. It took my mechanic who charges £36/hour just 4 hours!

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Reality over the hype.

SRSport

They cut corners on the dipping process and many, many Mercedes drivers are being shafted with unsuspected rust issues. When I took it to the bodyshop there was a lady who was currently suing Mercedes who wanted £5000 for 4 new doors, new boot and new bonnet!

Thanks for that

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Sorry chap! Yours does sound like it has had some abuse int he past though for the suspension to be like that.

If it has MB history, they should have looked at the rust issues and fixed it. given the previous owner didn't do that it might be they'd done something to invalidate that warrenty.

Worth an ask on www.mbclub.co.uk to see what the state of play is.

5t.

Tidgy

you sir, have whats commonly known as a lemon.

STEVEBOXER

It's like alot of prestige cars, they use thinner gauge steel now. Look how many mint 20 year old mercs you see compared to 6 year old ones.i saw a 22 year old vw golf last week in original condition with no rust!

T25 DOC

Last year my brand new C class went back to germany for 6/7weeks to fix a rattle coming from the steering column that the numpties here in the UK couldn't sort....I was compensated for this however.

And my experience of customer service has been very good - car has been fine since

Certainly sounds like the one you have there isn't going to be problem free - think you may struggle to get a contribution to the parts you need - all depends on how well you get on with the the service mgr and how much effort he/she is willing to put in with Merc central to try and help.

Andy

Neanderthal

iTrader: (6)

Don't most cars come with a 10 year anti-corrosion warranty on the bodywork?

SRSport

This is actually the most important point. I have put so much right that I dont want to sell it as I want to be able to enjoy a car that I know has many new parts and that I dont need to worry about suspension, starter motors, rust or steering anymore.

All of these are well known faults of Mercedes and it just so happens that they have come along all at once. Now if this is going to continue then its time to get rid but it seems daft to do that after owning it for less than a year to pay for the thing to be put right only to pass it on for someone else to enjoy.

SRSport

Just to add I went in with the list made a fuss and got....10% off. I should have asked for a lolly pop to go with it.

rb5_336

Is also a recent MB owner. The rust issues can be are shocking on these cars, you certainly need to be careful when buying. Luckily mine is from an independent specialist, and they have the car back already with a long list of issues, minor rust issues included.

NEILLLLL

iTrader: (2)

I have a mercedes sprinter which is now 5 yrs old and rust started to appear about a year ago and seems to be common on sprinters whereas the vw crafter is the same shell but i've not seen or heard of a rusty one ? Must be rubbish paint they use as i've heard of many different models being rusty.

Dirk Diggler 75

You should have bought a B.M.W.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

Anyone remember my 20 year old Luftpanzarwagen?

https://www.scoobynet.com/members-ga...uftwaffer.html

Apart from rust on one wing, it was fantastic for the 6 months I owned it. Fuel economy was as bad as a Scooby like but it was a 2.3 auto LOL

It needed next to nowt doing, apart from a disc/pad change and fuel lines for MOT.

I present my old big purple barge

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

6/7 weeks back in Germany to fix a rattle, your having a giraffe .

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Nope. I had a 3 series i chopped for the Merc.

Heated jets didn't work
Boot rusty
rear wing rusty
Heater was either cold or top spec hot
Rattled a lot
Ate frontwish bones

I had a Merc before the BMW and it was that bad I got another Merc.

I don't believe it is indicative of all BMWs mind but to make such a sweeping statement is a bit of a stretch.

5t.

Maz

iTrader: (34)

That's when they were built properly. Way better than the modern ones.

SRSport

Its rubbish paint and skipping stages on the dipping process. Its a two pronged attack for rust. On the same panel I have rust forming from the inside out (dipping process) and rust appearing from the outside in (substandard paint that allows moisture in).

Its all about cost cutting measures with Mercedes but they have paid far more in claims, having to do it again than if they had done it properly in the first place. It has come back to bite them, not only directly but also their reputation.

T25 DOC

Afraid not - in total the car was away for over 3months!!!!

They gave me a couple of hire cars while mine was away so it meant miles clocked up on them rather than mine but yes I wasn't a happy chappy.....

Like I said they did compensate me and the customer service I received was very good....

SRSport

I wanted a 3 series far more than the B200 Turbo but they appeared to be worse by a long way. I believe the 6 cylinder engines were better but I couldnt afford one. There were many horror stories with modern day 06+ BMWs that put me off.

It makes me laugh when German car owners mock Impreza, Evo, Type R etc owners calling their cars "Jap crap"...German cars are way behind Japanese cars in my opinion. Full of fancy 'lardy dar' features and boasting impressive figures but ultimately built like childs toy that will snap at any given moment.

I had a VW before - worst car I ever had...now superseded. I look forward to getting a performance oriented Japanese car again.

Dirk Diggler 75

Fair statement you made,just the one i owned before my classic was the most reliable and solid motor i ever owned.
I got bored so decided on a bit of japanese ........

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Nae bother!

Frosticles

iTrader: (1)

I thought you were looking into getting a BMW? I still have mine & all it has cost me is diesel & a service. Still chuffed.

ScoobyJawa

Friday afternoon cars!