yeah right. Weren’t they the most UNreliable?!
What about BMW? Isn’t BMW more reliable?

Mercedes was deemed unreliable in US surveys due to its electrical glitches. But IMHO when it comes to breaking down, MBs are just as reliable as Toyota and Honda.

I’d hate to see who’s below them…

mercedes does not make one reliable vehicle. both audi and bmw are moer relable .

Mechanically MB is excellent, but their electronic systems are crappy. BMW is no better…check engine lights on BMW pop up for no reason whatsoever all the time. Audi is just a bit better because the basic electrical components go into almost every Audi, VW Bentley, and Lamborghini, thus with so many cars depending on the same type of electronics, they ensure that they are fairly reliable.

Jon.

I believe that “low end” MB’s are available in Germany, ie, basically the same cars sold here without all the electronic nonsence (electrical glitches per Northeasterner), etc., though this does NOT apply to all the MB models. Sort of like the difference between an Accord DX and an Accord EX with ALL the extras.
We never see those models sold here at the dealer.

I have one of the US made MLs and can can tell you this truck shook the foundations of M-B. The US may be one of their larger markets and virtually EVERYBODY I know with an M-B has looked/will look to Lexus, etc. for their next purchase. M-B has become akin to Landrover in many minds. …there’s not another M-B in my plans … maybe ever. This is my third.

My wife has a Boxster; a year ago Porsche was the best brand to have in Germany if your car was 5+years old in terms of reliablilty. I also suspect P-car owners tend to get proper maint. done..skewing the results.

Once the your star gets tarnished; it takes years to get the shine back. …anything – anyone.

j i m

mb is always a lot more reliable than bmw. reliability doesnt have to be quality.

“Mercedes called ‘most reliable’ German brand”

That’s damning with faint praise…

In other news, Paris Hilton makes the ‘best’ bad-porn videos.

Jim,

About 20 years ago the MB board decided that their cars were ‘over-engineered’ and decided to scale back. Ever since that day, MB quality has been on a steady decent. If MB went back to ‘over-engineering’ their products, I bet they could bounce back. However, since I don’t think they ever will decide to make their products as well as they used to…guess MB is screwed.

The reason Porsche is better than MB is because they build their cars to a higher standard, and yes when you couple that with proper servicing, you get reliable cars. And that’s saying a lot since Porsche makes sports cars (um, ok and one SUV) which tend to be driven more aggressively than, oh say Honda sedans.

Junkie,

That’s pretty funny, especially since she drives a MB SLR (if she can get the door open; moron).

Jon.

only brand from germany i would buy is porsche…

“About 20 years ago the MB board decided that their cars were ‘over-engineered’ and decided to scale back. ”

That’s been called “The Lexus Effect” and for good reason…

i am located at stuttgart where porsche and dc are. also i have worked for dc for some years. i would say the daimler cars have the best smooth driving experience when its gets faster.

for me myself i prefer my z4 because there is no turbo hole and the grip on the street is better, but with that comes also a more sportive driving which is a louder sound and not that comfortable for longer journeys.

if i had the money i would choose an AMG tuned CL 55 which has an ass-kicking acceleration and comfort which you have to search with that power.

for sure there are SLR and other unreachable cars we cant discuss about ….

oh …. i forgot something …. @ all americans …. im sorry for your speed limit …
btw.scared of 260km/h its always funny to show an us guy the first time the german autobahn …

I thought BMW was more reliable.

BMWs are more reliable i know from experience. but porsche, umm why isnt porsche the most reliable car in europe. they’ve been building the same exact car forever (911) thats why theres so many of those things in lemans, they dont break down!

All reviews like most reliable fastest car best car always goes to the company who pays the most money to the reviewers and if you think thats BS then look at all th emarkets such as computers and se ehow they get good reviews and hide all their mistakes (i.e. noone knowing Dell lost a 20 million dollar lawsuit for ba dmotherboards and getting reviewed as best computer)

ADAC must also think that the internet is all loaded onto a single microsoft windows 2.0’s hard drive

I think you guys are missing the point of this story. They are only measuring “break downs” that resulted in a Mercedes owner calling for a tow truck. This is NOT the same as the Consumer Reports or JDP surveys that are much more detailed. In this ADAC report a flat tire is considered a “break down” if the owner calls for road side assistance. This data is pretty simple and straightfoward compared to CR and JDP which track a lot more things and are far more detailed.

M

Depends on how old an M-B you make it. The 1980s models are really the best there has ever been. Group of guys here bought an 1982 M-B E-class for EUR 2′000.- with over 250′000 km on the meter and they took it on the route Paris (France) – Dakar (Senegal) through deserts and all that **** and made it. Without repairs. Even the truck that went with them got stuck so they pulled it out using the M-B…

well if MB is the most reliable, the others must be terrible. I’ll cut to the chase and say that mercedes makes 0 reliable cars. that’s a fact, check the problems per 100 vehicles stats.

How many of the above commentors have actually ever OWNED a Benz? I am so happy with my E320 that you couldn’t pry me out of it. It is a 1996, and I have yet to make a major repair. People keep buying them worldwide – there must be a reason. They last forever and they keep their excellent handling the whole time, I wouldn’t take a Lexus if you gave me one for free. They just aren’t in the same class.

Well CG, that’s because you’ve never owned a Lexus. I’ve owned both and the MB is by far, much worse in terms of reliability. The Lexus wasn’t faultless, but it never broke down and never had to have a major component replaced.

Mine (04 model):
1) fuel pump failure
2) charcoal catalyst failure
3) worn crankshaft
4) worn sway bar bushings
5) oil level indicator failure
6) paranoid moon roof

more to list coming soon …

mb foreva! i merin vnatyre samyie oxyennye ta4ki! bmv i audi sosut wlyapy! kto ne soglasen-tot lowara!