I love my nimble German car. It is powerful, sleek, uber-safe, and a total blast to drive. I've never kept a car as long as I've kept this one - I usually get tired of them long before the warranty even runs out. Not this one, though. This one fits me like a glove, even better than its predecessor, the BarbieMobile (1985 380SL convertible).
In the early 1980's Mercedes-Benz stopped handcrafting each auto that left the factory, and started mass-producing the bodies. While this move made MBZ far more importable and far more accessible to "the average Joe," they (in my opinion) compromised much of their reputation for automotive excellence and grand customer service.
Make no mistake - the power plants of current MBZ autos are just as amazing as the ones made in the before-the-pre-fab days. MBZ DOES NOT skimp on the blood and guts of the vehicle. But I gotta say that the nickel-and-dime crap is really starting to bug me.
MSU and I have a running joke that anytime I take my car in for service, it's going to cost $400.00. Doesn't matter why I took it in. Oil change? $400.00. Palm Tree tactical incident requiring a new passenger side mirror? $400.00. Headlamp replacement? $400.00. Of course, this is an exaggeration - oil changes don't cost $400.00. But they always find something else that needs to be fixed, thus bringing the total to $400.00 or more.
Yesterday I realized that I needed new tires, and I needed them NOW. Rather than take the car to MBZ for the tires (thus incurring a service bill of $400.00 or more), I took it to the friendly little family-run tire shop about five blocks away from my house. 20 minutes and only $200.00 later, I had a beautiful set of perfectly balanced Goodyears on my nimble German car. However, the tire guy advised me that I needed an alignment and that it couldn't wait. Unfortunately, they don't do alignments at the friendly little tire shop.
So, girding my loins for the $400.00 bill, I took the car straightaway to the local MBZ Service Department. I asked for the necessary alignment and also asked that they fix the passenger side lock, which has been ratcheting strangely for the past two days. The estimate? You guessed it - $400.00.
30 minutes later, Rick the Service Advisor called to tell me that the passenger side door lock sensor is failing and that it is compromising my security system. Of course! And that, naturally adds another $400.00 to the service estimate.
The point of this tirade is this: I don't care if my windshield wipers "sense" moisture and begin to swipe automatically. I also don't care if my headlights "sense" darkness and switch on automatically. There is a little computer that resides somewhere in the inner abyss of my engine compartment that calculates how many miles I have to travel before my next service is due, and not only tells me 1000 miles beforehand, but also tells me WHICH service and WHY, and I can assure you that I don't care about that. I don't care that I can unlock or lock my car, activate my security system, open my sunroof and windows, or start my climate control all with a touch to my remote-entry key, or that my car will "sense" when it is being compromised and lock itself automatically if left unlocked. I don't care that my glove compartment and center console are climate-controlled. I don't care that all my radio controls are located on my steering wheel, nor do I care that I can set everything from my seating preference to the language and brightness of my display panel with just a flick of my thumb. NONE of these things encompass the reason I bought this car, nor the reason I love it so much. And ALL of these things are the reason that my nimble German car is nickel-and-diming me to death.
In the many years that I've owned this vehicle, I have NEVER had a problem with the engine, drive-train, or any other "mechanical" system. Besides routine service, I've taken the car to the shop only for "luxury" systems problems and have spent thousands of dollars replacing sensors, tiny shock absorbers, and motors for seats, mirrors, windows, and automatic shades. For some reason, "Luxury vehicle" has come to mean "stupid electronic gadgets" instead of "handcrafted mechanical perfection," even though that mechanical perfection remains the hallmark and distinction of Mercedes-Benz. And it breaks my heart to no end to know that MBZ felt that - just to be competitive! - they had to compromise the inherent beauty of their machines to feed the egos of the yuppie masses who want the "status symbol" but don't understand what "luxury" really means.
:sigh:
I love my nimble German car. But I just spent most of the money I had saved for Christmas on a stupid door lock sensor that I don't want or need.
Grrrr.
3 comments:
For some reason, "Luxury vehicle" has come to mean "stupid electronic gadgets" instead of "handcrafted mechanical perfection,"
You nailed it on the head. Worse, when you drive an awesome car like the one you have, (and it is extremely cool) people expect that you have money and know you are limited to where you can have it worked on. Can you say GOTCHA?
As bad as it is, it's kind of hard to feel bad for a gal who drives a car like that and has 3 or 4 motorcycles to boot. ;)
Well, when you put it that way, I guess i should quit my whining!
Seriously, the car is woorth every single penny of its cost for the safety features and the utter perfection of the drive. I can't afford to have a car crap out on me every other month, and my experience with both of my MBZs has been, well, awesome.
It's just all that other silly crap that's wrecking my aesthetic and getting me down. And the German guy who used to work on my 380SL won't work on any MBZ that's newer than 1986, for many of the reasons discussed in that post. So, yes, I'm stuck. :-(
People should read this.
Post a Comment