New Mercedes Vehicles

[Buster]

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Starts at 3:00 mark.

I just watched that SL63 one.

That fucking door card flex. Fuck me. That's embarrassing.

[heavyD]

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This is the opposite of what they should be doing. The entire idea of a premium car is basically being fundamentally attacked by EV tech. The only opportunity for the luxury makers to stay relevant is for them to build a luxury car. It used to be premium cars were sold on:

- build quality (look and feel not necessarily reliability)
- design
- performance

Build quality is being commoditized (as we saw), performance is being commoditized. So all we have left with is design? And people are going to pay a $100k premium for a design and a brand? They won't, as MB has seen. Not to mention the "design" direction of the german premium brands is fucking awful across the board.

I don't know about that man. BMW quality has never been better and while VAG cheaped out some interiors post-dieselgate it's largely been done to VW's and lower line Audi's like the A3, S3, etc their higher lines are still pretty solid. This build quality issue seems more like a Mercedes Benz issue rather than a German automaker issue.

[Buster]

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I don't know about that man. BMW quality has never been better and while VAG cheaped out some interiors post-dieselgate it's largely been done to VW's and lower line Audi's like the A3, S3, etc their higher lines are still pretty solid. This build quality issue seems more like a Mercedes Benz issue rather than a German automaker issue.

This very well could be true. I've had some experiences with BMW that aren't good (for a very long time). But that's not exactly evidence. I think that BMWs of today certainly feel like they are being screwed together better than MBs of today. Porsche too.

[rage2]

Lexus to me is still the benchmark in the middle class luxury segment. Everyone else is just a pretender.

[Buster]

Everyone should just drive Ridgelines.

[Xtrema]

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I don't know about that man. BMW quality has never been better and while VAG cheaped out some interiors post-dieselgate it's largely been done to VW's and lower line Audi's like the A3, S3, etc their higher lines are still pretty solid. This build quality issue seems more like a Mercedes Benz issue rather than a German automaker issue.

VAG products is getting bad too.

Look at the new Q6 Etron.



Instead of giving you real tactile buttons, they give you a capacitive touchpad on a spring board that simulate a button push.

Don't know if that's a caption error but #CapacitiveBS indeed.

But at least they are giving you extra buttons, Tesla will just tell you to touch the only screen in the car.

[rage2]

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VAG products is getting bad too.

Look at the new Q6 Etron.



Instead of giving you real tactile buttons, they give you a capacitive touchpad on a spring board that simulate a button push.

Don't know if that's a caption error but #CapacitiveBS indeed.

But at least they are giving you extra buttons, Tesla will just tell you to touch the only screen in the car.

Mercedes current steering wheel has capacitive buttons and it’s literally the worst thing ever. It’s not a good implementation at all, 40% accuracy on a good day. My car unfortunately was one of the early ones with it. I avoid using those as much as possible, unfortunately have no choice with cruise control.

The pre facelift steering wheel just had 1 capacitive touch on the wheel for directional navigating menus and it was the best steering wheel they’ve made. Call me a boomer but I want my fucking tactile buttons.

[Xtrema]

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The pre facelift steering wheel just had 1 capacitive touch on the wheel for directional navigating menus and it was the best steering wheel they’ve made. Call me a boomer but I want my fucking tactile buttons.

Yup. All these cost cutting and button removing is pissing me off. May as well just buy a Tesla at this ponit.

[mr2mike]

Lots of mechanics are speaking out that these newer vehicles are going to be so cost prohibited to fix. No customer is going to say "yes, put in a new screen for $8k so I can have heat on in my car or see the fuel gauge".

These are not long term vehicles at all. Mechanically, yes motor and transmission will last. All the custom screens are walking into a too expensive to own anything past 5 years.

[killramos]

Well BMW just launched the signup sheet for an M5 touring if people want something without a star on the front

[benyl]

Gonna be $200K I bet.

[killramos]

180+ for sure

[nismodrifter]

+pst
20% if vehicle over 150k

Lmao love this province. Cash grabs left and right.

Things that I've noticed on my latest purchase, 2021 gle450:
Headlight switch is cheap plastic now? Not that I ever even touch it as it remains on auto but it feels like it's from the dollar store.
Burrmeister stereo is horrid.
Steering wheel track pad buttons sucked initially but I've gotten use to them.
Take a close look at leather stitching on the seats particularly around bends (ie: looking at rear seat from the cargo area). Some areas look like it's been done by high school student.

Overall I am very happy with the vehicle but there is no way this compares to mercedes quality of the olden days. This seems to be the case with all manufacturers though. Disappointing. Will it last me 5 to 10 years? I hope so. Have power train warranty until 2027 as it's certified pre owned. May look into extended warranty to cover everything.

[riander5]

Bring back real head units in Mercedes'

[heavyD]

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Lots of mechanics are speaking out that these newer vehicles are going to be so cost prohibited to fix. No customer is going to say "yes, put in a new screen for $8k so I can have heat on in my car or see the fuel gauge".

These are not long term vehicles at all. Mechanically, yes motor and transmission will last. All the custom screens are walking into a too expensive to own anything past 5 years.

We heard that years ago when brands started using LCD cockpits and it's not really amounted to much. Solid state hardware will usually always outlast mechanical devices. It's the complex hybrid drivetrains that are going to be nightmares to maintain out of warranty.

[Xtrema]

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We heard that years ago when brands started using LCD cockpits and it's not really amounted to much. Solid state hardware will usually always outlast mechanical devices. It's the complex hybrid drivetrains that are going to be nightmares to maintain out of warranty.

Manufacturers are starting to throw OLED into dash (see Escalade). And we all know OLED and static images don't mix. Those will be ticking time bombs.

Then German start to put them in taillights/turn signals.

[flipstah]

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We heard that years ago when brands started using LCD cockpits and it's not really amounted to much. Solid state hardware will usually always outlast mechanical devices. It's the complex hybrid drivetrains that are going to be nightmares to maintain out of warranty.

So extended warranty might be worth it nowadays?

[Flexray]

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Lots of mechanics are speaking out that these newer vehicles are going to be so cost prohibited to fix. No customer is going to say "yes, put in a new screen for $8k so I can have heat on in my car or see the fuel gauge".

These are not long term vehicles at all. Mechanically, yes motor and transmission will last. All the custom screens are walking into a too expensive to own anything past 5 years.

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We heard that years ago when brands started using LCD cockpits and it's not really amounted to much. Solid state hardware will usually always outlast mechanical devices. It's the complex hybrid drivetrains that are going to be nightmares to maintain out of warranty.

I think modern day vehicles are very much built to last. I remember cork gaskets and kilometers of vacuum hoses, that shit was terrible.

Yes some components are expensive to replace. But vehicles have always had expensive parts on them. The cost of labor, tooling, and education is what is driving up the cost of automotive repair. Just like every trade, there is a shortage of technicians. If a shop wants a tech that can repair a rolling super computer. They are going to have to get off their wallet and steal one from another shop. Or invest in someone and train them, which also means getting off their wallet. Having proper repair information, software/hardware, and actual tools just to repair one make of vehicle costs thousands every year. All of these costs are built into the shops labor rate. There are cities where the going labor rate is $300+ an hour already. Dealerships are expensive because they actually pass the true cost of a repair to the customer. I have seen some seriously expensive stuff get broken on very new vehicles, and it's not covered under warranty.
The automobile is going a full circle, only the wealthy will own them.

[Buster]

No way. The automobile is going the other direction.

As they get to be viewed as commodities, people will start to treat them that way. The market will shift to durability over making them expensive baubles for people to flex. I still predict the car market will look like the phone market within a few years. Some "high end" cars that do a bit more of this or that, but really isn't far from the average car. Nobody even looks at each others' phones anymore to see what they are using. They are 99% about function. With maybe a silly case for the kids.

Cost of ownership, replaceability/modularity of car parts will be more important than phones, but there will be a significant drive towards practicality, repairability, and reduced cost of ownership.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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No way. The automobile is going the other direction.

As they get to be viewed as commodities, people will start to treat them that way. The market will shift to durability over making them expensive baubles for people to flex. I still predict the car market will look like the phone market within a few years. Some "high end" cars that do a bit more of this or that, but really isn't far from the average car. Nobody even looks at each others' phones anymore to see what they are using. They are 99% about function. With maybe a silly case for the kids.

Cost of ownership, replaceability/modularity of car parts will be more important than phones, but there will be a significant drive towards practicality, repairability, and reduced cost of ownership.

I disagree because that's an intelligent, logical path for the market to go. Meanwhile, the market is half composed of people with below average intelligence and they are less likely to be interested in practicality or cost of ownership.