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Sedans Mercedes-Benz E-Class Luxury Lounge
21398 messages, Last post on Nov 26, 2009 at 7:15 PM
You are in the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: jimbres (Nov 06, 2009 6:00 pm) You make some fair points but some people might feel that enjoying the overall experience of the car over an 8+ year (or any) timeframe may be as important if not more so than just hoping that you've chosen the most reliable brand. I traded in an 8 year old BMW earlier this year as even though it only had 40,000 miles it was really becoming a problem over the past few years (I traded it for another car that may not be the most reliable, but it is a great car to enjoy). I also have a 2008 BMW which has low miles and as much as the car is fun to drive, I have already found too many compromises that were made with this car. As much I love German cars, I would not buy any of them if reliability over an 8+ year ownership experience was the main concern. Honda/Toyota would probably still fit that need a bit better.
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Replying to: clembo (Nov 07, 2009 4:48 am) That's why I'm keenly interested in the upcoming 2011 Infiniti M. If it can deliver 90+% of the driving pleasure of a comparable German car together with the level of reliability that we associate with a top-tier Japanese brand, it might just be my next car. I'd go for a G37 if I had to replace my BMW tomorrow. While I *like* cars, I no longer love them, & my obsessive car nut days are way behind me. So, yes, reliability is key. |
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Replying to: jimbres (Nov 07, 2009 6:12 am)  My BMW days are over (at the moment). But I am looking at Hyundai as a up and coming player that screams value at the same time. Haven't tested any yet but the products and marketing from that company shows in the recent sales results better than any other. No formal luxo brand yet but it seems they are working on it. Regards, OW
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Replying to: circlew (Nov 07, 2009 6:50 am) Sales results? Are you talking about the Genesis? It certainly hasn't caught on in the NYC metro area. I've seen more Lamborginis than Genesises - whatever the plural is - during the past year. I don't think that the Genesis would rate a footnote on the sales charts in the Northeast. I dunno - maybe it sells well in the South. I'm not saying that it's a bad car. Not at all. It's a handsome, well-made car that delivers much bang for the buck. But I do think that Hyundai rushed it to market without sorting out everything. The suspension, for example, seems to be a work in progress. I'd certainly give it serious consideration in, say, 2 or 3 years. But not today.
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Replying to: rockshocka1 (Nov 06, 2009 5:15 pm) I know what you mean. This is another area where Lexus is behind the times. Their new models that use the mouse control system have hdd based navigation, but you can't use the hard drive to store any music on. Why? They give you a slot for a USB thumb drive so you don't have to use the CD player, but that still pales in comparison to Audi who gives you two SD slots, AMI, and hard drive space. LG, I know it just came out, but any opinion on the Droid that dropped today? I read many reviews of it's flaws, but the common conclusion was it's the best phone Verizon has available. & to keep it on topic, is a new phone like this compatible with Audi bluetooth, or would that take a software upgrade? I've been looking at the Droid for a little while, it's a cool phone. The biggest flaw seems to be the keyboard - it's cramped and flat. For the life of me, I can't understand why they put blank "dummy" keys on the bottom corners. Hello, symbol keys? Something? Anybody home? I'm more interested in some of the upcoming GSM Android phones since Nokia's N900 is disappointing and T-mobile only, but for Verizon subscribers, it's definitely the best of an otherwise meager smart phone lineup. The HTC TP2 is passable, but that's about all they've got. The Storm2 doesn't do it for me. As for in car bluetooth, don't know. |
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Replying to: jimbres (Nov 07, 2009 6:12 am) I also don't have quite the passion for cars as I did when I was a bit younger, but I still get a thrill from them and it is a safe (albeit) expensive hobby. |
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Replying to: jimbres (Nov 06, 2009 6:00 pm) According to JD power VDS reports, 2005 Audis were around the industry average after 3 years, worse than BMW, but slightly better than Mercedes. For 2006 Mercedes was up slightly, BMW made no improvement, and Audi made huge strides, ranking ahead of BMW and just below Honda. Audi said in an Automotive News article a couple of weeks ago that they made a system wide effort to improve quality a few years back, and it is paying off. If I'm going to buy a car tomorrow, I would have more confidence in a 2010 A6 than I would in a 2010 5 series, especially the xi version which has a very poor record. I would also have more confidence in the A6 than a 2010 Lexus GS AWD, which according to CR, continues to be a rattle trap plagued with issues. You say BMW is better, I say the Audi of today, not 8 years ago, is better than BMW.
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Replying to: lexusguy (Nov 06, 2009 2:29 pm) I do not agree with you about Acura when it comes to interior quality: both my TL and the new TSX has really nice high quality interior materials and the ergonomics and build quality/fit and finish of the TSX is just top notch: I have never read any professional review on edmunds, motor trend, car and driver, consumer reports, etc that stated Acura, or for that matter Lexus, having lousy interior's with bad interior materials/quality and fit/finish: if anything, Infiniti I would say is still slightly behind Acura and Lexus in regards to interior quality/fit and finish, and ergonomics and has a minor few cheap interior plastics and hard surfaces that they need to get rid of but with the EX35 and the 2011 M it looks like Infiniti will have solved these minor problems and hopefully they will do that with the next generation G since that is Infiniti's bread and butter: In regards to German reliability, it has improved but they still have ways to go for catching up to the Japanese in reliability according to 2009s consumer reports and US News and World Report: here is a quick quote out of Consumer Reports For This years car manufactures: "Europe Rebounding: While the resurgence of Mercedes-Benz reliability remains the big news out of Europe, though a third of their models we surveyed still have moderate reliability problems. Two-thirds of Audi's lineup scored avg or better in reliability. It's sister brand, VW, has several models rating average or better in our survey, but the Passat sedan, Tourag SUV, and EOS convertible have not done well: BMW has shown the best progress of the big three German makers in recent years, with most versions of the 3-series and some 5-series being avg or better. The 6 series improved to above average" the German automakers make some very nice vehicles, but I do not buy or lease them because you pay thousands of dollars more for the same technology or option extras in the German vehicles that you can get either standard or in much less expensive option packages in the Japanese vehicles: plus with the Japanese vehicles your getting a better CHANCE of having a much more reliable and trouble-free car for thousands of dollars less then their German counterparts! Just My Two Cents, But I would Say that the Majority of Professional Reviewers stretching from Consumer reports to MotorTrend would agree with me!! |
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Replying to: jimbres (Nov 07, 2009 6:12 am) That's why I'm keenly interested in the upcoming 2011 Infiniti M. If it can deliver 90+% of the driving pleasure of a comparable German car together with the level of reliability that we associate with a top-tier Japanese brand, it might just be my next car. That's what I'm expecting from it. I also want to see if the NAV and electronics are anything new. Infinitis current system is decent enough, but not great when compared to the latest MMI system, or even COMAND. |
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Replying to: jimbres (Nov 07, 2009 7:34 am) That's what I've heard. I took a look at one awhile back, wasn't impressed. It's a nice enough looking car, it doesn't offend like the TL, but there's nothing really attractive about it either. The interior just seemed like the Azera's, nothing special. It could make a compelling used car for some, provided they actually hold up longer than 3 years (not a Hyundai strong suit), but it doesn't tempt me away from Audi. |
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