Lots of Mercedes Benzs in Europe?

This has always puzzled me. I live in Canada and here a Mercedes Benz isn't cheap. Why is it there seems to be so many Mercedes vehicles in Europe. Are they cheaper in Europe or do have they features that are not available in other makes?

They're not really cheaper. In fact, when you buy a car in Europe, there is no debate, no negotiating: you pay the price on the invoice.

I remember when I first saw Mercedes taxis in Europe thirty years ago; I was astounded. But those taxis put in many years of hard use with high reliability.

What's really crazy were the Mercedes in the Middle East in the '70s and '80s. Something about exchange rates--they use them for hauling manure, delivering food, etc.

And in some of the Middle East countries, they just leave them on the side of the road when they break down Talk about disposable income!

ABTOMAT said:

What's really crazy were the Mercedes in the Middle East in the '70s and '80s. Something about exchange rates--they use them for hauling manure, delivering food, etc.

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Heck, in Dubai these days they do that with Ferrari Enzos.

Dubai was indeed the country that I was thinking of

ABTOMAT said:

Heck, in Dubai these days they do that with Ferrari Enzos.

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Europeans are rich enough that can afford MB like Kia rio in Canada. MB pricing is outragous to say the least. MB quality has steadily declined fast for past decade. I only trust Japansese brand name cars.

One thing that is different is that BMWs and MB's shipped to the US at least tend to be delivered VERY fully equipped. This goes along with the US idea that if you have a premium car, it must have premium features.

At least in Germany, the BMWs and MBs I saw came in a wider range of models and feature levels. Some were remarkably simplistic. Examples include auto vs manual transmission, A/C vs not (to deal with the hot US climate), seat covering material, etc.

Two features I have seen in Europe that I have not seen in the US are adjustable height head lights and automatic folding side mirrors. I wish my car (not a MB) had those.

picard said:

E... MB quality has steadily declined fast for past decade. I only trust Japansese brand name cars.

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I know past MB and BMW owners and they now drive Acura's and Lexus. One has commented that MB's are over-rated and that his Acura is head and shoulders against the mid range Mercedes he's owned. I personally have no aspirations of owning luxury brands and I'll stick with mid-range Hondas and Toyotas.

Mercedes makes a very broad range of vehicles (including semi's) with a broad range of purposes and accessory lists. In the US we only get their high end luxury stuff, whereas their low end stuff, which is basically the equivalent of a Ford Crown Victoria*, is sold locally in europe and the middle east.

If there is a class of vehicle, mercedes likely makes something to compete in it.


*used as taxi's, police cars, delivery vehicles, whatever

picard said:

Europeans are rich enough that can afford MB like Kia rio in Canada.

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As a European, I can say that's not true. However, as Diesel engines are realy popular, Mercedes Benz vehicles are likely to last 200.000 miles. This means that for little money you can get a second hand mercedes. The japanese cars are simply outlived by them. So a 13.000 dollar japanese car which will go for 100.000 miles without problems has to compete with a 17.000 dollar Mercedes which will go 200.000. And I know there are many Japanese cars which will do better than this, but who is willing to spend money on repairs if a completely new car doesn't cost that much? On the other hand, if you've spend a lot of money on a Mercedes, you are more likely to keep it going, even at high cost.

hmmm... now you folks have made me want a MB..reliability is more important than glam in my eyes


in Bundy tone "Thanks guys!" LOL

Much of it has to do with branding & marketing.

As stated above, the European car manufacturers tend to "luxury-brand" their autos in the U.S. Compound that with a strong Euro, and our perception here is skewed.

All the M-B's, Audis, BMW's, etc. you see when you're driving around Europe are not--as someone stated above--the top-of-the-line models; many are more economical packages bearing the maker's name and sold only domestically, or in the EU.

Another case in point, the current "status car" in Shanghai, China, is the Buick Regal. Sure M-B, BMW, Audi, etc. are represented. But, Buick got into the Chinese market first...so in addition to be first-to-market, they were first to "up-brand" or "luxury-brand" there. Essentially, the same car sold in the States for US$25,000.00 fetches an astounding US$37,000.00. If you're a Shanghainese businessman, and have had some success, you're first inclination is own a Buick Regal as a badge of accomplishment. I'm sure this same businessman would be somewhat surprised to learn his cherished Buick Regal is the "everyman's car" here in the States.

It's all about selling the sizzle...

Kristofg said:

As a European, I can say that's not true. However, as Diesel engines are realy popular, Mercedes Benz vehicles are likely to last 200.000 miles. This means that for little money you can get a second hand mercedes. The japanese cars are simply outlived by them. So a 13.000 dollar japanese car which will go for 100.000 miles without problems has to compete with a 17.000 dollar Mercedes which will go 200.000. And I know there are many Japanese cars which will do better than this, but who is willing to spend money on repairs if a completely new car doesn't cost that much? On the other hand, if you've spend a lot of money on a Mercedes, you are more likely to keep it going, even at high cost.

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I had a 1990 Honda Accord with over 250k on it before someone ran a red light and totaled it. My uncle has a Camry with over 330k on it. Nothing major needed to keep them going. That Accord just required fuel, oil changes, and timing belt/water pump changed at 100k intervals. It would have gone over 300k easy. One of the sales guys that call on our company drove a Maxima and put over 240k miles on it over a 3 year span. He'd drive from Phoenix to Tucson and back regularly to call on his customers. He had to replace a power steering unit once I recall. Otherwise, normal maintenance also. He could have driven a Mercedes since he gets a car allowance but he was a pragmatist.

So what were you saying about Japanese cars' repair needs and longevity again? :nana:

picard said:

Europeans are rich enough that can afford MB like Kia rio in Canada.

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I wish! In Denmark, the "cheapest" (new) MB is like US$75.000 and that is way, way over what most people can afford. The most common cars here are the japanese brands, VW and GM (Opel, etc) + korean cars.
I have a 1992 VW Polo and a 1999 VW Sharan Van (cheaper registration on two seat vans) I can just barely afford to keep them both running, but we need to cars, since the 12 miles to work would take over an hour with public transportation!

My driving instructor's '97 Civic was used for *EVERYTHING* including training folks like me (who made every mistake in the book short of crashing it). It's been rear-ended by a bus, ended up on TOP of kerbs, sideswiped, list goes on. 500,000 miles on the clock. I couldn't believe the numbers I was looking a on the dash, and I asked how many times he'd had to rebuild the engine and manual drivetrain. "None - just TLC and parts replacement".. ! :bow: :bow: Not bad for a vehicle that is on the road 12 hours a day!

He did take good care of it though, and replaced parts wherever worn or necessary to keep it going (he'd occasionally ask me if I noticed anything different), and that car literally carried on forever. Now that is the kind of mission critical reliability I could really learn to love..


I just re-checked those numbers with my own calculations. 12 hours a day x 300 days a year (working) average x 6 years, is 21600 power-on hours. At thirty miles (road miles) per hour, that would already be 648000 miles on the clock, so it's entirely possible, but still, holy cow.

CM said:

So what were you saying about Japanese cars' repair needs and longevity again? :nana:

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I know japanese cars are good, I used to drive a nissan sunny. But after 100.000 miles the little irritations seemed to start to happen. knobs which wouldn't turn, cracks in the leather, the numbers on the gear know which had faded away. The car in itself was pretty good thoug. On the other hand, I now drive an oudi and I'm going to keep driving it untill it completely breaks down because the feeling is more of "this was an expensive car, I'm going to use it for every cent it was worth when I bought it." Had it been a japanese car, it would have probably been replaced by now, just for the want of something new.

chevrofreak said:

Mercedes makes a very broad range of vehicles (including semi's) with a broad range of purposes and accessory lists. In the US we only get their high end luxury stuff, whereas their low end stuff, which is basically the equivalent of a Ford Crown Victoria*, is sold locally in europe and the middle east.

If there is a class of vehicle, mercedes likely makes something to compete in it.


*used as taxi's, police cars, delivery vehicles, whatever

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thats very true. its a shame mercedes sells so few models and options here in the US. but thats also true with most auto manufacturers. the US market seems very limited, especially in offerings from toyota, VW, and mercedes.

visit the mercedes international website and you'll see what i mean. man, i'd love to have one of those vans with a 2.2 CDI.

http://www.mercedes-benz.com/conten...tional_website/en/com/international_home.html

I'd like to see the A class hatchback brought to the US. Seems like it would give Honda, Toyota, and VW and good fight, if the price was similar.

Geoff