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The most *reliable* car Robert owns is a ... Trabant The most *unreliable* car Robert owned was a Mercedes. I'm used to the saying "that could only happen in America", but this sort of thing could only happen to Robert.
Nah, I think most mechanics would rather depend on a trabant. Might be shittier, but much easier to fix. You sure as hell don't see him trying to rebuild the benz engine on a random table. That should say a lot.
I had a merc, bought it for the German engineering quality - at 375000 the engine exploded, did not expect that. Now I have a french Renault.. even if engine explodes, i will be OK, it is a shitty car, but I can just buy a new one and it will still be much cheaper to own. I even expect it to die at any given point, so will no be disappointed.. 😂🤣 It is really bad when you have range anxiety in a premium ice car 🤔😬😁
Every Mercedes in the USA pines for home. Every spare part brings it closer to Germany. Have you tried speaking to your car in German, or making sauerkraut in the garage?
The important bit about this is that the cars all have different niches to fill. This was supposed to be the reliable family hauler. All the rest, except maybe the Coda, were known/intended to be what they are.
As soon as he said "coping mechanisms" I had to pause the video and start scrolling through the comments to make sure it got mentioned. Thank you, generic account.
A funny thing about that transmission oil leak: On Mercedes models around this time period it is possible that they leak oil through the wiring harness, meaning oil is flowing inside the cables themselves, like inside the insulation with the copper. This can go as far as damaging the ECU and other control units connected in some way or another to the transmission. This has happened to a custommer of a Mercedes dealer and service station my uncle works in.
Not only this Model of Mercedes and not just the Transmission, S-Class E-Class C-Class Vito Viano all of them. had multiple customers with bricked ECU's do to Oil in it from multiple sensors and actuators on the Engine if you catch it early enough you can save the ECU.
@@juhomaki-petaja you could but i think it is an embarrassment that you have to run that risk or have to deal with that issue on an expensive upmarket luxury car like a Mercedes-Benz Back in the 70's and 80's Mercedes USED to be the benchmark for reliability and quality engineering. Today no more. Give me a Lexus any day over a Mercedes (and BMW as well).
@@jfv65 Here in Scandinavia we use Mercedes for ice track rally and kids use those to driving practice on fields. "Field rallying", so much glamour and upmarket...
So you've inherited a Money Pit (TM). What are your options? (sounds like my Kia) 1. dump it as fast as you can 2. keep dumping money into it until you fill the hole (not recommended and almost never works) 3. let it collect dust until you donate it to a radio station or the like for free (fair way to).
"a car should not require you to develop coping mechanisms just to drive it" Now if that's not the most accurate representation to every shitbox I've ever owned.
that's the problem with modern fancy cars. they're unreliable because they have so much technology in them. something can be said for the reliability of stupid dumb pulleys and levers.
@@JessicaFEREM Yes yes I'm sure your 1968 Chevy is just a breeze to diagnose detonation on. Now, do you want me to call the retirement home or do you? Get real my guy, computers in cars make real work easier.
Guarantee that used car salesman was lying through his teeth. You don't sell a straight piped V8 wagon out of the blue if it's been completely reliable, that was definitely a problem car that he wanted to get rid of. He just had AW fix half the problems that car had and is going to make a tidy profit to boot. Also he's a car salesman, they're lying every time they open their mouths.
Mercedes used electronic-hydraulic brakes (called "SBC") for a few model years in the early 2000s. That didn't last long for obvious reasons, and all models after that went back to normal brakes.
i have once, and it was genuinely very hard to tell anything was wrong apart from the fact my radio turned off alternator failed, battery died. for some reason, cruise control stayed on, auto gearbox held 4th as it always had. come up to the first intersection in 40km, car stays in 4th, zero vacuum for the brakes.
I've had three of these w211s. One was a wagon with the v6 (not quite as nice sounding as your v8). It had the same problems you've mentioned--plus had to convert the air suspension to springs after it blew. My wife lost faith in it so I sold it too. I still have the other two with L6 diesel. The chassis is a pain, but the diesel is so perfect I put up with their quirks. Having two is key so they can take turns breaking.
My mate has the 2.7L 5 pot diesel version of the W211(all markets except US) and that engine is also amazing - 420Nm torque (308lb ft) from about 1800rpm, effortless driving! I can only imagine the 3.0L L6 is even better.
@@twentysevenlitres there is a reason a lot of taxi services here in the Netherlands reliably bought that series of Benzes. The engine is way over engineered so that it hardly ever breaks. It also drives very smoothly. it's in no means a speed monster just reliable and good at driving slow
@@twentysevenlitres yeah we got the L5 in the sprinter vans in the states. The 3.0 is more than enough power in the sedan (and I imagine wagon too). The torque makes it feel like its a V8, but still gets good mpgs.
I own essentially this same exact car. I have spent SO much money getting it mechanically "perfect", but honestly, it's been worth it. The drivetrain is known for reliability- when you don't have a transmission fluid leak (:
Yeah these cars aren't bad if you do the maintenance as scheduled. Problem is German luxury cars tend to pass through about a half dozen or more owners, few of which do the necessary maintenance because it becomes more and more of a basket case, even fairly reliable cars like this one. There are certainly flaws with these, like the transmission connector leaking or conductor plate failing, or the air struts failing because the vehicle was lifted without the suspension system being turned off with a scanner, valve cover gaskets, etc. When I saw the first video with this car, I knew Robert had bought a really bad example. I personally like to stay away from the air suspension or 4matic Mercedes, I think probably the best bet for the most reliable and cheap to maintain Mercedes would be a late 90s to early 00s C-Class (two generations) with the I6 (M104), 2.3L 4 cylinder (M111 not M271), V6 (M112 not M272), or V8 (M113) or the similar year E Class with the same engines but RWD and standard suspension.
The two greatest days of ownership with an AMG are 1: the day you get it 2: the day you get rid of it Side note: I did have at one time an S63 from 2008, and loved it. But it was a nightmare to keep running. That anxiety is real, even when we had the warranty. I vividly remember warranty repair bills being well over 10-14K. Sold it because i would go broke keeping it on the road.
Oh, Robert, Robert. The dealer you bought it from and sold it back to forgot to do one VERY important thing as a car dealer: Check for factory recalls. The brake by wire system is notorious for failure. Robert Bosch at his finest. If you want a fast and luxurious wagon there are only a couple of options worth checking out. The more common is the GM Whale Wagons. Chevy Caprice Classic or Buick Roadmaster Estate. In their last 3 years they had the LT-1 under the hood. Fast and reasonably economical. The other, admittedly MUCH harder to find, is an 86 or 87 Country Squire or Colony Park with the 351W. You might have to come to Canada, where they were regularly available. 0-60 is a reasonable 6.5-7 seconds, but on the highway you are looking at 34 or so miles to the gallon once a few modifications have been done.
The gigantic Caprice wagon was hilariously good at being what it was: big, dumb, simple, effective. Sophistication? No, no - none of that here! But it'll get you AND all your junk where you want to go.
The best GM v8 wagons imo, CTS v wagon in the state's. Or in Australia, Holden VF Commodore or hsv sportswagon. Less issues, the box is easier to fix than the Merc box and once it's fixed it's reliable.
@@Low760 The Ford Panther wagons from 86-91 with the 351 and Trailer Tow III Package are incredible, incredibly easy to work on, and incredibly good on fuel. For 88-91, only available in wagons for Emergency Service purchase. For 86 and 87, the 351 was a paltry $185, the towing package that changed almost everything, a mere $550. 6,000 pounds of trailer, combined gross vehicle weight rating of 12,500 pounds, and 7 litres per 100 kilometers makes a pretty hard package to beat. The 109 cubic feet of cargo is a bit of alright too.
My first car was a 1993 300te wagon, and it ruined the Mercedes brand for me. I wanted to love it but my God it hated me too. Last time I saw it I had pushed it off of some train tracks into a parking lot then called the dealer and told him where it was. I should have left it on the tracks
When the comments in the last Mercedes video said "The hood's easy to open because that's a thing you'll be doing often", I knew this car's gonna go buckwild broken
My dad had a car like this when I was a kid. Took it to multiple dealers and independent garages but none of them could identify any issues, despite it completely dying without warning at least once a month. Ended up selling it after six months as it was our only car which when you’ve got a young family and a 60 minute work commute isn’t exactly ideal
@@awesomeferret maybe if he’d kept it until now but I doubt it. The model in question was worthless when he bought it, and even now tidy ones don’t exactly go for big money. You’d be lucky to get 10k for a mint one with mileage in the hundreds, which his definitely wasn’t haha.
Nobody saw this coming My family got a Mercedes something for dirt cheap when I started driving. Turns out even if they'd gotten it for free, it wouldn't have been worth it. Mercedes are good for as long as the warranty lasts 😅 Also my heart goes out to that young lady. 💔
Actually, they do very well when they are properly maintained, I'm on my 5th. I've owned my 2014 GLK250 since new and it's been trouble free (I'll forgive the one speed sensor that went bad). The big problem with these cars is that they are too often purchased by people who are unwilling to do the required maintenance using approved parts and fluid. If you're buying used: never buy a cheap Mercedes and always ask for the maintenance receipts.
"It even has air... suspension" to be honest I was expecting that to end with "conditioning" knowing your fleet. Can't wait to see the next oddball that replaces it.
Was the auxiliary battery a wet lead acid battery, or a sealed AGM? I used to work at a battery store, and if I remember correctly we sold a decent amount of 12 volt 18 amp AGMs to Mercedes owners to replace their convenience / auxiliary batteries. We'd sell them for like $40, and Mercedes of course wanted several hundred. Same deal with the starting battery; again if I remember correctly East Penn makes the OEM Mercedes batteries for the US market. So you could buy the super expensive East Penn battery with the Mercedes sticker on it from the dealer, or the exact same East Penn battery with a store brand sticker on it for like $100.
having owned a Mercedes of this class, I could have warned you and I would never, ever own another for any price for any reason. The myth of German reliability and build quality is just that, a myth.
*Reads title* Reaction: "YEEEEEESS. There's a difference between an old car that gives trouble due to age, and a late-model vehicle that gives trouble due to terrible design. And this Mercedes has belonged firmly in the latter camp since it was built."
YMMV as they say 😁 In my experience the W211 E500s occasionally throw a big bill for something, but for the most part are reliable and inexpensive to run. Could vary depending on where you live, of course.
The battery system sounds like a bad laptop where a flat main battery drains the CMOS clock battery. As for the transmission, this Mercedes must be a Friends car... "It's like you're always stuck in second gear."
Well, it's about the same in every car that has two batteries, because the batteries are usually in parallel . . . That's why the rule of thumb is to always change both at same time.
"Mercedes! We do not stop 'til nightfall." "What about battery?" "I've already replaced it." "You've replaced one, yes. What about second battery?" ... "I don't think he knows about second battery." "What about transmission fluid? Coolant? Engine oil? Brakes? He knows about them, doesn't he?" "I wouldn't count on it."
I hate it when automatic transmissions just stop shifting. I had to replace my 2007 corrola recently because it stopped shifting into top gear suddenly. I let it sit a couple months and suddenly the trans was shifting again. I sold it to a friend for $300 since I had already replaced the car for myself. He drive it awhile before the problem came back. He sold it to a guy and the guy is driving it without the problem again... I checked the fluid level before I sold it and that was not the problem. I really miss how nice my corrola was... but having a car that shifts all the time is a huge improvement.
Your old, high-mileage AMG Mercedes is unreliable? I am shocked. And the second-hand car dealer says the car was reliable and only needs a few small fixes! That must mean it's a great idea to buy it.
No, if I've learned anything from Steve Lehto, it's to run as fast as possible when the dealer says "[I/My Wife/Friend/Family Member] used to daily drive this car, and we've never had a problem with it."
Question Rob: is that blue Yugo in the background at the dealership already in your collection yet? It looks rough on the dealership's website, but we all know you can't resist it
Reminds me when I was buying a Alfa GTV, we were puzzled with the previous owner about the brake pad warning light. Turns out, the warning light actually worked like it should and it was warning us about worn brake pads. Who would thought of an Alfa :D
I like how the masking tape labels changed with each cut. Good one very subtle. I truly hope Cheyenne's recovery goes well. 🤞 Stay safe out there, and take it easy. 😎
Traded in for an older 1980s were 1990s model with a diesel engine I have a 350sdl that has 1,250,000 miles I bought it for $800 and put about $1,200 into it mainly because it had set for 3 years prior to me getting it but now we regularly take it on 400+ mile trips I really haven't had any major problems with it except for me busting a hole in the oil pan and a blown turbo seal.
That battery issue is the reason my cousin ditched his Merc and just bought a loaded F150 instead. Just like you, he got the battery warning replaced it and it still had problems, when the dealer told him it was the second battery, he said F that.
The first thing a competent tech checks when any automatic transmission is being troublesome is the fluid level. When the fluid dissapears and leaves no trace of where it went , undo the coolant cap and see If the heat exchanger in the radiator is leaking it into the coolant. Sad to say this but that car exceeded your level of mechanical aptitude so you are best to have sold it.
This video really sums up the Mercedes experience. They are really nice cars- assuming you're willing to work on them continuously to keep them running.
On Prius, it's fairly common for the traction battery to be killed by a dead starter battery. It's very very important to stay on top of that if you own a hybrid.
It's not really the starter battery - the Prius relies on the traction battery for engine starting as the Prius is not fitted with a starter motor. It has to have the traction motor to spin the engine over.
Lmao right? Here's a recalled lemon, you fix it, I'll buy it back for less than you paid me. Great scam he's running and he's on video, so hopefully everyone knows where to avoid.
SBC is fixed for free in the USA... The rest of us have to pay for it. Cost me around £1,500 at a Mercedes specialist some years back, £3,000 was the quote from a main dealer. What you were experiencing when it failed was the back up mode which is completely un-servoed! Low battery causing the dash to go scary-red is just to add to the excitement.
As a Benz enthusiast who never owned a cheap big engine Mercedes, take my word, dont buy a cheap big engine Mercedes. I mean there are a lot of big and reliable engines but these cars are full of technology, and i mean over the top, you wont find the same options in a random E220 like you find in ANY E500. But if the car is well maintained, and not a problematic pre-facelift that had recalls, then sure, go ahead. For example this w211 was a non facelift and had problems and recalls with the SBC brakes, the facelift had [besides a big improvement on the looks departmen] no SBC at all! And they work like wonders 👍
W210 estate is OK if you can find one that hasn't gone rusty, my E55 has 250,000 miles on it, it's tired but it's been relatively reliable over the 4 years I've owned it.
This is probably the only channel where I actually look forward to the sponsoring bits. Not that the actual content isn't top notch, it totally is. You totally deserve a bigger audience :)
Only in america do you need a fundraiser to survive AFTER a terrible incident because you be out of a job and medical industry trying to kill you with debt. Sad, just absolutely sad.
I see german cars like I see fighter aircraft. They are extremely capable at what they do, but at the cost of a lot of preventative and unscheduled maintenance. There's a reason used german cars are usually cost half or less of their MSRP after the warranty. Maintenance costs.
You are a kind, generous soul, sir. Both for sharing with us the opportunity to help with the Gofundme and how you interacted with the dealer. You showed him more kindness and patience than I think I’d have been able to given all the trouble that car gave you. I tip my cap to you. Thank you for being awesome.
This all sounds sooooooo familiar. Didn't Casey Putsch have the same issues with a friend's Mercedes, and his solution was to fix the car with a different car?
Far as I remember the SBC system was given a finite amount of operations before it requested replacement no matter what it's actual condition was, ostensibly for safety the way it just shut itself down sometimes without warning caused enough customer complaints that MB made it a free repair (just a reset of it's internal counter I think?), something along those lines anyway.
I really do love it when a RU-vidr makes a video inorder to pay off some bills or buy some new tool or toy for the channel. It's just really cool that they can do that when needed.
@@josealcazar2922 It's one of the older reliable ones, with a fairly simple engine. It's also really well kept and low miles, so it should last me quite a while.
I actually wore a Toyota engine out, once. My first car, thrashed the daylights out of it, and at 200,000km, it wasn't doing too well. But my current 556,000km Hiace, is going perfectly.
If it makes you feel better, in 2017 I bought a $400 1998 Subaru wagon site unseen, spent next to nothing on parts, changed the oil once a year, drove it for 4 years and 50k and sold it for $500 still working.
There's a period in the late 90s, or, early 2000s when M-B just decided to say goodbye to any idea of quality assurance. Buy a pre-'90 M-B, and, it will go a million miles without trouble, but, post-'90s are the WORST quality automobiles in history.
A family member (technically, two) owned an '05 E 320 4Matic wagon similar to this car - oddly enough that car was very, very reliable when they both had it with the exception of a few things that, realistically, can go out on any car regardless of manufacturer. What ended up sealing the nail in the coffin was when the front suspension (this particular car was equipped with Airmatic for... some reason) _literally collapsed_ while driving. It also threw a check engine light for what I can only describe as the world's smallest crack in the fuel tank, and the code (P0456) read "Very Small [Evaporative Emission System] Leak."
Alan was a bit jerk when he said "fix what you messed up on it" and I'm pretty sure he also lied about the car being reliable but then again, every dealer is usually like that. The car runs fine and all until they sell it to another person. Shame on you Alan. That guy has some nerves.
I took that as a joke, but after reading your comment, I realize, we will never really know if he was joking or was serious (and if he was serious, then he's more likely to be lying about the reliability he experienced). I still think it was a joke, but again, we will never actually know.
I'm pretty sure Alan was joking. Even a car salesman knows not to insult a customer on camera. Not to mention, why would Robert plug the dealership if he'd genuinely been insulted?
@@kw9849 The difference between a plug for the dealership or a warning to possible future costumers is how possible future costumers digest the content of the vid.
I just have a hunch that the guy you bought it from sold it to you with the expectation that you would repair the issues that popped up and then you would sell it back to him ...
Can almost relate to the oddness of 2:59. My car (A Holden Calais) disables the ESP/Traction System and ABS if my third brake light bulb blows or is taken out... Not sure if its meant as a sign to not drive the car till its replaced or is a stupid voltage fault. My Calais has also given me major anxiety now. Without fail since the beginning of the year, its had several failures and faults. In January my SRS Airbag light came on days before a 14 hour interstate trip, which I drove with the light on and got cleared by a relative. Then the day I was meant to depart on my 14 hour drive home, the radiator sprung a leak and poured its coolant all over the highway which caused the engine temp to sky rocket. First time i'd ever seen this in the four years owning the car. Thankfully I was close enough to another relatives place, where I managed to limp the car over with bottled water having been poured into the radiator. Got a replacement radiator that arvo and had the car ready for departure the following day. Then in February the engine overheated on my way to work. This was due to no coolant, despite having topped it up several days earlier. I limped it to a safe stop to cool down and poured coolant and water i left in my boot. Drove home and found a hole in the overflow tank where it had all been pouring out from. Patched it up and now I was watching my engine temp gage like a hawk. In March, my car decided to pour all its trans fluid out on the highway and make my 5L40E into a PNNN. Found that the trans oil return line had a pin sized hole in the metal kink of the line. Replaced the line, put new trans oil in it (which I also had just done an oil change back in January so yay) and all was good, expect for the fact coolant was coming out the engine. The coolant heater return line o-ring failed, and it took me a week to find a new one from Holden as I was also in iso cause of Covid. Was fun having the spicy cough. Sorted the car out, or so I thought. April brought me a surprise in the DAMN ENGINE TEMP RISING AGAIN. This was an at fault reason though. I thought it was the thermostat, as it got real hot when trying to use the climate control system. Turns out my thermo fans were not turning on, to which i thought was the fuses or the fans themselves weren't working. Silly me forgot to plug them back in... So I did and so far so good with my Calais (touch wood). Does need some more oil in the trans as on colder days you can feel slippage so I have that to do. But I am now so anxious about the engine temp, as I watch it all the time now and wait to see if the thermo fans kick in, which they do thankfully. Not to mention so many faults have happened so Its really got me uneasy with the car. I love the Calais, but man these last four months of nonstop issues has me questioning my own integrity with continued ownership haha.
My 2005 E320 CDI had EVERY single one of those EXACT same issues, in the same order (except for the coolant puking) in the last 8 months. Although, my transmission DID need a speed sensor and some kind of a plate-thingy. All of them have been fixed and it's still running nicely at 320,000 miles!
Funnily enough I have the opposite issue, I have a 2005 ford ranger that just won't die. This thing has seen hell but keeps chugging along like nothing happened. Love this damn thing to death.
ARE YOU INSANE? You can probably get DOUBLE what you paid for this!!! This dealer ROBBED YOU. The price of used cars has more than doubled in the last year.
@@Fattony6666 Caps lock is what we used before we had bold font. It is an accepted substitute for bold, ever since the days of the Smith-Corona. There's a huge difference between capitalizing PARTICULAR words, for EMPHASIS, and TYPING WITH CAPS LOCK ON LIKE A TOTAL DOOFUS. See? The reason the hate on caps lock came about is that (in the Commodore 64 era) programming was done in all caps. Once the nerdy programmers migrated to message boards, they typed like they programmed, because nerds aren't exactly the most "socially clued-in" people on Earth. So, someone had to explain to them that "all caps = bad." (As in, capitals, and nothing but. Not using it as a substitute for bold font.) By that same token, typing in 100% boldface is pretty cringe, too, no?
I've owned a W211 2.2 CDI from '03 , Avantgarde. All black, and it was the most beautiful, most comfortable, safest (in terms of chunkiness and its utter refusal to ever skid on a road) car I've ever driven. Such a beautiful experience, when it was working. I also developed coping mechanisms and had heavy anxiety whenever I had to drive it outside my city, and I experienced almost the same issues you did on mine. I had PTSD whenever I heard that "ping ping ping ping" error sound, and I would shit the chair only to relax because it was telling me that I hadn't put on my seatbelt. First time I got the brake error and I realized the car literally left me with no breaks going down a small hill, only to (through extensive troubleshooting) figure out it was the main battery in the back, which I had to get replaced, and later on the second battery in the front. Later on as I was driving, it left me stranded in the woods on the side of a highway as car was seemingly losing power (everything was turning on and off intermittently). What was happening is that, one of the main cables had a smaller auxiliary cable alongside it, and if it was sitting at an awkward angle it would disconnect the power, so I had to Macgyver that shit with a hairband and a pen to make sure that slim cable sat tightly, until I could properly service it. As someone else put it, it was the best worst car I ever owned, and I will miss it dearly forever.
Thank you for your advice and support of mental health. just this past week, you may have saved me and my pets... (pets because they really dig me) I'm grateful that you introduced on-going Easter-eggs. Thank you sir. I would greatly enjoy telling you how I took the bull by the horns. You are an honest brother. I changed my life this by hunting down supports. it was serendipity that I paused to view your cleverness. I'm grateful that I read the evident neon writing on the vice...lol thank you. One day, very soon, when I climb out of this hole, this year, I want to support you with at lease the purchase of at least one piece of your wares: Smoking is Cool
I got a similar story bought a 2006 dodge Dakota mint loved it and 3 days after i got it check engine came on 2 weeks later transmission went out fixed all problems then the PCM went out still drivible. Could not find the part no shop could. Then the brakes and transmission went out at the same time. Then finally took a it to a dealer bought a new car and when they said your good to go and gave me the keys i said cool and ran out as fast as i could. Sucks i dont have a truck anymore but wroth it cuase it gave me anxiety when i drove it.
"...Stuck in second gear..." reminds me of a song about an AMC Nash Rambler that goes: "hey buddy can you help me I can't get this car out of second gear"
Wow. That is scary to me. In Australia, most states include 3rd party personal insurance, which would give payments for this sort of accident, cover the cost of loss of work and a payout for the loss of arm etc etc. It's just scary to me that you need to crowdfund for something so basic.
Got my sbc fixed on my e500 wagon under warranty. They are so nice when they are running right. I love mine dearly, even with the blown air strut, that I fixed already.
Sounds exactly like my B6 Passat. Brilliant car to drive but it got to the stage my heart rate went up when I got in wondering whether it would start or not or whether I'd get some warning on the dash. It was the first car I sold for the sake of my health!!
