My problem with Mercedes is not actually the build quality, at least here in Europe. It’s the materials. I went inside a SL63 AMG and was surprised by the amount of hard plastic, piano black in the interior.
I still maintain that Mercedes cars sold in the US are far worse than those sold in Europe (I know for a fact they use different types of adhesives and plastic clips on some parts of the cars sold on some markets, while the clips are metal in Europe). I sat in a couple of these and went through the whole interior, and neither was nearly as bad as this. Drove a C class, same story, very minimal crackles (not squeaks) from the trim around the door knobs and seat controls and on the roof console, the rest was super solid. More importantly, nothing makes any noise while driving. If I can drive it on a typical central European city center cobblestone road and the interior is rock solid and silent, then it's good enough. The issue is not build quality, it's the materials, too many hard plastic parts and glossy stuff. It doesn't feel as expensive as it should feel.
@@derbigpr500 Im European and mercs are all, C to S absolute trash. Also yes build quality is an issue, design is an issue and materials is not an issue, its the placement, integration and design, they moved the hard plastics up, went too hard on the piano black trend. These interiors are ugly enough, they are also cheap and badly designed.
All of the luxury car companies have gotten so arrogant while the other manufacturers have stepped things up. Honda, Kia and Hyundai all seem solid build quality. The fit and finish and materials are important.
@@Joshtheweatherman wow! Glad to hear that Mercedes can go up to 400k miles! All these new ones start having problems real quick! You need to release car maintenance videos 😂
I still maintain that Mercedes cars sold in the US are far worse than those sold in Europe (I know for a fact they use different types of adhesives and plastic clips on some parts of the cars sold on some markets, while the clips are metal in Europe). I sat in a couple of these and went through the whole interior, and neither was nearly as bad as this. Drove a C class, same story, very minimal crackles (not squeaks) from the trim around the door knobs and seat controls and on the roof console, the rest was super solid. More importantly, nothing makes any noise while driving. If I can drive it on a typical central European city center cobblestone road and the interior is rock solid and silent, then it's good enough. The issue is not build quality, it's the materials, too many hard plastic parts and glossy stuff. It doesn't feel as expensive as it should feel.
Mercedes SUVs are built in America, so that would be the only reason. All other models are built on the same assembly lines as European models, so there should be no difference
@@the8419 All US models are built in Alabama except for the G. They are the same in the US as in Europe. They got cheaper materials this generation because (as admitted by the head product planner) their supply chain for this generation was set up during Covid when they mistakenly thought the market for luxury cars was going to crash.
@@the8419 you would have been correct 20 years ago. It appears they still make the E and S in Germany and South Africa as well. The C, CLA, and their derivatives are made in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Venice, Alabama factories. So I was wrong
lets just be honest. all companies are going down-hill in quality. Had to get rid of my 2014 328i as it finally croaked, I got a sick 2023 c43 AMG, but it just doesnt feel as solid as the F30 or W205, I mean it's nice and techie, and its still solid, but new BMW and mercedes kinda eh
I don’t know if they build it in the USA in different manufacturers because I did the squeak test a month ago in Europe on a dealership and it squeak at all
Can anyone cite a worse interior on a current car than the c/cle/glc? Yeah the build quality is bad even for a MB, but the materials are what get me. You can’t even make a case it’s better than a Nissan for half the price.
@@Sha-Ayo I don't have any experience with the new 214 e-class but know that it does use better (more soft-touch) materials rather than scratchy plastics. On the prior W213 gen e-class, the materials were pretty good if you got leather. The build quality is definitely far better than this but not perfect. It also depends on the individual car. Some are bad and others are good. This is based on my personal experience owning an E-coupe & my brother is a MB technician so I get to play with a bunch of cars when I see him at work. My E doesn't have many squeaks or flimsiness but has bad rattles over bumps from the window mechanisms and in the dash. My dad's car is an e300 and is solid as any car out there. We both have upgraded leather which also comes with better materials around the cabin. I have been in other E's that are pathetic.
Any Nissan for half the price has far worse build quality AND materials. Lol you’re starting to sound like a Mercedes hater/anti like the owner of the channel. Tho he DOES bring up some good points that I agree with even in his MB reviews, like the scourge that is piano black. Anyway, the only Nissans with interiors this good are also this expensive- high-trim Pathfinders and Armadas. Those are quite nice inside.
@@jaymum23 I get it - I am (or was) the biggest fanboy of Mercedes’ last gen cars and my whole family drives them. Conversely, I am Nissan’s biggest hater (along with all Stelantis brands). However, I was in my friend’s 2023 Sentra and the build quality is superior to the C-class. To be fair, thats one example and one trim level. But the Sentra has more soft-touch surfaces and neither of them use real metal or wood interior trim. Since the C class has piano black and shoddy build quality, I’d say it loses on quality and materials (not even considering the price). I will admit the C class has superior infotainment, cabin noise, and features - that’s where your money goes. Anyway, my next car will likely be the S580 (though I’m gonna wait to see if they get rid of the capacitive touch & piano black in the facelift).
@@tool8337 A lot of false statements to unpack here, no offense. First, I am a former Nissan fan turned hater, because they were so awful in the late Ghosn era. And I turned to Germans like MB, BMW and Audi for my car fix from that point. The C-class does have real wood or metal (I assume they still have aluminum and carbon fiber options?) on the main dash trim- the part that didn’t squeak in the video. I have not been in the new Sentra but there’s no way it has more soft touch than the C-class. I’m angry that Mercedes went hard touch on this lower surfaces, but I’ve been in an Altima and it has less soft touch than the C. There’s no way a Sentra has better materials than an Altima. Build quality really needs a direct comparison but considering yet again only the piano black and instrument/screen bezels squeaked, I highly doubt a Sentra is even as good, let alone better. I’ve said before- take the piano black away and a Mercedes (or any other German car) won’t squeak at all under pressure.
I recently had a 2015 ML350. It had awesome build quality except for the floor console. It was HORRIBLE!! Constantly squeaked while driving. I tried everything I could think of to quiet it, but nothing worked.
Mercedes has been bad in the interior department for a long while. I have a C216 2008 CL600 and they are some plastics that are creaky and brittle. My 2004 VW Phaeton W12 has way better interior build quality and feels way more solid.
Any mercedes built after 2008 is basically a big turd. Imagine spending 60 bands on such a car. Id rather buy a volkwagen of an audi their build quality is pretty solid
Id be more precise anything after 2017, or more known as the facelift for the c class and s class is basically a turd, less leather more plastic. Im speaking from experience as my mom drives a c400 2016 and my dad has 2021 c300 convertible, and there is a noticable difference in build quality. My uncle has a w212r e550 and build quality is top notch, not even the current gen s class is near
@@martinsokol3527 that’s a bad take. Last gen used better materials but was the same level of creaky. The W204 was pretty solid for its era but it was pretty barren compared to contemporary cars.
Environmentally friendly materials (planned obsolescence)= corrosion and plastic breakdown, which means electrical problems and errors. Using soy-based plastic pipes for electric wire harness = rodents love them 😂, which means electrical hazard for EQS and EQE. To the MB design team: What have you been smoking? 😮 No buttons = budget cutting! If you are not luxury brand, that’s kind of OK, but you are, or, are you?
Here in Spain I test drove a GLE and it doesn’t rattle as much as the ones in the US. Even though both are built in the US lol. Still, BMW makes more solid cars even here.
@@LivingTheDream77 and why i should that? I buy a car to drive not to press everywhere hard enough untill it squeezes. Thats not the scope of car engineering. They dont ask the question: ladys and gentleman how we should design and produce the car so it doesent squeezes doesent matter how hard some one pushes...
My problem with Mercedes is not actually the build quality, at least here in Europe. It’s the materials.
I went inside a SL63 AMG and was surprised by the amount of hard plastic, piano black in the interior.
Piano black is the worst material used across the industry. It’s a plague.
Its both.
Totally agree with the "fanatics" who cannot cope.
I still maintain that Mercedes cars sold in the US are far worse than those sold in Europe (I know for a fact they use different types of adhesives and plastic clips on some parts of the cars sold on some markets, while the clips are metal in Europe). I sat in a couple of these and went through the whole interior, and neither was nearly as bad as this. Drove a C class, same story, very minimal crackles (not squeaks) from the trim around the door knobs and seat controls and on the roof console, the rest was super solid. More importantly, nothing makes any noise while driving. If I can drive it on a typical central European city center cobblestone road and the interior is rock solid and silent, then it's good enough.
The issue is not build quality, it's the materials, too many hard plastic parts and glossy stuff. It doesn't feel as expensive as it should feel.
@@derbigpr500 Im European and mercs are all, C to S absolute trash. Also yes build quality is an issue, design is an issue and materials is not an issue, its the placement, integration and design, they moved the hard plastics up, went too hard on the piano black trend. These interiors are ugly enough, they are also cheap and badly designed.
3:14 delicious crunch yumm!
All of the luxury car companies have gotten so arrogant while the other manufacturers have stepped things up. Honda, Kia and Hyundai all seem solid build quality.
The fit and finish and materials are important.
Can tell these are cheaply made, almost Chinesium levels of tackiness too. That door thunk was quite weak and low quality.
My 400 thousand mile 2005 W203 doesn't make this much noise.😂
2008 was the last good year for Mercedes. Same with GM. Quality of cars have gone downhill since the recession.
The W203’s were the best Mercedes imo. My E500 has almost 300k miles on it, runs like it’s brand new! No major or expensive repairs done to it.
@@Joshtheweatherman wow! Glad to hear that Mercedes can go up to 400k miles! All these new ones start having problems real quick! You need to release car maintenance videos 😂
I still maintain that Mercedes cars sold in the US are far worse than those sold in Europe (I know for a fact they use different types of adhesives and plastic clips on some parts of the cars sold on some markets, while the clips are metal in Europe). I sat in a couple of these and went through the whole interior, and neither was nearly as bad as this. Drove a C class, same story, very minimal crackles (not squeaks) from the trim around the door knobs and seat controls and on the roof console, the rest was super solid. More importantly, nothing makes any noise while driving. If I can drive it on a typical central European city center cobblestone road and the interior is rock solid and silent, then it's good enough.
The issue is not build quality, it's the materials, too many hard plastic parts and glossy stuff. It doesn't feel as expensive as it should feel.
Mercedes SUVs are built in America, so that would be the only reason. All other models are built on the same assembly lines as European models, so there should be no difference
@@the8419 All US models are built in Alabama except for the G. They are the same in the US as in Europe. They got cheaper materials this generation because (as admitted by the head product planner) their supply chain for this generation was set up during Covid when they mistakenly thought the market for luxury cars was going to crash.
@@tool8337 No, only the SUVs are built in the US. It’s been this way since the ML was introduced in the 90s
@@the8419 you would have been correct 20 years ago. It appears they still make the E and S in Germany and South Africa as well. The C, CLA, and their derivatives are made in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Venice, Alabama factories. So I was wrong
When is the W140 video coming?
Make video about your CLS, it will be interesting to compare old Mercedes quality and new
I did
At least the GLC has a stitched dashboard and door panels unlike the new X3 and Q5
New X3's interior layout is extremely minimalistic
lets just be honest. all companies are going down-hill in quality. Had to get rid of my 2014 328i as it finally croaked, I got a sick 2023 c43 AMG, but it just doesnt feel as solid as the F30 or W205, I mean it's nice and techie, and its still solid, but new BMW and mercedes kinda eh
Mazda3 has stitched dash and door panels.
Is the central screen tilted to the right?? As in not perfectly vertical?
It s oriented to the driver.
I don’t know if they build it in the USA in different manufacturers because I did the squeak test a month ago in Europe on a dealership and it squeak at all
Squeeze in 10 years is going to be crazy
If you think the previous generation of mercedes were bad, these newer generations are even worse
This is why Mercedes Benz should go out of business.
That’s quite the claim
yea don't think that will ever happen
Can anyone cite a worse interior on a current car than the c/cle/glc? Yeah the build quality is bad even for a MB, but the materials are what get me. You can’t even make a case it’s better than a Nissan for half the price.
The e class is bad I don't know if it's as bad
@@Sha-Ayo I don't have any experience with the new 214 e-class but know that it does use better (more soft-touch) materials rather than scratchy plastics. On the prior W213 gen e-class, the materials were pretty good if you got leather. The build quality is definitely far better than this but not perfect. It also depends on the individual car. Some are bad and others are good. This is based on my personal experience owning an E-coupe & my brother is a MB technician so I get to play with a bunch of cars when I see him at work. My E doesn't have many squeaks or flimsiness but has bad rattles over bumps from the window mechanisms and in the dash. My dad's car is an e300 and is solid as any car out there. We both have upgraded leather which also comes with better materials around the cabin. I have been in other E's that are pathetic.
Any Nissan for half the price has far worse build quality AND materials. Lol you’re starting to sound like a Mercedes hater/anti like the owner of the channel. Tho he DOES bring up some good points that I agree with even in his MB reviews, like the scourge that is piano black. Anyway, the only Nissans with interiors this good are also this expensive- high-trim Pathfinders and Armadas. Those are quite nice inside.
@@jaymum23 I get it - I am (or was) the biggest fanboy of Mercedes’ last gen cars and my whole family drives them. Conversely, I am Nissan’s biggest hater (along with all Stelantis brands). However, I was in my friend’s 2023 Sentra and the build quality is superior to the C-class. To be fair, thats one example and one trim level. But the Sentra has more soft-touch surfaces and neither of them use real metal or wood interior trim. Since the C class has piano black and shoddy build quality, I’d say it loses on quality and materials (not even considering the price). I will admit the C class has superior infotainment, cabin noise, and features - that’s where your money goes. Anyway, my next car will likely be the S580 (though I’m gonna wait to see if they get rid of the capacitive touch & piano black in the facelift).
@@tool8337 A lot of false statements to unpack here, no offense. First, I am a former Nissan fan turned hater, because they were so awful in the late Ghosn era. And I turned to Germans like MB, BMW and Audi for my car fix from that point. The C-class does have real wood or metal (I assume they still have aluminum and carbon fiber options?) on the main dash trim- the part that didn’t squeak in the video. I have not been in the new Sentra but there’s no way it has more soft touch than the C-class. I’m angry that Mercedes went hard touch on this lower surfaces, but I’ve been in an Altima and it has less soft touch than the C. There’s no way a Sentra has better materials than an Altima. Build quality really needs a direct comparison but considering yet again only the piano black and instrument/screen bezels squeaked, I highly doubt a Sentra is even as good, let alone better. I’ve said before- take the piano black away and a Mercedes (or any other German car) won’t squeak at all under pressure.
Well said 💯
Are you back working for a 'lux dealership'?
Try new GLE 2023 facelift . Its solid
What's the problem with a fake leather dash? its not a dead cow and you will touch it twice during owning it.
Only the piano on the doors and the plastic behind the steering wheel that creaked the rest were solid
I recently had a 2015 ML350. It had awesome build quality except for the floor console. It was HORRIBLE!! Constantly squeaked while driving. I tried everything I could think of to quiet it, but nothing worked.
Ford vibes.
Mercedes has been bad in the interior department for a long while. I have a C216 2008 CL600 and they are some plastics that are creaky and brittle. My 2004 VW Phaeton W12 has way better interior build quality and feels way more solid.
Those “floating” design looking interior door handles look weak and ugly.
I personally rate it 7/10 for fit and finish and 8/10 for material because of the only piano that creaked
Any mercedes built after 2008 is basically a big turd. Imagine spending 60 bands on such a car. Id rather buy a volkwagen of an audi their build quality is pretty solid
Agreed. I have a 2004 E500 with almost 300k miles, and no expensive repairs done to it. It’s a gas hog, but it just keeps going
to be more precise after 2015 - 2016 at the end production of the w212 E class (also 2013 for last w221) every thing is seriously a garbage
Id be more precise anything after 2017, or more known as the facelift for the c class and s class is basically a turd, less leather more plastic. Im speaking from experience as my mom drives a c400 2016 and my dad has 2021 c300 convertible, and there is a noticable difference in build quality. My uncle has a w212r e550 and build quality is top notch, not even the current gen s class is near
Che merdx😂😂😂
Lexus>>>>mercedes
To be fair, this isn't that bad. It's improved compared to previous gen.
@@martinsokol3527 that’s a bad take. Last gen used better materials but was the same level of creaky. The W204 was pretty solid for its era but it was pretty barren compared to contemporary cars.
These cars are junk
Environmentally friendly materials (planned obsolescence)= corrosion and plastic breakdown, which means electrical problems and errors. Using soy-based plastic pipes for electric wire harness = rodents love them 😂, which means electrical hazard for EQS and EQE. To the MB design team: What have you been smoking? 😮 No buttons = budget cutting! If you are not luxury brand, that’s kind of OK, but you are, or, are you?
Garbage overrated…
Not every one is the same. I checked in germany several mercedes cars no squeezing at all.
Here in Spain I test drove a GLE and it doesn’t rattle as much as the ones in the US. Even though both are built in the US lol.
Still, BMW makes more solid cars even here.
You are not pressing hard enough.
@@LivingTheDream77 and why i should that? I buy a car to drive not to press everywhere hard enough untill it squeezes. Thats not the scope of car engineering. They dont ask the question: ladys and gentleman how we should design and produce the car so it doesent squeezes doesent matter how hard some one pushes...
@@oxidalpha6350They squeak in Germany too, MB is very low quality nowadays.
@@Zero4Infinitives checked them at mercedes. Eqs, c class, cla, new e class. No problem at all
Squeezing means not low quality.