Standards are Slipping

Quality suffers as production increases

By PH Staff / Friday, 22 November 2002 / Loading comments

The quality of Mercedes cars is in question after a report by an American consumer magazine failed to recommend any Mercedes cars. BMW didn't fare well either with only the 5 series making it to the recommended list. The X5 was ranked amongst the least reliable in class. Keeping the X5 company with similar results for unreliability were the Golf, Jetta, Jaguar X-Type and S-Type.

J.D. Powers' surveys in the US show that the non-luxury brands are making very strong progress in improving the quality of their products whilst those that used to trade on their reputation for quality and reliability are now flagging as they increase production numbers.

In the U.S. Powers survey Mercedes was shown to be receiving an increased number of complaints about fit, finish and minor controls and area it used to pride itself on. The company was ranked 13th amongst all manufacturers tying with Chevrolet.