Owning a Mercedes-Benz is a nightmare. After four BMWs over 20 years, I made a monumental misstep when, on the spur of the moment and temporary insanity, I bought a new 2009 C300 Sport in November, 2009. I would soon discover that MBZ dealerships are staffed by arrogant idiots, both in sales and service.
The fact that they are speaking about the "second half of 2012" for an iPhone solution — potentially 15 months away — is mind-blowing. It's ignorant and beyond disrespectful to their customers. Their corporate role model appears to be Kodak who refused to acknowledge that digital was the future and film was about to be buried and are now paying the price — they're barely breathing. Unlike Kodak, Mercedes-Benz will survive, but they'll be damaged, as indeed they should be.
My solution? I got rid of the C300. I couldn't stand the car even though it had the right ingredients — black-on-black, aluminum trim, 18" AMG wheels, 7-speed transmission, 10" hi-res display, nav, voice command, 400W surround sound, etc.and it was in showroom condition after 18 months and 20,000 miles. Interestingly, the resale had dropped precipitously because, at least in Los Angeles, you can't drive a block without passing a dozen of them, and this is only because of their aggressive pricing and loading the cars with features to sell as many as possible to overcome their horrendous reputation with the previous C-class.
Instead, I bought a 2012 BMW 128i Coupe in July which is planets apart and since it was manufactured in Leipzig in May, it had the BMW apps and smartphone integration options. Sorry to say this to those of you stuck with your MBZ, but it's an iPhone on wheels with total integration. You can do Facebook, Twitter, iPhone calendar, Pandora, Internet radio, video, etc. on the widescreen display — all from the iPhone 4 in the snap-in adaptor which also improves call reception since it connects the phone to the shark fin antenna — and it's perfect, as is the car. And it's just the beginning with many more apps integration to follow. All this, and 4 years of zero cost maintenance.
I'll never again buy another Mercedes-Benz, even if I was kidnapped by heavily-armed militants with an unknown agenda and a penchant for pain. BMWs are breathtaking and the company is totally focused on incorporating the iPhone. And that's right now, not by the end of 2012. I lost $17,000 with the MBZ, but it was worth every penny getting rid of it and the company that made it and the people that sell and service it.
It's unlikely my experience is helpful to many of you but if it dissuades even one person from buying a Mercedes-Benz in favour of a BMW, it will have been time well spent.
Cheers!
