Mercedes Boondoggle

[sargentodiaz]

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An unlicensed and uninsured driver hit my wife from behind. She was driving a junker VW while my wife was in our brand new 2019 Nissan Titan with a bit over 2k miles. Our insurance is covering the vehicle damage so we took it to Service King. We also got a rental from Hertz.
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What an over-priced piece of garbage!
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It takes a week-long course just to figure out all the blasted gimmicks in it. Nothing is easy and the owner’s manual leaves much to be desired.
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Doesn’t explain how to adjust the electric interior rear view mirror.
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And rides like it’s on iron wheels! You feel every single crack and bump on the road.​

We can’t wait to get our truck back. It’s got lots of electric goodies too but they’re a whole lot easier to figure out.
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$52-$100k for one of those clunker Mercedes/Benz SUVs.
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I remember those wonderful big M/B sedans in Germany that were everywhere as taxis.
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[Tommy]

Yes!!!!

My frequent fly/drive days are well behind me now (praise the Lord), but my wife's younger sister is still a perpetual business traveler. After a particularly frustrating experience this past weekend, my wife called her sister and asked how she possibly manages car rentals with all of the confusing electronic clap-trap the new cars now have on them. Sis said that when she schedules a trip, she always reserves a specific make and model of vehicle with which she is already familiar. She also tries to schedule flights such that she is picking up her car during daylight hours.

I think rental companies pay more attention to large accounts than to individuals, but it may be worth a try. Demand something familiar.

Confusing changes to new car models certainly isn't new by any means, but it seems that in recent years the situation has gotten far worse.

:aargh:

 

[Manatee]

On one trip years ago when I was a business traveler, I arrived after dark, rented a car and in the dark I could not figure out the AC controls. It turned out that they were not working. I got a different car. Grrrrrr.

 

[Don M.]

We went to the big annual new car show in Kansas City, a couple of weeks ago, and browsed the new cars for 3 or 4 hours. It seemed to me that there was more emphasis on the "features and apps" than on things like reliability and performance. One should not need to study the owners manual for 2 hours before hitting the streets. When we left the show, I patted the fender on the Impala, and unless something major breaks, I put my "new car" desires back on the shelf.

 

[treeguy64]

MB's are overpriced pieces of junk, until you get into those that are priced into the exosphere. Yeah, very hard rides, no luxury feel, at all, on most models I test drove.