Overview & Reviews

"Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz?" That's the opening line of "Mercedes-Benz," a song most famously recorded by singer Janis Joplin in the early 1970s. The tune gently poked fun at materialism and our desire for the finer things in life. It's fitting that the renowned German marque figures prominently in the lyric. Mercedes-Benz has long been known for crafting vehicles that emphasize luxury and refinement. For many, its vehicles are sleek symbols of status, success and good taste.

In January of 1886, Karl Benz unveiled the world's first automobile, a three-wheeled vehicle dubbed the Benz Patent Motor Car. A few months later, Gottlieb Daimler and his chief engineer Wilhelm Maybach rolled out a four-wheeled vehicle powered by his Daimler engine. The first Mercedes was crafted in 1901, shortly after Daimler's death. Built by Maybach, the car was commissioned by Emil Jellinek, one of Daimler's primary distributors, and was ultimately named after Jellinek's daughter, Mercedes.

In 1926, the companies founded by Daimler and Benz merged to form Daimler-Benz AG, and the Mercedes-Benz brand was born. The company's insignia was a three-pointed star wreathed in a laurel; the star was dreamed up by Daimler years earlier, and its three points signified the fact that his engines were used in vehicles that traveled land, air and sea.

Right from the start, the Mercedes-Benz name was synonymous with automotive excellence. One of the automaker's earliest vehicles, the 1931 Mercedes-Benz 170, distinguished itself as the world's first production car to offer a technology that was nothing short of extraordinary for the day: four-wheel independent suspension. The '30s and '40s saw Mercedes establishing itself as the brand of choice for car buyers seeking the ultimate in luxury, thanks to coveted cruisers like the 380 and 540K.

The 1950s witnessed the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL "Gullwing," a sports car that has been described as being the world's first supercar. With its dramatic styling and race-bred technology, the 300 SL reigns today as a classic coveted by collectors worldwide. The decade also saw Daimler-Benz making strides in the area of safety technology. The company's Mercedes-Benz 220 sedans were the first vehicles to incorporate its patented "crumple zone" body design, created to absorb impact in the event of a crash.

In 1963, the company cemented its reputation as the home of automotive luxury with the launch of the Mercedes-Benz 600. The elegant, luxurious sedan was also available as a limousine and featured an ahead-of-its-time air suspension system and a V8 engine that boasted 300 horsepower. The decade also saw the launch of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3. This full-size sedan went from zero to 60 in under seven seconds, distinguishing itself as the quickest luxury car is its day.

The 1970s saw the birth of the brand's storied S-Class line of vehicles, opulent sedans and coupes that coddled passengers with powerful engines and a long list of luxury features. The decade also saw Mercedes continuing on the cutting edge of safety technology, by being the first to offer antilock brakes in its vehicles.

Daimler-Benz's safety advancements continued in the 1980s. Its cars were the first to offer airbags and traction control. The manufacturer also raised the bar in terms of ride comfort and handling when it introduced multilink rear suspension. The technology debuted on the compact Mercedes-Benz 190 E, and it remains a vital component of the company's chassis engineering to this day.

Mercedes-Benz vehicles got an extra dose of power and performance in the 1990s, thanks to the manufacturer's partnership with AMG, a performance and tuning shop that was eventually purchased by the company to help produce ultra-high-performance versions of some of its vehicles. The first AMG model offered in the U.S. was the sporty C36 AMG in 1995; since then, Mercedes has gone on to offer an AMG-tuned version of almost all of its vehicles.

The company's current lineup is the most comprehensive in its history. With a variety of sedans, coupes, SUVs and roadsters filling Mercedes showrooms, it seems like the only thing missing is a pickup truck. Surely, the fact that Janis Joplin's song holds as much relevance today as it did four decades ago is a strong indicator that the brand's premier status is still very much intact.

User Reviews:

• 

  Worst car ever!!!!!!!!!!! - 2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class
  By mp - September 27 - 4:56 pm

  Great service at the dealer, got hypnotized by the Mercedez salesman. Got the car, big disappointment. The fuel economy is the worst, no leg room in the rear seat. Cant go on a long trip with this car. You have to press brakes long before stopping. No luxurious at all. Front seats very small. 6 male wont fit. This is not a suv feels, this is like a little car, just to go and buy groceries. Just because it got the Mercedez emblem, thats not mean is driven and feel like a Mercedez. Doesnt come with seat warmers, to open the car youll would have to open all the locks, not just the drivers. Youll have to open the locks, when in vehicle to release passengers in back seat. Big mistake.

• 

  maintenance nightmare - 2002 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By Wheres the Quality - August 21 - 10:00 am

  Our ML320 has been in the shop 20 different times. The last time was to replace the rings. It was burning 2 quarts of oil in under 2000 miles.

• 

  Mercedes, now: bad cars, bad service. Take it from a customer of 15+ years - 2013 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
  By tab10 - July 20 - 11:55 pm

  Until recently I had a MBZ C230 and E350. After 5+ years of owning my C230 I started having problems with it. I am not the kind of person who complains after owning a car for more than 5 years. This latest incident, though, with a newly leased 2013 E350 with bells and whistles has actually ended my relationship with Mercedes for good. I have already traded in my C230 for another car from another luxury car maker, I intend to trade in my E350 in due time. The 3 year lease on the E350 has more than 2 years left on it (so the incident described below happened with a car that is only ~10 months old).See below.See "suggested improvements" for incident

• 

  Poor quality SUV - 2000 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By ionel - July 4 - 10:00 am

  - Check engine light on all the time. The dealer can not "duplicate the problem" - Engine stall few times - Driver window sitch do not work - Low gas millage

• 

  Junk - 1999 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By cthorin - June 23 - 2:26 pm

  Everything starts falling apart at about 80k. Weve spent well over $2k in repairs in the last 6 mo. and I was just told that weve got an entire page of other issues that need to be addressed as I had it at the dealer for our third recall! Last recall we paid $1200 in repairs before they issued the recall. After telling us theyd reimburse us we had to wait 6 months before Mercedes did so, and only after we had to start legal action. MB is not even close to being in Toyotas league. Its disgraceful what they charge for these vehicles/service and unfair that only a dealer can check fluids. MB service shouldnt be required to keep the vehicle from repairs.

• 

  I want to trade. - 2005 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By Disappointed - June 18 - 9:50 pm

  I have owned my new Mercedes-Benz now for 6 months and I cant wait to trade it. I wanted to trade it the first week after I purchased it but I was encouraged to drive it more because I "was just probably not accustomed to driving a German-engineered car." I developed calluses on my hands because the steering is so tight. The longer I keep the car the smaller the interior seems to get. I dont get the benefit of the instrumentation technology and upgraded sound system because it is too complicated for me to use. Everything stains the upgraded leather interior. I have already had the seating re-dyed. I hope this has been my first and last poor car purchase decision.

• 

  Last German Car... - 2011 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
  By freddys555 - June 13 - 5:10 pm

  I have been a long time driver of German makes. From BMWs to Mercedes, I have owned over 6 German made cars. I have never been more disappointed in the quality and reliability. Most recently, my 2011 S-Class Mercedes. Although new with 8,900 miles, I have been back to the dealer 5 times for A/C malfunction, check-engine light, GPS malfunction and much more. No matter how polite the service department may be, this is the last German car I will ever purchase again. I am disappointed as I will miss the exceptional performance but I do not have the time nor patience to keep bringing back my German cars to the dealer. My wife has a Lexus 460 with over 48K with absolute "zero" problems...

• 

  I cant even Lie about it.. - 2002 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By Mike in VA - June 11 - 6:40 am

  To be perfectly honest I was going to leave an excellent review, Why? Because I need to get rid of this absolute failure of a car! But I thought and came to the conclusion: I cant even lie about this piece of junk, I wouldnt be able to sleep at night. I bought it used in 04 with 22K, still under warranty, within 2 months the transmission went out, they replaced free with a new one, not too bad right? WRONG! then (no warranty) due to the tranny problem (or visa versa) the torque converter and radiator went bad: $3500 2 catalepsy converters: $1100 ea 2 alternators: $1000ea 2 mass airflow intakes: $900ea 5 SETS OF TIRES AND 4 BREAK JOBS (with rotors), they dont give us enough room to list all failures

• 

  A Fluke Death? - 2002 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By Wanda M. - June 9 - 10:18 pm

  Original owner. The dealer check up before the trip was $948. At 58,000 miles the transmission/torque converter has crashed suddenly without warning! Stranded 2,000 miles from home. The BB value is $2,500 to $4,000 ,but the repairs are going to be $7,500. Without the repairs the car is just scrap parts or a donation to a schools automotive program.

• 

  BUY A JAPANEESE CAR, NOT MERCEDES - 2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By mrios - June 9 - 2:00 am

  I must admit this is by far the worst car I have ever bought. I must add that the Mercedes-Benz customer service depertment in New Jersey is not much better, actually they need to call it "Cusatomer Avoidance". Very poor attention to customer needs. My engines top end (Head) blew at about 13,000 miles. After extensive research on MY part, I found MB knew anout the issue and sent no service bulletine to the field nor was a recall deployed to get these bad engines back. My car has been in the shop for 68 days now and I still have no date at to getting it back. My suggestion to a possible buyer of a C230, is to go buy a Japaneese car!!!!! I wish I had....