German workers sabotage Mercedes-Benz production lines W204 related

CarGuru · 11-17-2008, 09:22 PM

Is anyone else ticked off right now

So far our car has been great we've had it well over a year now and have put more than 20K miles YTD but now I'm wondering about what could possibly be wrong down the road.....

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/17/w...ke-mercedes-fo

Quote:

A master mechanic and two clerks, among others, are being investigated for intentionally sabotaging Mercedes cars being built at the Sindelfingen factory. Allegedly, repair shops in the area that weren't part of the Daimler corporation were bribing workers with gifts, trips, and cash to alter the cars so that the repair shops could get the contracts to fix them.

The sabotage included scratching the cars, loosening clamps and bolts, as well as -- incredibly -- putting foreign liquids into brake lines. According to Suddeutsche Zeitung, the cars affected were C-, E-, and S-Class. The Stuttgart prosecutor's office estimates the costs to Mercedes in the many of millions, but the greatest irony is this: the workers under investigation were part of the quality control department.

Lets discuss....

-Ryan

nyca · 11-17-2008, 09:41 PM

Sounds like something the UAW at GM would do.

My car is 2 months old and OK so far, although I will check a few things under the hood after reading this!

joshg1001 · 11-17-2008, 10:20 PM

omg...i want extra warranty coverage for free!

AMGTestDriverNJ · 11-17-2008, 10:39 PM

wow I wonder how they are going to deal with this? Doesn't the VIN number denote build location? Anybody know more about that?

desi_benz · 11-17-2008, 10:45 PM

shti we got ****kedd , they owe us a free car if our car gets ****ked

joshg1001 · 11-17-2008, 10:57 PM

yes the vin number states where its built. but also, the door sticker says where its made as well.

nyca · 11-17-2008, 11:27 PM

the article seems to imply that local german repair shops wanted the work to fix them, so I doubt these were cars exported to the US.

theinmoe · 11-17-2008, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AMGTestDriverNJ

wow I wonder how they are going to deal with this? Doesn't the VIN number denote build location? Anybody know more about that?

Vin 11th digit, F from Germany, R from South Africa.

mac911 · 11-18-2008, 12:11 AM

USA cars come from Bremen, Germany and South Africa. USA C-Classes are *NOT* from the plant in question.

joshg1001 · 11-18-2008, 12:13 AM

W203 cars came from bremen. W204 comes from sindelfingen...

thats what i thougt

mac911 · 11-18-2008, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joshg1001

W203 cars came from bremen. W204 comes from sindelfingen...

thats what i thougt

No, I can assure you.

W204s in the USA come from Bremen (F plant code) or R plant code (South Africa).

RLE · 11-18-2008, 01:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AMGTestDriverNJ

wow I wonder how they are going to deal with this? Doesn't the VIN number denote build location? Anybody know more about that?

We have already discussed that to death in MANY posts. My car was built in Bremen.

webada · 11-18-2008, 11:52 AM

Sindelfingen today, who knows what goes on in other german factories. @#$*@&

bigdeewash · 11-18-2008, 06:25 PM

I just got my vin# on the 10th, so i'm hoping they re-inspect my car befoer i pick it up on 1 Dec; but it's only a 2hr drive to the factory for me so i won't have a problem hunting down the responsible parties

sleewell · 11-18-2008, 06:55 PM

this is surely embarrassing for MB. greed is indeed a deadly sin. wonder if not having a job and that reputation that will follow them around for the rest of their lives was worth the bribes??

are all the cars built at that factory staying in that area or did they mess up a bunch of cars that were shipped to places that would never benefit from those bribes?

11-17-2008, 10:39 PM	#4
AMGTestDriverNJ Super Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Northern Bergen County, New Jersey Posts: 831	wow I wonder how they are going to deal with this? Doesn't the VIN number denote build location? Anybody know more about that? __________________ 08 C300 4Matic Sport White/Pano - black accented sport grill, black lower grills, clear corner markers, black tail covers, black license plate strip, removed chrome strips, black C63 Diffuser, SLK55 AMG quad tips, O.E.M lip spoiler, black badges (all) D2 Racing BBKit w/black calipers (not installed yet), 030 Perf. Pack AMG reps 19" 03 CL55 AMG Black/Charcoal - Nav-TV (IPod Video), 65 AMG reps 19", clear corner markers 08 E350 4Matic Sport White/Pano - BRABUS

11-18-2008, 12:11 AM	#9
mac911 Super Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 603	USA cars come from Bremen, Germany and South Africa. USA C-Classes are NOT from the plant in question. __________________ 2008 C300 Sport Palladium Silver, P2 Package, Auto

11-18-2008, 06:25 PM	#14
bigdeewash Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Kaiserslautern, Germany Posts: 14	I just got my vin# on the 10th, so i'm hoping they re-inspect my car befoer i pick it up on 1 Dec; but it's only a 2hr drive to the factory for me so i won't have a problem hunting down the responsible parties __________________ 09 C350 Sport 97 Cadi Eldorado 08 Hayabusa 97 TL100S

11-18-2008, 06:55 PM	#15
sleewell Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Costa Mesa, CA Posts: 298	this is surely embarrassing for MB. greed is indeed a deadly sin. wonder if not having a job and that reputation that will follow them around for the rest of their lives was worth the bribes?? are all the cars built at that factory staying in that area or did they mess up a bunch of cars that were shipped to places that would never benefit from those bribes? __________________ current mods: Kenwood DNX 5120 Alpine PKG-RSE2 more to come...

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11-17-2008, 09:41 PM	#2
nyca Super Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 791	Sounds like something the UAW at GM would do. My car is 2 months old and OK so far, although I will check a few things under the hood after reading this!

11-17-2008, 10:20 PM	#3
joshg1001 Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 205	omg...i want extra warranty coverage for free!

11-17-2008, 10:45 PM	#5
desi_benz Almost a Member! Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 63	shti we got **kedd , they owe us a free car if our car gets **ked

11-17-2008, 10:57 PM	#6
joshg1001 Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 205	yes the vin number states where its built. but also, the door sticker says where its made as well.

11-17-2008, 11:27 PM	#7
nyca Super Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 791	the article seems to imply that local german repair shops wanted the work to fix them, so I doubt these were cars exported to the US.

11-18-2008, 12:13 AM	#10
joshg1001 Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 205	W203 cars came from bremen. W204 comes from sindelfingen... thats what i thougt

11-18-2008, 11:52 AM	#13
webada Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: nyc Posts: 446	Sindelfingen today, who knows what goes on in other german factories. @#$*@&