difference between both 202s...

[iced]

I-what's the difference between the american and the german made w202?
in terms of:
-body
-mecanics
-chassis and tranny, height off the ground, weight...
-nething else u can think of..

II-y is german more expensive and y do pple say it's better?:Ponder:

[69chevelle]

My bad on the switches, guages, and wiper blades..
I was thinking of the w203's that were set up like that.

[Abuimad]

well in the body there is no difference other than the german comes with flasher lights onthe fender the americans dont
mechanics the german come lower for some reason and the american cars come with a nasty exhaust thats soo clogged up wich if ur in lebanon u remove the sec u get ur car (to hell with the cat)
also the american comes with different cluster..more options and beige interior as for the german comes with a normal km/h cluster and u rarely find a used 202 crammed with all the options..and they dont have beige interior (or i never saw ne)
plus some more small stuff like different light configurations etc

[Abuimad]

Originally posted by 69chevelle
German is better because the window switches are on the center console instead of the door panel. German is better because there is only one windshield wiper blade instead of two. German is better because the cluster guages are made by VDO.

???? my american spec car has everything u just mentioned ?

[iced]

lol
to 69chevelle
man r u sure? coz most of the americans i saw also have 1
windshield wiper blade
and as for window switches and gauges they're not factors that increase prices, right?

and is it true that the americans comes with 2 oxygen sesors instead of 1? my friend has an american slk and has 2 sensors, (he knows bcoz he changed them)

r the trannies, the spings n shocks, the wiring, the piping all the same?

[stox]

I thought all W202's were made in Germany.

[Sulaco]

I know my 94's instrument cluster is VDO, my window switches are in the center console, and only has one wiper blade. So are all American 202's (pre and post update). American cars also came with much higher standard options. For instance, there was never a 202 sent to America without the digital automatic climate control, dual front airbags, etc. And on every C280/36/43 leather and premium audio were standard.

The exhaust on the American 202's are so "terrible" because it's the law here. They still make original Volkswagens down in Mexico, but it's illegal to try and import one into America (doesn't pass emissions test, and mostly because it doesn't pass safety requirements).

Lesson #1 if you want to make a car outside and import it to the U.S.: Make sure it stands up to federal safety and emissions requirements.

[Abuimad]

yeah the emisson regulations in the states are pretty tough, but i know for a fact that the american spect cars have the best options in my quest for a car i never saw a fully loaded german/european c230...

[JOESID]

He think he may have been comparing German cars to American cars in general.

[Abuimad]

Originally posted by iced

II-y is german more expensive and y do pple say it's better?:Ponder: [/B]

i think its a lebaneese thing, since someparts are different than the german and the mechanics here dont have them, other than thats its all the same

plus i believe that both cars are made in germany i mean mine is "american" but its in specifications only everything is made in germany

[rollinrealbig]

202 are all made in germany, but when they import them to the US they make slight modifications to meet standards (smog, collision, safty belts ect.)

as far as windsheild wipers and switches - im in the US, I have 1 windsheild wiper, switches in the middle (around my shifter), and the US 202's have 2 oxygen sensors (o2 sensors) and thats for sure because my dad had to change them before on our older 202 (you need a special socket to remove them)

BUT i think the "ML" MB was manufactured around NY area somewhere by Chrysler because as we all know Chrysler now owns MB.

and if you want to make sure that your car is GERMAN either check the tags before you buy it, OR make sure its a REAL AMG edition because AMG's are still being made in Germany!

Yes there is a differance in quality between the US version of the MB and the German version, just imagine your mercedes having the same quality as a 90's Chrysler (always have tranny probs, leaks, everywhere and makes weird noises)

[iced]

JOESID said:

He think he may have been comparing German cars to American cars in general
if ur talking about me, i did say difference between 202, i dt mean american and european cars in general.

rollinrealbig
i'm sure about the ML being produced in us, i have an article that says it in my textbook.

i have a german version car,i'm sure bcoz of 2 things...
1-it came with its german brief
2-the licence plate on the back is rectangular and not almost squared like all american licence plates (few pple notice that)

rollinrealbig said:

Yes there is a differance in quality between the US version of the MB and the German version
can u plz explain that more man?

1 last question: if the exhaust system is bad in the american version of the car, does this mean that generally, german version stock 202s perform better than americans?

[Abuimad]

ml i think is made in alabama..i think, but either way the parts are all german....(or major parts that is) the alabama plant is more like an assembly line not a production plant..
so the quality must be relatively the same

[Sulaco]

Originally posted by rollinrealbig
as we all know Chrysler now owns MB.



Yes there is a differance in quality between the US version of the MB and the German version, just imagine your mercedes having the same quality as a 90's Chrysler (always have tranny probs, leaks, everywhere and makes weird noises)

Technically, they "merged." 2 companies became one. But if you had to say one company owned the other, it's definitely the other way around: MB owns Chrysler. Chrysler was actually a very "small" car company (in comparison to Ford and GM).

The difference in build quality of the American cars vs. the German cars is nearly none. My car was built/assembled in Stuttgart, the exact same factory as all 202's. The automatic tranny in pre-update 202's is the same 4spd vacuum controlled tranny that is available in all pre-update 202's. Only in america, that tranny is standard. Elsewhere, it is an extra option. Same goes for post-update (97+) cars.

[rollinrealbig]

Originally posted by iced
JOESID said:

if ur talking about me, i did say difference between 202, i dt mean american and european cars in general.

rollinrealbig
i'm sure about the ML being produced in us, i have an article that says it in my textbook.

i have a german version car,i'm sure bcoz of 2 things...
1-it came with its german brief
2-the licence plate on the back is rectangular and not almost squared like all american licence plates (few pple notice that)

rollinrealbig said:

can u plz explain that more man?

1 last question: if the exhaust system is bad in the american version of the car, does this mean that generally, german version stock 202s perform better than americans?


yesss the ML is made in the US (or at least the US version) BUT not the AMG ML55 - those are pure german.

as far as exhaust goes, US version of the exhaust system is not worse, it just has fewer emmisions, yea im guessing german 202 exhaust systems are a little bit more performace but im not really sure on that.

yes ive noticed the german trunk lids - I like them alot better then the US ones! overall i think german lisence plates look better then the US ones.


quality differance ?

the story is, before me and my dad found out about the ML being made in the US, we had many ML's going in the shop with problems like electrical, oil leaking and tranny doing weird things. just not the typical MB problems you would see on german made MB's. one day I had to reset the "check engine" light on al ML, and wasnt really sure of the year it was made (the diognostic scanner needs to know the year of the car) and found out that it said manufactured by US (something like that) and i was like "wow"!

you can even ask an MB dealer, (an honest mechnic) and they will tell you that the ML (Non-AMG) does tend to have more problems then the rest of the german made MB's.

Of-coarse the dealer himself isnt going to say that because all they want to do is sell the damn car.

[rollinrealbig]

Originally posted by Abuimad
ml i think is made in alabama..i think, but either way the parts are all german....(or major parts that is) the alabama plant is more like an assembly line not a production plant..
so the quality must be relatively the same


yea US doesnt "make" the ML, they assemble it.

as far as german parts - yea the parts are german, but it does make a differnce when germany assembles MB and when US does.

I dont really understand it myself, but there is a difference.

[Renn 208]

This thread is rife with false statements, and it will take me some time to rebutt each statement.


At this point, all I would like to ask is, if you do not know something for certain and can not point to something in real life to back up your statement. Please do not post! This is not "two lies and a truth", and mixing both factual information and uninformed guesses only makes it more difficult for the end reader to figure out what's real and what isn't.

False assumptions do nothing for the community, and spreading lies about differences or origins of vehicles does not help either.

Rather than take the time to point out and reference why certain statements in this thread are completely false, I'm inclined simply to delete the fluff.

Also, if a member of this board makes it a regular occurance to blatently post hearsay and myths as truths. I'll simply suspend your ability to post.

If you want to take this time to edit your posts and separate out what you know and can prove to be fact, vs. your own "guess" of what may be true, I'll give it 48 hours. After that, I will simply delete.

The original poster wants to find out what the differences are between a German Market Produced w202, and an American Market w202. And we owe it to them to filter out fluff from fact.

If you do not have first hand experience with both German market produced w202s and American market produced w202 STFU! Just because you read(misread) something, somehwere on the Internet does not mean you know all of the pertinent facts.

Otherwise, we'll have people on here looking for stupid things such as "Euro-spec" side marker lamps.

[rollinrealbig]

you got a point!

Euro version of the 202 has a differnt trunk lid.

true fact ^^^ everybody knows!

[Renn 208]

Originally posted by rollinrealbig
you got a point!

Euro version of the 202 has a differnt trunk lid.

true fact ^^^ everybody knows!

now, if you would only be so kind as to erase all of the false statments that you've posted, we'll all have a better board for it.

[rollinrealbig]

... and which ones are those ?

[Renn 208]

Here are the statements you get to keep:


as far as windsheild wipers and switches - im in the US, I have 1 windsheild wiper, switches in the middle (around my shifter), and the US 202's have 2 oxygen sensors (o2 sensors) and thats for sure because my dad had to change them before on our older 202 (you need a special socket to remove them)


You can keep this first hand description of experience


yesss the ML is made in the US

As this is correct, you can keep it.


yes ive noticed the german trunk lids - I like them alot better then the US ones! overall i think german lisence plates look better then the US ones.

That is pure opinion, and is stated as such, so it can stay.




you got a point!

Euro version of the 202 has a differnt trunk lid.

True. it stays.

For any of your other points in this thread, I'll need further proof before any of it gets to stay.

[Abuimad]

i understand the need to post facts, how about quoting the very obvious no no's

the ml debate in my opinon is plausible the exhaust and options is also right ??..whats left ?

[rollinrealbig]

renn -

if you find something that shouldnt be there, go ahead and delete it if you can, i dont really know how.

nothing we can do besides watch what we post. ;)

[Renn 208]

Originally posted by rollinrealbig


nothing we can do besides watch what we post. ;)

That's all I really ask...

And don't worry, you're not the only person who's posted bad info in this thread.

(Also, I'm not some kind of super human immune from posting up bad info, so if I do happen to post up crap, I fully expect someone to call me out on it)

[rollinrealbig]

Done! ;)

[Abuimad]

thanks but a small request b4 u delete, and that is u tell us whats the wrong info that was posted and whats right, not u neone on this forum inorder for us to get out facts adjusted ;)

[Renn 208]

Originally posted by Abuimad
thanks but a small request b4 u delete, and that is u tell us whats the wrong info that was posted and whats right, not u neone on this forum inorder for us to get out facts adjusted ;)

how about this...instead of just deleting...for the purposes of this thread only, I'll go through each of the posts and edit them with commentary. Would that be sufficient?

I don't really see the point in repeating bad info.

going forward though, obviously, none of the mods nor I can go through every single post made on the board and play the correcting game. It also is a big time suck for people to respond to false facts. So, that's why I'm asking people to pitch in and just think before posting up stuff. "I don't know" can at least lead us to find facts. False "facts" just waste everyone's time.

[iced]

this is more serious than i thought!
sorry for ne misconveniance

neways, is ne1 going to give us the real differences?
-trunk lids-------------------------------------acceptable
-2 oxygen sensors--------------------------acceptable
-exhaust system-----------------------------acceptable
-vdo thing--------------------------------------wrong
-windshield wiper-----------------------------wrong
-switches---------------------------------------wrong
-the thing about transmissions------------??
-the thing about quality---------------------??
-the thing about performance--------------??
-thething about higher standards in us--??
-both versions assembled in germany----??
-car height off the ground-------------------??

pleae correct me if im wrong or developp ne of the points above if u have additional-proven- (thnx renn) infos

i still wanna ask about:
-locking systems between both versions: i have a 97 german version and it doesn't come with a key lock on the driver door. is it the same with the us version?)

-windshield tinting: is there any difference? b/c i noticed that us version tend to be more clear and the german have a ceratin tint

-is the car weight absoloutly the same?

thnx in advance guys.

[Abuimad]

car height of the ground is to do with the car version, elegance, sport, esprit, etc.....
performance was related to the exhaust
both versions are assembled in germany since the MB plants in the states dont assemble 202's (its my opinion but correct me if i am wrong)
american cars have higher specs than german is my opinion not a fact


hope this helps

and the lock thing im still confused about cause mine is 98 and it has a lock on the driver door and trunk....american spec't car..so dunno

[stox]

Two things:

1) There are no German ML's per se. European ML's are assembled in Graz, Austria. Of course, ML's destined to become AMG's are then sent to AMG in Germany.

2) Some 202's have 4 oxygen sensors, I know my C36 does. Two for each pipe, before and after the cats. I think this is true for the 280 also.

[crazy00c230k]

Originally posted by rollinrealbig
yea US doesnt "make" the ML, they assemble it.

as far as german parts - yea the parts are german, but it does make a differnce when germany assembles MB and when US does.

I dont really understand it myself, but there is a difference.

if ur car was one of the early model ML's they had alot of problems, but the same goes for any early model car, there are things that go wrong and bugs that need to be worked out, my dad got the first year ML (98 i think), things did go wrong, but once they were fixed (under warranty i might add), we never had any problems, just routine maintenence, and it ran great till we sold it in 02'

[Polestar]

My car was built/assembled in Stuttgart, the exact same factory as all 202's.

FYI
Stuttgart is corporate HQ, but the W202 was built at MB's largest manufacturing facility at Sindlefingen , Germany. This is also where the Maybach is made.

[davis449]

Funny thing, the company is predominately German and the official language of the company is English. Interesting.

[Ashkan's C280]

its been the common trend for the rest of the world to learn english, as opposed to people in the usa learning all the others... well I also believe the euro c36 springs are shorter than us spec springs, why? I am not sure, my guess is they are cooler than we are, anywho I could be wrong so please don't kill me, I read that on this site, if its posted as lies I'll look for the info where I found it, and regards to being banned for constant posts of disinformation, I can understand the need for the ban, but you won't be able to get rid of a person if they so choose, nothing you can do to stop them from making another username, and doing whatever it is they do, moreover, if you can do an ip/isp ban that would be a bit better, however if they do not have a static ip address then they can sign off an on and change the ip and make a new name, if you have a better way let me know, I am interested.

[c55m8o]

Originally posted by davis449
Funny thing, the company is predominately German and the official language of the company is English. Interesting. let's not forget who was on the winning side of WWII... Not trying to be a wise-ass. But it's a reality that the two strongest nations on the winning side of WWII speak English; and you know who was on the other side.

Furthermore, at this point in history, English has become the "defacto" if not "official" language of business ... it's what the folks from the company I work at's one-time German investors/partners, Thyssen/Krupp, told me when I felt guilty about not being able to speak German. They said not to worry, they've been learning English their whole lives; if you want to get anywhere in business, it's a requirement. (edit: perhaps I should say, at least in western/european society.)

[Ashkan's C280]

hey now, russia took all the heavy losses in that war, not to mention that england had the crap kicked out of it, and one of the only reason it wasn't wiped out was because germany stopped bombing the crap out of its miltary and started to bomb cities like london, although great for terrifying people, not great for war..... ot I know... sry

[c55m8o]

Originally posted by Ashkan's C280
hey now, russia took all the heavy losses in that war...[snip] LoL ...good points!

[rollinrealbig]

WoW ... i knew i could learn things about my 202, but history lessons ? LoL :D :D :D

[Abuimad]

loool whats WWII got to to with nething

the reason for different ride hights and yes i am not sure about this is because there are also different specs to ride harshness....the americans like a soft ride while english and germans (european cars) like a stiff ride

i am 100 percent sure of this one (read it in 3 different magazines now topgear, whatcar, and car magazine)

and yeah english is the international language of business, but ppl are trying to learn japaneese now

[69chevelle]

......

[iced]

lo0l i know it was gonna end up with a war....:rolleyes:

[Alps]

I have a Euro 202, and compared to the US 202`s (C36)

-the ride height is lower on the Euro models, this could either be springs or spring pads

-Indicator (blinker as you guys call them) are either orange or white instead of orange AND white.

- Number plate resess is different (because of the size of the number plates)

thats all ive noticed, nothing else, switches on all your cars in the US seem to be in the same places and as some of you say, single wiper is standard too!

And as for mis-information, I think taking the thread out of context (WWII) should be banned as well!! what the hell has that got to do with this thread! RANT OVER!!

[jnolte]

this is one of the most mis leading, un formative thread in a while.


FYI: The new lauguage to learn is Chinese as there technology and buisness are going to double and triple in the next decades, watch out! ;)

[Renn 208]

Originally posted by Alps
I have a Euro 202, and compared to the US 202`s (C36)

-the ride height is lower on the Euro models, this could either be springs or spring pads

-Indicator (blinker as you guys call them) are either orange or white instead of orange AND white.

- Number plate resess is different (because of the size of the number plates)

thats all ive noticed, nothing else, switches on all your cars in the US seem to be in the same places and as some of you say, single wiper is standard too!

And as for mis-information, I think taking the thread out of context (WWII) should be banned as well!! what the hell has that got to do with this thread! RANT OVER!!

Thank you.

[rollinrealbig]

hey I learned alot from this thread ... but what was the real question agian ? :D

[iced]

lol
thnx for the info i'll try to disregard opinions...if i'll know them:confused:

[kameraguy]

I can comment regarding the 1997 C36.

One minor detail which is different between the US market release and from what was made available in Germany/Europe (and maybe the rest of the world) is the fact MB NA had the interior switched from the Sport CF to the Zebrano wood interior.

I know some may dig this, as the Sport interior isn't true CF, and the wood interior is authentic wood laminate, but it doesn't really match anything in the car since everything else is grey accents with CF B Pillars!

This was a minor, but annoying, difference I found when I bought my car.

I am not certain if this was true for other MY C36s.

[iced]

u meann american version c36 comes with cf interior and u hated it?

[Renn 208]

Originally posted by iced
u meann american version c36 comes with cf interior and u hated it?

The other way around...US C36 came with wood interior

[iced]

thnx man for clearing