Which name has more prestige Benz or BMW
 

Which and why?

:confused:

That's like picking between Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons. Personally I think BMW is more of an athletic heritage (unless you went the AMG route for big $) and demographic is more male. MB has more of the female demographic and the older male demographic between the 2. It's all personal preference.

In whose mind?

I thought the '90s were long over...

Comon guys keep bring it.

i own both.. but lean a bit to BMW.

heres what a relative said. "Daimler and Benz made their cars (some of the first in the world) long before BMW was even thought of so I'd say Mercedes does"

the guys who started bmw used to work for MB.

Which opinion would you prefer.?
Which name has more prestige Benz or BMW - MBWorld.org Forums

:popcorn:er , some of the first cars in the world using an internal combustion engine that is .
british people had steam powered cars before that and internal combustion engines on 3 wheeled contraptions and motorcycles.
Daimler only got the credit for his car because it was the definition of a car ..Cadillac made cars with user friendly controls as seen in all cars to this day .
BMW made the Austin 7 under licence as did many worldwide factories , so that`s why they make such fine driving machines .
as is the case , anyone wishing to make a car drive properly will consult British engineers, always have done and always will do .

Neither. I've never even though of the question, but honestly I can't say one has more brand caché than the other.

Nice dig Barry.

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

I would say BMW because if you look at resale value between the 2 it clearly shows you what brand is valued more (BMW)

I think you should post the question on a Honda forum so that you can get an unbiased opinion.

Well said RAYXI, we will all have our own opinions. It all depends on the person and how they drive

My .02

I guess it depends on where you’re from. I spent over decade in Europe and several years in Asia. In Europe where the E-class is a common taxicab and both cars are often ordered in basic trim (cloth seats, minimal options) they both are a lot more utilitarian than prestigious. I’m talking about the 1/3/5 series and A/C/E classes, the flagship models aren’t as common over there outside the really large cities unlike here in the US where anyone with decent credit can drive whatever car they want, S-class, 7-series, SL, etc. (also because of the abundant secondary market)

Asia is a different story where the BMW/Mercedes badge really does have prestige, even if the car is just an entry level model due to the per capita income. Whether in Asia or Europe, having a flagship model means you really do have money and typically aren’t house poor or living in crummy apartment with a giant car payment.

Personally I’ve always perceived BMW as a driver’s car and Mercedes as a Luxury car. Mercedes is on a roll lately and is churning out quite a few sporting machines, good luck finding one with a manual transmission though. BMW seems to always have a manual available. The line is blurring between the two marques as AMG really steps up its game. The SLS’s spec sheet is impressive.

Here in America people are jaded since both cars are so common. There isn’t really a lot of prestige that comes with owning one unless it’s a rare model, super expensive, or you live in a small town where there aren’t a lot of nice cars.

:popcorn:.....this should be good.

There are a lot of badge whores driving BMW's, but I would say there are far more driving MB. So I would say if you are trying to impress the average person, the MB will do that better than BMW.

It is only my opinion, but "typically" the people that I know who drive BMW's appreciate the car for how it drives and the people that drive MB's seem to be more worried about their image. Also, I will say that the majority of BMW drivers that I know personally, are much more knowledgeable about cars in general and much more likely to perform their own maintenance.

I think we getting a little crazy with this you are correct i have a lot of friends who drive mbs high end at that and they are all pretty boys. I was once told that the difference between the two was that you can get out of any bmw dressed however you like and you will be fine. But you however the same cannot be said for mb. I have driven from the s500 down and i can truly say this the bmw handles better than the mb but like you guys said they are trying to push the envelope because they lost a lot of the market to bmw. It all boils down to what you like but i think the main line mb are mostly for females i like my sense of sports and class and i know in the end my will stand the test of time

BMW has more prestige.
Benz has prestige and reputation tainted with the whore Chrysler. :rofl:

i feel like the new BMWs are 100x better than the new benzs.. take for example the ML versus the X5. Back in 2000 when they were both pretty new endeavors for both companies, the X5 was definitely better. My family owned an ML and i thought it was plasticky and wasnt as high quality as my X. MB seemed to ride off their high brand image from the 80s and 90s and "cheapened" their cars in the 2000s.

I prefer BMW...

Strictly from the Fwiw Dept, a recent BizWeek mag did a "Global Brands" ranking:
MB was 12, BMW was 15...Coke was Numbah 1, followed by IBM, Microsoft, and
GE, et al.

As for car specific, as in which would you drive and why, I'm with Ray: most
of us like our car(s), for how they drive. Still think it's a "2001 question" at best.
GL,mD

Bmw

For the record, I think Benz has more prestige. Which is one reason why I bought two BMW's. :)

Most of the famous British brands (Austin, Morris, Jaguar, Triumph, MG, Hilman, etc...) either disappeared or are now own by foreign brands ;)
So what you say may have been true long ago but not for the last 30 years IMO with may be some few niches exceptions like for example Aston Martin which still make fantastic cars. I think the BLMC (British Leyland Motor Corporation) of the 70s and early 80s was a catastrophic period for British cars. BL cars of that period were badly built and pretty poorly designed and unfortunately the British car industry never recovered from this dark period.

MB may have the edge on marque, but for fun driving experience, it's BMW

the last fun sports car from MB, (that did not cost several years salary) was '69 280SL

just IMHO

we still got Lotus , TVR , there is a multitude of track cars built in sheds on industrial sites , we got Prodrive , all F1 stuff comes from British engineers , we have Bowler if you want a Dakar indestructible hotrod off the shelf for not a lot of money. the Mazda MX5 is based on the MGB to the extent of having the exact sound/ feel of the gearbox, i could be here all day but i think you get the idea . british leyland or whatever they called it on any given week of the year was run by numpties with communist tendencies and fecking clueless accountants . they could build excellent cars if they really wanted to . some of thier cars were very comfortable . someone already mentioned the fact that european cars usually have basic interiors . that does not really apply to old british cars cos imo they always had more class as did Us cars . my childhood memories of british cars always theme on wood , leather , classy instruments , lovely straight six and V8 engines and very comfortable cars ,maybe this explains why British and US buyers buy cars of such high spec .

My thought as well

have you heard of a SL65? or maybe a SLS-amg.

Do not get me wrong, I always loved the old classical British cars. I grew up in Europe, France more exactly, and I am old enough to remember as a child dreaming about Jaguar, Aston Martin or even a Triumph Spitfire and TR4 and TR5. As a kid these were dream cars for me. What happened to the British car industry in the 70s with BLMC is a big pity.

In my honest unbiased opinion I say BMW. The BM and MB are hand in hand though....

Both of which are several times my income - not all of us here have that kind of money - the 230SL, 250SL, ending 280SL were the first fun driving sports cars MB made since the gullwing (and for less than a year's salary) - after that ugly , heavy, and sluggist took over - then came the electrical problems - some better styling in the 90's - then small & not terribly reliable - then really expensive & ugly again - now they still look like Chryslers

tried to get an MB without a sunroof (before finding my X5) - was sold "maybe for another $10,000 we'll think about it"

Agreed. Those cars are the ultimate, over the top status mobiles, IMO. Big, heavy, super expensive, automatic trans... I feel MB is much more for status and luxury and BMW is more for people who like to drive and want a smartly engineered car. Someone once posted here that AMG cars are like vaults with locomotive engines. I don't think I could say it any better.


MB = Focus on luxury/status
BMW = focus on driving/performance
Audi = somewhere between the two

I know this theory may be old, but I still think it applies.

thats irrelevant! he apparently had a better design gene and ran with it. both cars are over priced and a great ripoff for people trying to get a preowned one. the only prestiguous car maker is......

I think the MB name took a major hit when they foolishly merged with Chrysler back in 1997. It really diluted the brand name. They used a lot of Chrysler parts in their MB line, and MB image and reliability were badly tarnished. Daimler execs finally put this stupidity to an end in 2007 when they did a 180 and split with Chrysler. But the damage was already done. It will take them another 10 years to fully restore their pre-1997 image.

Of course, none of this applies to AMG which is a first-rate tuning/racing enterprise. I would put it as equvalent to 'M'.

someone said
"no disrespect...but with both companies offering base models like they are, almost anyone who can afford a new car can afford either an MB or BMW; so I would really say neither. I think it takes a company like Aston, Bentley/Rolls, Ferrari, Porsche somewhat, etc to truly exhibit "prestige"

:iagree:

I have so many 3 Series and C-Classes in my garage it's like a running joke!

Its funny you say those two (3 series and C classes)

Around my area there are so many of those cars its hard to believe that Camrys and Accords are top seller..

And im talking about 3's & C's not older then 2 years old.

:confused::dunno:

The 3's may not be status symbols, but they are my favorite series BMW makes.

Out of the 3's, 5's and 7's-

my fav has always been the 5 because its the perfect size... not too big or too small..

More prestige? Mercedes, no contest.

That is a crap reason to prefer one car over another though, as prestige is defined in the eyes of others, not one's self.

Rolls Royce has more prestige than Mercedes, but I don't want one of those any more than I want a Mercedes. (OK, unless it is a Silver Ghost or a Phantom)

Why do I feel like I need a shower every time I see this thread?

Prestige? Only the shallow care.

:whocares:

:iagree:...you can't ignore the fact that since march 1999 Daimler/Chrysler ruined the MB name in my opinion. BMW is still BMW...MB? Thats a different story...

My thoughts exactly...:thumbup:..Although I would put the M still a tad higher then the AMG in terms of performance..The M3 especially, still edges the C class AMG..

because you stink!

The very word Prestige takes on different meanings amongst different people. The word Prestige was used on Packard, Cadillac, Jaguar, Rolls, etc....even Lincoln and Chevrolet.

Both BMW & Mercedes have their specialness. Each one has their sports heritage and their luxury heritage (with MB having more luxury heritage than BMW on sheer production history.)

The Prestige is in the eye of the beholder. This is my first BMW to be owned by myself. I have fallen in love with BMW (although both BMW's and Mercedes have been in my family.) In fact, I started my love of cars with Mercedes, still love them, but would prefer to win a free BMW over a Mercedes. It all depends on what is most important to you at the time of purchase. Prestige could be having the sportiest car, or the most luxurious car.

Prestige is also mainly about the nameplate and company, and the perceived stature of the nameplate, not the specific model. Both companies are prestigious in their own right, no matter what definition you use.

Now, if you were to ask me what has more Prestige, the ML or X, what do you think?!? :nanana:

That is a possibility, I just finished working out.

But seriously, what prompted you to create this thread and why do you care?

Just curious.

I just blew away an S600 at a traffic light in my 135. I'm sure he FELT more prestigious, whatever that is...

I have just read through the 5 pages of this thread and then stumble upon KYZ!!! I believe that he has summed this up to a tee. Very well said KYZ!! I completely agree.

Now ..on a different note you gotta love this....
Viperfreak2I just blew away an S600 at a traffic light in my 135. I'm sure he FELT more prestigious, whatever that is...

That is just friggin awesome!! :D:D

Rich:thumbup:

Thank you richirich :thumbup:

Viperfreak2I's story is nice. Way to go! However, The S600 was probably transporting himself and 3 of his friends, along with their golf clubs, on the way to Bushwood Country Club. Very prestigious. :rofl: