Selling a dead or junk Mercedes-Benz

Below: who makes the cars today, which Mercedes models owners have reported to NHTSA most, the 2022 brake recall, and an index of all 31 Mercedes-Benz models on this site.

Two models carry most of the complaints

The C-Class and E-Class lead by a wide margin. We counted complaints owners filed with NHTSA for each Mercedes-Benz model as of October 10, 2026. The C-Class has 6,728 and the E-Class has 5,454, together 12,182. No other Mercedes model reaches 2,100.

These counts are reports, not test results, and they track how many of each model were sold and for how long. The C-Class and E-Class have both been on the EPA list for more than 30 years. A few patterns are worth noticing anyway:

• The GLK-Class drew 948 complaints in a six-year run (2010-2015). Its replacement, the GLC-Class, has 752 across 2016-2027.
• The ML-Class has 2,035, more than the GLE-Class that followed it (589). The ML had 18 model years to collect them; newer model years have had less time.
• The electric EQ models are low so far: EQB 128, EQS 112, EQE 51. They date from 2022 or later.
• The SLR McLaren has none on file. The EPA lists it for 2005-2009 only.

Who builds Mercedes-Benz cars now

The company behind the cars today is Mercedes-Benz AG, founded in November 2019 out of the Mercedes-Benz division of Daimler AG. Its parent is the Mercedes-Benz Group, and it is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Heavy trucks went to a separate company, Daimler Truck. Mercedes-AMG is listed as a subsidiary.

Some Mercedes sold in the US were built here. Wikipedia names the GLE-Class, the full-size GL-Class and the C-Class among the vehicles built at a Mercedes-Benz plant in the United States. Other models came from abroad. The SLR sports car came out of McLaren's technology centre in Woking, England, Wikipedia says.

Wikipedia also lists Mercedes-Benz technologies by name, including 4Matic, Active Body Control and Comand APS. One older nameplate on our list has an afterlife: the CL-Class became the S-Class Coupé, which has since been discontinued.

The 2022 brake-corrosion recall

In June 2022, Mercedes-Benz issued a recall for close to a million vehicles, all made from 2004 through 2015, according to Wikipedia. The cause was possible brake problems caused by "advanced corrosion". That figure is for the whole campaign, and it may span several models. Wikipedia's line does not say which ones, so we do not assign the number to any single page in the index below.

If your Mercedes was built in those years, run the VIN through a Mercedes-Benz dealer or NHTSA's recall lookup before you sell. You can still sell with the recall unrepaired. Our open recall guide explains what it changes.

Selling a broken Mercedes whole

When a repair quote on an older Mercedes tops what the car would fetch running, our repair-or-sell guide walks through the decision. You do not have to strip it, pull the battery or take off the wheels. It leaves in one piece on a truck.

What to have ready:

1. The model, year and mileage. "C300 4Matic, 2012, 140,000 miles" is plenty.
2. Does it start? Does it roll? Note any damage or missing pieces.
3. The Mercedes title, or word that you don't have it. For a lost title, start with selling a junk car with no title.
4. Our truck can collect a Mercedes-Benz at home, in a parking lot, or at the shop where it quit.

When it is gone, deal with the plates and the paperwork.

Rather talk to someone? Call (877) 421-6008.

All 31 Mercedes-Benz models on this site

Dates below are EPA model years. Recent years in that list are incomplete, which means a Mercedes shown through 2026 or 2027 is likely still sold new. Counts were taken on October 10, 2026.