Well I suppose that I would have to ask you what Toyota you had that gave you so much trouble that causes you to disbelieve the guy. By the same token I would ask this other fellow what kind of MB he owned that gave him so much trouble that he now thinks that MB's are no good.

It is QUITE common for people to think that their favorite brand is the only brand that's worth buying. If I were a young Psychology student working on a graduate degree I would do a paper on this phenomenon.

Toyota's are indeed very good and reliable cars as are MB's. Parts and service for both are expensive if you go to the dealer.

My wife had a 98 Toyota 4 Runner. She drove it 180,000 miles. During that time I replaced the timing belt twice for preventive maintenance reasons and at about 150,000 miles I had to put a starter on it. Other than that, the only other work I did to it was normal maintenance. It was clearly the most trouble free vehicle we've ever owned and I've owned some pretty darn good ones including 240D's that are way at the top of the list.

For it's time period, IMHO the 123 MB, particularly the 240D (and yes I've owned five cylinder versions as well) is the best car ever built. Again, FOR IT'S TIME. That said, the 123 MB DARN SURE SHOULD be a good car given its original price tag.

Don't let this guy get you riled. He is VERY typical of the average persons prejudices and biases.

When people show me such automotive narrow mindedness in the form of "I wouldn't let a Brand X vehicle in my driveway" or something like that, the best defense is to ask in a serious manner "Wow, what year and model Brand X did you own that gave you so much trouble?" In almost every case you will find that they've never owned one of the brand X cars that they are proclaiming to be junk. Once you call them out on that and get them to admit that they've never owned one, just leave it at that and let them figure out that they are a biased brand bigot.