Any old Mercedes with proper repairs and maintenance can be a reliable daily driver. Why? Because everything that can ever go wrong with them has already happened,cand been documented. How do you know the new engine on a new car isn't going to turn out like the Cadillac V-8-6-4s? Just because something is new does not make it any more reliable.

I find newer vehicles to be made of lower quality materials, on a rushed compromise of a design schedule. The older Mercedes were built to last many lifetimes, and tragically the same cannot be said of their newer brethren. When you say you "dumped ten grand" into your car are you referring to work done by mechanics? I like to do my own work so that I know it was done to a high standard. Do you think the grease jockey at the Ford dealership is going to check twice to make sure you have the exact amount of engine oil needed following a fluid change? Or that the filter is torqued on exactly to spec? People who take cars to mechanics are the same ones who keep the full service car wash industry alive. There is no excuse for not fixing it yourself if you have the time and knowledge. If not, well.... Then you're stimulating the economy.