233,000 mile original alternator on 300E wore out the brushes. Everything else good, slipring surface very slightly worn, bearings smooth as silk. $14 voltage regulator, five minute installation time and it was like new again.

Went through a half million miles in 123 sedans with lakes in the rear floor boards before finding mercedesshop a few years ago. I found out here from someone in a Scandinavian country that the fix was five minutes of prodding around with a piece of baling wire below the hood hinges. I've never seen a drop of water inside since. I've even forgotten where I put the huge sponge I always used to clean it up.

Brake pads on every Benz I've ever owned can be replaced on all four wheels in less than an hour. I used to buy them for about $11 an axle. The rotors on my latest 240D went almost a half million miles before I replaced them. Before my first Benz, in the drum brake days, I set aside a whole day to go through the brakes.

When the pesky hood is in your way, you simply pull on a lever on each hood hinge and put it in full vertical position. When you have no natural padding on the top of your head like me, that's a really big deal.

When some kid manages to break off the hood star, $15 (used to be $12) five minutes and it looks like new again. Some hood ornaments for other brands can cost as much as $200.

On top of those that I can think of above, I would include the SIMPLE things to keep going because they have NEVER given trouble. An example that comes to mind is the rear half shafts. I've never seen one fail in any way. Another example is the manual transmissions. I've NEVER had to take one apart. A clutch every few hundred thousand miles and I'm back on the road.

My $0.02,