Trolling Craigslist, found this:

1998 mercedes turbo diesel, parts car,

So thought I'd call just out of curiosity. Car has 220k, all mechanicals are good, interior and exterior are fine. Owner got in the car one day and it just wouldn't go. I'm forgetting some of this details, but this began an odyssey of trying to figure out what's wrong with the car's electronics/computers. He's spent months and months investigating, has had various indie mechanics with MB experience look at it, and has come to the conclusion that the only recourse is to take it to the dealer and have MB start replacing and reprogramming various modules....to the tune of thousands of dollars. So he's done with it.

Now, maybe he and his coterie of mechanics aren't the best diagnosticians. Still, it's a little sobering that the electronics could go out like that and resist diagnosis and repair to that extent.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 159k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 178k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 145k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 75k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife