I think it is obvious from reading comments in re: this thread that maintenance varies significantly, depending on the car model, its condition to begin with, driving load in miles per year and driver treatment of the car.

I spend very little on my four cars, three of which are Mercedes and buy the best tires -- which last a very long time. Of course I change certain fluids and buy batteries etc. from time to time, but spending several thousand dollars per year per car does not seem like a good standard. Some of the things members do to their Mercedes are cosmetic fixes or upgrades or add on systems that they just want on the car. Unless you have a really run down Mercedes or are driving it 20K - 30K a year, the normal maintenance should not be over a few hundred dollars per year. Of course, that does not include front end work, timing chains and the rest of those heavy cost jobs. I think too many people go to the MB dealer for things that they could DIY or have done at much lower cost at non-MB shops, buying the parts from the Forum source (Phil) and having the work done at a much lower rate.

The figure of $1200 per year as an average for older Mercedes may be correct, if it includes all the cars that are falling apart with all the ones that are in pretty good shape and not run into the ground. It is kind of like asking how long a piece of string is ??

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Ben Harrison Carter
1999 Mercedes ML320 87K
1992 Mercedes 300CE 89K
1995 Corvette 29K -- Sold Dec 09
1989 Mercedes 420SEL 99K -- (Sold 4/08)
1968 Mercedes 230S (106K) (Sold 9/06))
1976 Mercedes 450SEL 130K (Just sold - 06)
1961 Mercedes 220Sb (sold years ago)