I own a 1996 Honda Accord EX-R V6 and a 1995 Mercedes-Benz E420...both cars were purchased brand new...if you want an objective comparison based on an owner of both marques on which car is more reliable, I would say that they are pretty much on par...in terms of the Honda, other than the waterpump failing a few years ago, I don't think I recall any problems with the car...the lights went a bit berserk for a few days once, but the electrical gremlin disappeared and never reappeared again...with regular maintenance, the car has been running fine...some things I have been displeased with the Honda are:

1) The insurance seems to be much too high for an economy car...not a fault of the manufacturer I guess...these cars are apparently a common target for thieves...

2) Genuine parts are much too expensive for an economy car...I'm sure glad these cars are reliable...if not, I think the repair costs would rival most luxury brands...

3) The paint job doesn't seem to hold up well over time...I saw a small piece of paint that seems to be flaking on the edge of the hood...I do not know what exactly causes this...the paint also seems very "thin"...it is very easily scratched and scuffed...

The Mercedes came off the lot with faulty caps and rotors...the dealership couldn't seem to be able to diagnose it properly...the car also wouldn't start after a while because of it...after caps and rotors were replaced, the starter died because I kept overcranking it due to the aforementioned problem...had to get it replaced and couldn't exactly pin it on the dealership...I was quite upset over that entire incident...other than that, the only other out of ordinary thing I had to replace was the alternator...everything else was fine with regular maintenance...the car has far superior fit, finish, power, and road feel comapred to the Honda...but I did pay over 3X the price of the Honda for the Mercedes...one is a luxury car, one is an economy car...I have not been constantly plagued by problems to deem the Mercedes a lemon or a POS...

The trend that Mercedes build quality and reliability is slipping nowadays is correct from what I can see...Honda on the other hand seems to be taking advantage of the decreasing cost of technology and have been able to capitalize on them in their Civics and Accords to offer a very good package...Lexus seems to be able to offer reliability as well as luxury in a very good package nowadays...I wish Mercedes and BMW can take some time to re-evaluate themselves...they seem to be a shadow of what they were a decade or so ago...

Just offering an objective look from my experiences...

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1995 black pearl/black Mercedes-Benz E420 :