No one is "getting on you." You asked for advice and you are getting it from a group of people who by and large know these cars inside and out.

Just because the response is not what you want to hear does not mean that anyone is giving you heat.

It is simply a fact that you're driving a car that was sold when new as a cost-no-object car. The maintenance and repair items are in line with such a car. You need to understand that your car is:

1. Without question the single most complicated car that Mercedes ever sold.

2. Also without question one of the most enjoyable cars to drive that Mercedes has ever sold.

You gotta pay to play, nowhere is this more true than in a V12-powered W140.