Amen. I just wish I had the technical savvy (and guts) to tackle the electrical stuff myself. I took the car to an indep shop cause it kept dying unpredictably and the problem was a loose crank sensor. Months later I had a 'miss' come on suddenly, but now my 87 560SL runs great now after a trip to the local dealer (prev owner had installed wrong plugs, plus I needed a coil and they replaced the plug wires while I was at it.) The dealer gives a 15% discount on parts AND labor for MBCA members, so now I'll likely stick with the dealer.
Good luck on the trip back.