So, you say it is OK to pay the bucks for the prestige of having an MB emblem on your car and you don't quality is not a requirement when you buy? ........ I buy and fell in love with the MB b/c on build quality, durability, comfort..... ANd I kept seeing MB's with 100K++++ miles and figured, "damn, those are some reliable machines!"...... but, then I realized it is after pouring $$ into them each year for repairs/high maintainance.. This info I got right from this board.... when I asked can you maintain an MB for $1K annually?...and it doesn't seem to be always the case...just look at the tech area, all the problems listed (trust me, even after all this I will probably end up with a mb) So, the reliability that I once thought is non existant. How come, a head gasket on a Ford or a Chevy you don't have to change at around 100K miles and on the M103 you probably do? How come MB, designed the evaporator so difficult to access? Did they figure it would never break? Did they look at it as a revenue producing process for their MB authorized dealerships/mechanics? Did they figure most owners keep the cars under 100K miles and screw the second/third owners after that?

Another reason you see more MB's with higher miles on the road is b/c they were worth more in the beginning therefore worth repairing and putting $$ into them. Do you think if you/I have a "bought new" 95 Chevrolet and it now has 130K miles and worth maybe $3K , we are going to refurbish the motor if you have a problem? Probably not worth it, but if you were going to do you could rebuild the motor for about $350 engine kit, $500 machine shop, and $300 labor to put it together and you would have another 100K miles or so for $1150...... Then again, the interior and other components at that mileage on the chevy look like crap and are falling apart BUT on the MB they are LIKE NEW>....... see, even I am confused , but bottom line, as I said before it is sad that on such a prestigious marque like MB, they have such problems .