I also noticed the Mercedes Benz owners were more knowledgeable about cars and quality in general.

Much like VW owners who are often on a first name basis with the personel at the parts department because of the frequency of repairs.

I think your comments speak more to the type of person i.e. ethusiast vs non enthusiast. And yes Lexus are boring (NO SOUL)! And there interiors biodegrade with age. But Mercedes wiring/electrical seems to biodegrade with age, so I guess one has to be clear on their priorities.

I think people who are fed up with the quirks of MBZ migrated to Lexus (and now Infiniti) and the enthusiats are buying up the "left overs."

BTW, my W124 is not great when it comes to NHV. Our 92 Q45 is SUPERIOR in this regard.