I guess I'll put my 2 cents worth in:

In June of this year I bought a 1993 500 SEL from a family friend. I had a 98 Lexus ES300 at the time, which I bought new. I sold my Lexus and bought the Merc for a difference of $3,000.00. I did this for 3 reasons:

1. I needed more room.
2. I thought the 500 SEL would be safe and reliable transportation for several more years.
3. Frankly, I wanted the "ego upgrade" of the big Benz.

So, for $3K I figured it was worth it.

In the last 90 days I have spent $6,000.00 on various repairs for the Benz. That puts me at $9,000.00 out-of-pocket in 3 months, and I'm now looking at another $500.00 for PS gearbox work.
The $9K investment is almost exactly 10 times what the Lexus costs me over the 5 1/2 years I owned it. Maybe I bought a bad Benz. Or, maybe I have a bad inde shop. I don't really know. I do know that I'm quickly becoming a much better mechanic than I ever really wanted to be.

You know what's the most troubling thing about the whole deal? 3 weeks ago I felt it necessary to buy my wife a brand new Toyota 4Runner because I absolutely HAD to have 1 car in the family I KNEW would run whenever called upon. It's a shame to have such a big comfortable Benz, but not have the confidence to drive it anywhere but to work and back for fear it will strand me. I never, ever had that fear with my Lexus.

So for me, the bottom line is, since I'm not ultra-rich, I really need a car that I can DEPEND on more than I need an ego stroke. It appears the price of that lesson is $9,000.00 and climbing.

Just my story. Please don't kick me out of the club

__________________
1993 500 SEL 121,000
2003 Toyota 4Runner 4X4 Limited (Sweet!)
1995 Ford Bronco 351 Windsor 135K miles (Hunting truck)

Past Vehicles
1999 Landrover Discovery II 46,000 (Sold)
1998 Lexus ES300 (Sold to get my Benz)
1973 Chevy Nova SS (drove it till the body fell apart in '87)
1971 Chevy Camaro (wrecked in high school)