Plink...I have a few questions...how long have you owned that car?...how "reliable" has it been?.
any evap core issues,closing assit pump,bose amp,becker CD changer,window regulator,instrument cluster shorting out,or steering shimmy issues?

I question the no holds barred,expense -be-damned factor when the car spends half the time at the MB dealer

maybe after paying 70-90K for a car that was in the shop constantly people got tired and looked for other alternatives.
Ask almost anyone that bought one of those "expense be damned" cars in the first 3 years of production and find out how many inches thick the warranty repair invoices were and how many times the dealer could not figure out the problems....
and after all that you wonder why things have changed?

or you can actually speak with many of the first owners of the new 220 (S430,S500)chasis
I have seen may of the first owners in at the dealer for warranty work for that airmatic suspension and other electrical maladies.
Those are fixed under warranty for now...but what happens after that...My guess is that the questionable reliability and the huge expense of repairs will have a negative impact on the resale...which you might already see in the marketplace

Warren
1992 300SD 168K
Columbus Ohio