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IT's all going to depend on the car. Let's look at the 190E in our drive:
The engine is tight and strong. The engine is a very costly thing to replace, and on many cars it makes no sense to do that. It would be better to take the thousands of dollars and invest in a newer car.
But, most MB's are not facing a demise of their engine. The bottom ends seem to be immortal unless abused.
Take the 88 626 we have. It's going to be towed away with the next repair and donated/crushed/whatever. Why? Well, it's past it's useful life. Things like wiring are beginning to rot. The tranny is going south. The engine will need a top end soon. The body is rusting. Suspension needs redoing again. The list is too long, and some things like the wiring are not solveable without huge sums.
The 190E is suffering none of these problems. It is possible to keep the car in good shape despite it's age. I think that might change in another 10 years, but who knows?
So, the idea of keeping and repairing a 15 year old car does not make sense to most people. It's because they don't own a Mercedes. They see cars literally rotting away after 12-15 years and the complete failure of so many components makes the car past it's useful life.
For me, the main reason why I buy a Mercedes has nothing to do with status and The Star. It's the idea that I can keep a car for 15 years and a quarter of a million miles or more and it's still repairable, comfortable and reliable.
There will come a day in the life of every car when it's just no longer going to serve it's purpose. It's just nice that with a Mercedes, that day is much longer from the build date than most cars...
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