I have owned Mercedes Benz cars for more years than I care to remember oldest being 63,72 78,83, 94 each model I noticed more plastic and yes always some small pain in the ass problem and a few major problems. I have found dealers to be for the most part ripoffs. Friends have newer models and you wouldn't believe the horror stories. For me this will be probably the last Benz as the quality is going down and the prices are going up. Next car will probably be a Lexus as I hear nothing but good things about them.And by the way my 83 SD was the best of them all.