The only thing a VW and an MB have in common is that they both happen to be made in Germany. It would be more fair to compare the VW to a Japanese car... and even then it would loose miserably.
VWs and Japanese cars are "throw away cars". Figure on 150K miles of pretty worry-free driving... but then they're pretty well worn out. They're simply not made to be maintained past that point. They're made to be driven, not maintained, then traded/sold with nearly no value. That is the business model that has made Ford and GM the most successful auto makers in the world. Sad, but true.

Jeff Pierce

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Jeff Pierce

Current Vehicles:
'92 Mercedes 190E/2.3 (247K miles/my daily driver)
'93 Volvo 940 Turbo Wagon (263K miles/a family truckster with spunk)
'99 Kawasaki Concours
Gravely 8120
Previous Vehicles:
'85 Jeep CJ-7 w/ Fisher plow (226K miles)'93 Volvo 940 Turbo Wagon
'53 Willys-Overland Pickup
'85 Honda 750F Interceptor
'93 Nissan Quest
'89 Toyota Camry Wagon
'89 Dodge Raider
'81 Honda CB 750F Super Sport
'88 Toyota Celica
'95 Toyota Tacoma
'74 Honda CB 550F