I agree, a theoretical bill of US$12-15,000 for major repairs on a W140 compared to its original sticker prices and the pleasure of owning and driving simply the best over-engineered vehicle ever produced is peanuts.

The problem is that certain problematic issues tend to repeat their failure in a very short time, so the original amount can multiply quite quickly and exponentially.

For example: the a/c EVAP is known to fail due to its combination of alluminun and copper for its construction (these two metals don't mix quite well). If you replace the failed evap with an original M-B unit, it should fail again sooner or later. A full copper evap is available in some markets and warrantied for at least ten years, although is much more expensive than the original.

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A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]