Jim,
You are correct
I have not based my assumptions on any statistical anaylsis of data, as I do not have any data!!
It is based on anecdotal comparison however. Comparing other cars I have owned over the years and talking to owners of various older cars eg 92 Eagle Talon, 89 Mitsubishi Galant, 90 Toyota Camry etc. they have not even heard of some of the problems we experience as MB owners. Some of these vehicles had close to 200,000 miles. I have also visited a few Lexus forums and they do not mention any of the componets listed above. They do have issues with instrument cluster/AC displays etc. on the earlier models.
JD Powers reports that a 10 year old Lexus LS400 is more reliable than a new 7 series BMW.
Failure of MAS occurs on some newer MB in the high 20, low 30K range!
A typical MB MAS is around $200, for the LS430, it is $900! but the design (optical) is such that it will probably not fail.
Having said that, reliability is not the only factor which determines whether you like your car or not.
As some suggest, "MB has character that elevates it beyond a mere transportation device"
