"you hit the nail on the head" so either they are pieces of **** and you need to be working on them all the time or you need to buy new... btw, as you also said, new doesn't mean perfect.... go on any given day to a mb dealer and talk to the customers... the cars are full of little bugs.

I used to read the low ratings , such as consumer reports, edmunds, etc... and used to think "ahh they just are too picky..".... I was wrong , they were right...

I just traded in my 95 e320.... I bought a 4Runner....a used one.... funny thing is, I bought at night, test drove it a bit, asked "where do I sign?".... how many times on here do you hear, "DON"T buy a used mb without a ppi" , "don't buy a used mb without maintainance records" , "don't buy a used MB from one of those hole in the wall dealerhships".... "don't buy without having the mb dealer pull all the maintainance for you", "buy only a certified car', "buy extended warranty".. I DID all the opposite of the above ... I didn't have to worry if they already "changed the evaporator, changed the head gasket, changed the wiring harness, changed the ignition modules"... wait, you only need to worry about that on the German luxury brand that costs $50K+ brand new...

My conclusion? MBs are awsome to ride in and drive....but buy new. As I said previously, if you can't afford new, then don't be a wanna be and drive a used mercedes... MB should sell them like they sell the disposable cameras.. One use and return.... you use it for 2-3 years and return it... wait , that's a lease, LOL... then the next su..c.ker who buys it used gets hosed...

I originally bought the car for me to work on it, but circumstances led me not to go down that road....but even if you work on it "ALL the time" it shouldn't have to be that way....

I'll still be around, but mercedes-less....

__________________
1995 E320 smoke silver / parchment