re: Is a Mercedes that much more expensive to maintain than the average car?

I’d never buy a C class. Small and if you can’t afford the E, you’re not going to think the upkeep on the C is affordable.

I’ve had an E350 for nearly a decade now. Great car. Maintenance isn’t as bad as it is made out to be.

It is definitely more than a Honda though. $500/yr for service. Repairs can get pricey. But my ~10 year old car runs like a gem and probably has another 5-7 years in it. In a world of $1k car payments, a few grand here and there to keep it rolling is meaningless.

Are you a DIY kind of person? German cars for the most part are easy to work on... unless it is electrical. German automakers love to put sensors in the least logical places from a maintenance standpoint.

Go with your gut on this one.

There’s a reason those euro cars lose value so quickly.

quote:

---

Yes/end thread

---

Yep.

Sign yourself up for a 4-figure oil change right away. You’ll get a nice leather chair to wait and coffee.

Take it from a former owner of a S550. I got so sick of that car and the constant expensive repairs. I left it at the dealership and it's still there 3 years later. I bought a Telsa problem solved. They add so many features which are nice and luxurious, but boy when they break they're so intertwined the repair cost, time and process is insane. I'd ONLY lease a MB 3 years max

quote:

---

Looking at a used C class

---

Yes they are. My local mechanic, who I trust a lot, will not work on anything German for a few reasons:

1) Sticker shock of repairs to drivers (especially to those new to the German brands)
2) Parts are usually delayed, so are repairs
3) Repairs are generally more difficult

I’ve a few friends family who bought German and “didn’t care” about the increased costs. They’re all over it now except one who has money to burn.

quote:

---

Mercedes, BMW, Land Rover, etc are vehicles you lease, not own. Dump it when the warranty ends.

---

Yup, this is why you can find a boat load of 3-5 yo MBs and BMWs for low prices. Lease turn-ins, or people get past the warranty/free maintenance and dump them before they start doing German car things.

Lexus/Acura for the win here.

If you are accustomed to an American, Japanese, or Korean car….you will be disappointed in the maintenance philosophy of BMW and Mercedes.

Every service is expensive. They consider things as “maintenance items” that other manufacturers would consider a breakdown. Their electronics are a joke. The markup for parts are insane. Many are mechanically totaled before 150,000 miles. Most are really only built to run 100,000 miles without a major overhaul.

It’s a far cry from the 1980s and 1990s German cars that were well made and mechanically sturdy for 200,000+ miles.

And Mercedes’ isn’t much better than BMW. At this point even Jaguar is probably better than BMW. I wouldn’t own any of them outside of warranty.

We make fun of Ford because it’s so easy and they deserve it….but not even Ford owners would put up with the headaches of a BMW or Mercedes’ ownership experience. That’s how bad they are now.

The local mechanic stopped taking my EBT card for repairs. Rough out here