31st Dec 2005, 17:35

I really agree with you. I'm in my 20s and have never financed anything. I pay cash for everything. I have no credit cards or anything that I have to make payments on. I really think by the time I'm in my 60s and 70s people won't be able to retire. If people keep spending the money on the credit cards the way they do, there going to be making payments the rest of their life. The guy who wrote the original comment is smart. I grew up in a house with my parents saving every dime they got. They didn't have a bank account they dealt with all their own finances. They are now living comfortably from being so frugal all those years. They are retired and living life to its fullest, not having to worry about their finances. If most people were like the people in the 2 comments above people would not be in debt and filing bankruptcy. Think about how your spending your money and save it. Live without the things you don't need.

1st Jan 2006, 05:11

I have owned several Mercedes S-Class vehicles and also a few BMW 7 Series cars including two V12 models.

They are all great cars, BUT, that was when I lived in Germany where you can travel legally at very high speeds.

And they were not without their problems.

Now I live in Florida and I have to say that because of speed limits, it is a waste of time to own a Mercedes or BMW here.

You simply cannot use such a car's dynamic capabilities as you can in Germany.

If you really have to have one, that's fine, but if you cannot do your own servicing, be prepared for very high repair & maintenance costs.

For the USA, a large, simply engineered car, such as my new 2005 Lincoln Town Car is a better bet - unless you just want to show off, then the Mercedes badge is unequalled in prestige.

I have a family and the Town Car is big inside, making even an S-Class Mercedes seem small inside by comparison.

And instead of paying $38,000 sticker price, I got a good deal on a brand-new 2005 for only $26,000 at the local dealership.

These cars are good value used as well; currently the dealer has a beautiful, low-mileage 2000 model for only $8,800 and the similar Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis are good value, if a little plain inside the cabin.

The high price of the luxury German brands is proof that the Germans do indeed have a sense of humour!

The extra price does not necessarily guarantee you extra reliability over the cars I have mentioned.

There's a lot to go wrong in an S-Class Merc!

3rd Jan 2006, 22:13

Both your Mercedes are brand new. What do you have 5,000 miles? Mercedes are fine for the first 15,000-20,000 miles, but then the problems start. Most the time its not engine problems just little annoying things. I am in no way saying a Lincoln is better than a Mercedes. I would recommend Lexus. I drove Mercedes until I started putting $5,000 into the car every time I took in to have an oil change. I bought an LS430 and couldnt be more happy. SNOBS buy Mercedes just for the prestige. People don't think about repair and even insurance costs. People will go put 10,000 down on a 80,000 car and pay 1,000 a month just to have the prestige, its NOT worth it! Like in the comment about people don't get that Mercedes is built by Chrysler.

4th Jan 2006, 08:17

Actually, the S-Class is already with 23.000 miles and the C-Class is with 12.000 miles. They're both daily drivers.

I've owned a 2003 CLK320 Cabrio before: Put 60.000 miles in 2 years of ownership and it was totally reliable, unlike my wife's Lexus RX300 which blow its blow its transmission with only 16.000 miles on the clock.

You can call me "snob" if you want, but my Mercedes proved to be more reliable than the Lexus.

In our family we have other 3 Mercedes: My uncle owns a 2000 SL600 (he bought after a 1994 SL500 and a 1988 560SL), My grandfather owns a 1997 S500 W140 (with 100.000 miles on the clock) and my brother owns a 2003 E500 (52.000 miles on the clock).

Maybe we are lucky, since our cars has been totally reliable, indeed, my grandfather bought his S500 brand new in 1997, before, he owned a 1991 420SEL W126 and a 1985 300TD W123 Sedan.

I'm not dissing Lexus, because, YES. They proved to be more reliable and YES, the new IS350 is one hell of a car (I considered buying one, but the Mercedes is more fun to drive, although it's a bit slower).

The thing is: You can't compare a car built by a High-Volume manufacturer such as Ford, with a Upscale brand like Mercedes. And yes, there will be a lot more thing to go wrong in a Mercedes, because the Mercedes is a luxury car full of gizmos, while the Grand Marquis is just a espartan big sedan.

As for "Daimler-Chrysler". The Mercedes-Benz works totally independent from Chrysler, no Mercedes is based on Chrysler - that is a cardinal rule, when the two brands merged together. So therefore your statement about Mercedes, being assembled by Chrysler or Mercedes are jumped-up Chrysler is simply totally ABSURD!

4th Jan 2006, 22:49

I'm sorry for saying Mercedes is built by Chrysler. I have done some research and it and its not true. I also have done some research on the unreliable Mercedes and most the people who have problems don't maintain their car properly. My mom owns two Mercedes, but both have extremely low miles for the years they are. Ones a 1991 560SEL and a 1985 300D. The 300D is an amazing car. People are getting a million miles out of them. My mom seems to think in 1992 Mercedes began loosing quality for she bought a 1992 400SEL and had so many problems. She thought the car had too many gadgets for the time. She has just decided to keep on driving her older ones for the rest of her life. And yes I understand your frustration with Lexus for I had the same problems in my RX. SUVs are not a Lexus thing, they should stick with their luxury sedans and coupes. Sorry for anything I said that upset you. The one thing I am not changing on is that Mercedes are usually only bought for the prestige.