I’m feeling the urge to take a gamble on a hooptie.

[Enthusiast]

Who doesn’t want a Benz?

Me. 20 years ago I drove my aunt's 99 SL500 and I was forever cured. German cars ride too rough, the seats are too thin, when they break they break your wallet. If I want a car that's thrilling for a budget, I'll go with a pony car from the big three. If I have a larger budget, I will go with a sports car. If I want a luxury car I will get a real luxury car and not a sports car in a luxury wrapper.

If you want a Mercedes, be ready for very expensive bills when they break. If you're going to get one make sure that you got one from someone who was meticulous with maintenance. If you want to understand why, watch Hoovies garage. From what I've seen, you can expect to have similar results on a poorly maintained Mercedes or any other German luxury car (My friends and family's experience with BMW has been even worse). The fact is these cars are more complicated and you could expect more repairs. If you want to have luxury for a more reasonable price, look at Lexus. They are far more forgiving of neglect and lower quality maintenance than any German luxury brand.