I'ts all really down to personal experience. I had 6 various BMW's in the 80's,90's and most recently a new 2003 320i. Not a bit of trouble with any of them. Regular service oil change etc and they were all over 100k when i got rid. Annoyingly I traded the 320i which was a great car for a Volvo V70 p2 ( more room for 2 sons )which turned out to be by far the worst car I have ever owned
It was in the garage more than it was on my drive for the 18 months that I owned it. Couldn't wait to see the back of the bl**dy thing !! I also know two close friends who have had various Mercs 350sl,280sl and 500 models who have had no issues
Not a fan of Mercs tbh but I was nearly tempted by a 1974 saloon recently as it looked superb. Not sure what model but it had the same coloured hubcaps and the straight up type front lights. Very cool looking car
Think the moral is you can get good and bad in all cars whether secondhand or new. With older secondhand you are always taking a risk especially from a dealer
