MB in general is a solid car, but expensive to fix. Being an advisor for a MB/BMW/Audi etc shop I can tell you your gonna be spending some money. Maintenance is expensive, around 250-300 w/ synthetic for an "A" service, and 450-500+ for a "B" service. Those are general maintenance set-ups, then there is additional pieces of maintenace that are up sold from there on over top of an A or B service. A front brake job runs about $600 for pads rotors and sensor, and a rear brake job is close behind at around $550 or so. Check engine lights are very common to come on with the newer MB's, sometimes an easy fix and sometimes not. The diagnosis process for some of the problems is legnthy and expensive at some points...but thats a given for owning a high end car. In a nut shell they are good cars, but just as a BMW and Audi is you will spend alot of money on up-keep and repairs yearly. In my personal opinion, I would buy a BMW over a Mercedes any day of the week. Easier to work on, seem to have less problems, and are alot more fun. Good luck with the search, PM me if you want more details or have any specific questions, and Ill see if I can answer then for you.