This is my third Mercedes. The ‘11 550E coupe was preceded by a ‘92 400SE and an ‘85 190E. The mechanicals have never been a problem. It’s the electrical gremlins that “nickel & dime” you. And I mean “nickel & dimes” followed by “000”

Case use in point, the ‘92 - lease return bought with 40k and sold 5 yes later with 82k miles
- dash board goes bonkers - out-of-warranty and $1300
- evaporator goes south - out-of-warranty and $1500
(and that’s with MBNA picking up the parts and the dealer helping with the labor)
- faulty ignition combo switch - out-of-warranty and $1400

The 190E had issues with the ventilation/AC control module, a pair off window regulator and misc other gremlins.

I bought the 550E as a lease return with 17K miles with a year left on the warranty. It was “StarNet” qualified so I bought the 3yr/f75k mi. MB extended warranty. During the covered period, The warranty covered a faulty TPMS sensor.

But the car only has a bit over 30k miles. So..... I’ll throw (“roll” all you want, there’s no risk until their thrown) the dice.

As as a side note, my Porsche GT3 with 60k miles failed smog - “cat not ready”. $3000 - new cat from the fatherland, an oxy sensor and a ton of diagnostic time. Other than that, no issues to speak of (brake light switch) and a LSD rebuild (wear item if driven hard)

I have had 4 MB, 190E, 350 coupe, W204 C63 and now the E400 coupe. I have never had 1 mechanical problem with any of them. The C63 did have a
problem with it failing to obey speed signs, I think it was a pedal thing.