Used Cars: Reliability of German cars vs. Japanese cars., mercedes c 320, ford fusion

Question
Hi, Zach.  I've been searching for a used car to replace my '85 Toyota Supra (200,000  miles.)  I'm looking for another model I can live with for 22 years like my good ol' Toy. (Wow, that would make it year 2029.)  I'm very interested in the '03 - '04 Mercedes C-320 Coupe and the '03 - '04 BMW 325i, models of which are in the $16,000 - $18,000 range.  However, when researching these cars I see that Consumer Reports , et al, don't recommend M-B's or BMW's due to reliability issues. Plus I assume that servicing German cars is more expensive than working on Japanese cars. Do you concur with their advice?  Can you offer further advice?  Thanks a ton for your assistance!  Sharon

Answer
SHARON, I have dealt with all of the cars you've mentioned, when it comes to consumer reports you have to take their info as you would any other opinion.  I've seen Toyotas with blown engines at 100000 miles and BMW's and
M/B's with 200000 to 300k miles on them.  I've seen Fords with 300k miles running fine and Fords with 85000 miles that need a new engine.  In my experience it really isn't the car, because most manufactures reliability is up while a few even the mighty Toyota are down a bit...The secret to longevity of a vehicle is how well it is maintained.  If you follow the factory service guide on most vehicles you should have very few real surprises...
That being said, Toyota dealers know the secret, they preach and preach and all but scare the heck out of you about canceling warranties if the service is not conducted as scheduled and by an authorized dealer.  The end result is a customer base that is almost fanatical about their service on their vehicle...
Most BMW and M/B owners lease their vehicles, knowing they are turning in the vehicle and never seeing it again, lack of maintenance causes problems.  My new favorite vehicle is actually the Ford Fusion, which you could buy almost new for almost what you are talking about paying, or even a certified one for the same or less...it is a great car..

The MB's and the BMW will hold there value better but, yes the annual service bill could be almost double what the Toyota would cost.

just my two cents...

there are only a few makes I recommend staying away from and you didn't ask about those...

The odds are that the Toyota has been maintained better, and Toyotas are great vehicles, barring the fact that a some of their engines have sludge build up problems, make sure there are no open recalls by calling the dealership and make sure you get a CarFax and Autocheck reports because often one will find something the other has missed.