Oh, Mercedes is by NO means trouble free...NO German car is! I've had 2 Lexuses, and they were 100% problem free, and 100% boring as all hell!! I don't even think Lexus is in the same league as BMW, MBZ, Audi/Porsche and should never, ever be compared. 2000-2005/2006 was not the best for Mercedes, but BMW and their electronic problems are far worse than Mercedes. If BMW would just realize that just because you can automate/computer control something, does NOT mean you should do it!!! We have tons of friends with BMW & Mercedes, and almost everyone with the current Benz (2006+) has had far, far fewer problems with the Benz. BMW just has too many systems that rely on each other. It is too problematic!