I'd say stick to what you know unless you're thinking about going American or Asian. I work on Audi and Mercedes and if you know like I do BMW is by far the best to work with. If anything if you do buy a German car stay away from air ride. They have too many issues and don't last long before having to replace a piece of the system. Quality has diminished over the years

 

I'll take your word for that, but there are SO many times I have to scratch my head when working on my E61 that I could only conclude that the BMW engineers were sadists with a fetish for annoying home wrench-twisters. Drop the exhaust system, tranny crossmember and huge heat shield - to add fluid to the transfer case? The water pump and thermostat are WHERE? Take half the car apart to totally remove the tailgate hydraulic pump because the fill port is on the BOTTOM of the reservoir? ;-)

Yeah, I'm not always thrilled with my "new" (2011) Mercedes GLK either, particularly after spending a good 10 hours to swap motor mounts (drop the exhaust, pull axles, etc.) but it does look like most "normal things" are more accessible and easier to work on... but maybe my sample size is too small to get a real feel for both companies.

 

I hear you guys and I owned quite a few Audi's and I can compare as well. My worst car from maintenance perspective was 2003 Audi Allroad, constant issues with air suspension. The best one - 2010 Audi A4, probably because it was a simpler one with 2.0t engine. Still I feel like my 535i is the best car I've ever owned. I did a lot of maintenance on it but most of the time it was pretty straightforward except the oil pan gasket replacement and the turbos ) After all we went thru together I'm not parting with her, it is a happy marriage with some bumpy rides but it is part of life, right?

 

I have maintained Audi A3, S4, BMW M3, M5, M6, 540, 530xi, 330, Mercedes 380SL, 450SL, C280, G-wagons, Porsche 930, 965, 964, 911SC, Carrera, 996, 997, Turbo.

All I can say is they all have a lot of issues unlike my Lexus. I avoid first generation direct injection before they found out the carbon deposit problem. I avoid all Audi with timing chains in between the engine and flywheel. I avoid all Mercedes because there are no documents supporting DIY. I avoid all BMW with turbos because they put them in places that normal persons cannot get to.

I do own and drive Porsches because I can maintain them myself. If not, you need deep bank accounts. My present project is to rebuild my 997 engine with its famous bore-scoring problem.

 

This is a truly respectable list of cars, @yelcab2! One day I will join a Porsche club, I hope Good luck with your 997 project, these cars are still valued pretty high nowadays, look at this beauty here