I had a BMW bought brand new. I did not get another one.
Modern Mercs are often alloy bodied so no rust. The SLK200 supercharged i had recently was a good car except my new Toyota hatchback was faster and used less fuel. That car looked lovely but no comfort for 400 mile journey. Bit of fun with the roof down but sold on after 1 year.
Most German cars have very hard seats so i am unlikely to buy one having tried out so many of the VW range. Merc seats are a bit better.