i've been a mechanic on bmw, mercedes and volvo since 1988.

i wouldn't touch any car after 1998, too many bells and whistles.

mercedes has an odd policy regarding some parts they consider theft relevant. example-a 722.9 valve body won't be sold over the counter, without lots of paperwork and a co-operative dealer, because it's deemed theft relevant. you can buy the whole trans with the valve body, no problem. then there's keys. don't lose any. sbc or electronic brakes on the 211 cars have an extended warranty that probably expired for 90% of the remaining cars. there's a process for doing the brakes on an sbc car so if the car wakes up during the job, the sbc selftest doesn't engage. sbc failures are exspensive. wiring in the headlights degrade, fuel senders die, the list goes on. the latest mercedes factory tool is about 25k, plus updates and subscriptions.

bmw has issues with the blocks and head bolts in the later cars. some blocks the threads pull out after an overheat-meaning rethreading it, not always possible, and/or replacement. the latest ones the aluminum jacketed bolts for the head and motor mounts, the heads snap off. the blocks are magnesium and the steel bolts react-thus the aluminum. window regulators, alarm issues-bmw speak is dme, and programming is half the battle when repairing or updating. very little can be done without the istas tool or an autologic. al is 12-15k and can't do the whole job.

can't do much on those with a snapon or mac tool. volvo is even worse. the volvo vida program requires a subscription and once you contact them for a car, they send you a dvd to update your existing machine. once that's done, then the car can be programmed. takes about 3 days.

any car you consider, google 20xx whatever lemon and read the results.

my position-get a 4 cyl camry, any year. you need a wagon, you have to go older for a camry. good luck, chuck.