Q: BMW vs. Mercedes Benz

Those are both high-end, high-maintenace, over-engineered German cars. They have horrendous re-sell value, because they cost so much money to fix and they break down when they are older all of the time. That said, if I had a choice, I would probably buy a Mercedes-Benz because they seem to have less plastic than the BMWs do.

But I’m not a fan of either of them, mostly because they are extremely over-engineered. I work on them. I’ve been a mechanic for 48 years and I worked on Mercedes-Benzes in the late ’60s. They were really strong, tank-like machines, that would last forever, but not anymore. They are over-engineered and I personally wouldn’t buy either of them. But if you really have to get one and you have the money, then I would lease one. When the lease is over, get rid of them and get another one. You’ll pay a lot of money leasing them but at least you wouldn’t have to worry about them breaking down and having to pay for fixing, because it would be a leased car. Regardless of what car you end up going with, I highly recommend having a professional give the car a pre-purchase inspection to ensure that you know the condition of the car.