Aussie vs import

[lra]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

ML500 in the workshop at the moment, no wipers, indicators, SRS system disabled, electric tailgate stuck open and lights stuck on.
Battery is located under driver seat:Battery let go, covering module in acid.
Over $2K each and more than one is faulty.

And that is why current model cars will not last as long as classic '50s -80s.
Obviously a bigger repair job than wire-brushing and painting the battery carrier.

[Express]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

ML500 in the workshop at the moment, no wipers, indicators, SRS system disabled, electric tailgate stuck open and lights stuck on.

Battery is located under driver seat:

image

Battery let go, covering module in acid.

That module acts like a router, recieves and sends CAN bus signals around the car.

There is two of these in the engine bay, one under the drivers seat next to the battery and one in the boot.

Over $2K each and more than one is faulty.

There are companies all around the world that make a living out of repairing and refurbishing electronic components for Euros.

Why?

Because Euros are popular around the world and there is a big enough market to make these companies very viable.

Just a couple of locals for starters, there are more locals plus a multitude overseas that will supply anywhere in the world.


http://australianecurepair.com.au/


http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/south...irs/1045768275


Also if you are the owner of a Euro either new or old, do yourself a favour an get onto the international forums for your brand and you’ll find how to source cheap parts and even though your dealer may not want you to be aware of these places, your independence repair shops should know or they are not too good at their job or more likely they have just seen a sucker walk through the door.

For example any of the big Mercedes-Benz forums in Europe and the USA will have a lot of info on MB spare parts suppliers.

MB has for years worked in conjunction with suppliers to provide cheaper alternatives to parts.

MB Online is used by many Aussies and is popular through the world for being able to source OEM and aftermarket parts at a fair price.

Here is just a little taste as these places are located all around the world and they compete against each other.


https://mbonlineparts.com/splash/ind...?siteid=215843


http://www.mbspares.com.au/Spares.aspx


There are hundreds of thousands if not millions of old Euros being driven around the world without their owners worrying about maintenance and repairs, it seems the old lies that have been propagated here for years to protect the local manufacturers are still alive and well.

The truth is any dealership local or import will tear you a new one when it comes to repairs and the prices will often reflect the price of the car which can mean you pay to play.

I hate walking into Holden Spares to buy genuine specific parts for my HSV as the prices they charge are almost a crime.

I've been collecting OEM in the box parts for my Redline for the past 6 months to hoard away for the next 50 years and the prices Holden charges for cosmetic parts would take your breath away.

There are many car enthusiasts in this world that are into cars that are not Fords and Holdens and many of them are not wealthy people, so get onto the forums and tap into their knowledge on how to live with imports.


.

[Dave1966]

Good luck repairing acid damaged computer mate. Plug it up on the test harness repair the damaged area and good to go,until the next component dies with corrosion. Like stuff that's been for a swim,get it working again but corrosion kills, so it's got a warranty,big deal,still labour and time to get the car back in pull it again haggle with the repairer and hope it's fixed next time. Maybe the puter comes back testing OK,nothing wrong with my repair mate,gonna charge you for a retest,then you look at the plugs in that pic covered in acid,corrosion leeches up the wiring and it causes a high resistance connection, or a intermittent issue,who's paying for that time to find that? Owner calls up my car you fixed is broken down again you bastard,get it towed and fix it at your cost,im not paying for your stuff up blah blah.Then you fix that only to find more of the same. That corrosion in the pic is a mess,game over if you wanna keep the car,Same as brake modules,most repaired ones are dodgy as.

[Express]

Originally Posted by Dave1966

Good luck repairing acid damaged computer mate. Plug it up on the test harness repair the damaged area and good to go,until the next component dies with corrosion. Like stuff that's been for a swim,get it working again but corrosion kills, so it's got a warranty,big deal,still labour and time to get the car back in pull it again haggle with the repairer and hope it's fixed next time. Same as brake modules,most repaired ones are dodgy as.

Well purchase a refurbished one that hasn't has a swim or acid bath.



.

[Dave1966]

Originally Posted by Express

Well purchase a refurbished one that hasn't has a swim or acid bath.



.

And the wiring mate?? Just throw in a new harness too? Easy as
Ohhh,but wait,it's a different dash number puta from the wreckers and the blah blah light won't work or it does this now you put in the new puta. I can't get exactly the same number puta,also now my key won't work,oh yeah,need the key from the other puta as well. Piece of cake ten minutes work. Then the owners whinging and refusing to pay 85 an hour for days of troubleshooting,phone calls chasing parts and the learning curve and says I give up,repairer ends up with a bill for parts sitting around. Pass on that one thanks bud. People think German engineering is special,well,it is but not always good,why would you mount a computer under your battery? Or on other model MB stick the battery under the cabin air filter,great for air quality when the battery does this trick in the pic.

[Express]

Originally Posted by Dave1966

And the wiring mate?? Just throw in a new harness too? Easy as
Ohhh,but wait,it's a different dash number puta from the wreckers and the blah blah light won't work or it does this now you put in the new puta. I can't get exactly the same number puta,also now my key won't work,oh yeah,need the key from the other puta as well. Piece of cake ten minutes work. Then the owners whinging and refusing to pay 85 an hour for days of troubleshooting,phone calls chasing parts and the learning curve and says I give up,repairer ends up with a bill for parts sitting around. Pass on that one thanks bud. People think German engineering is special,well,it is but not always good,why would you mount a computer under your battery? Or on other model MB stick the battery under the cabin air filter,great for air quality when the battery does this trick in the pic.

My last 3 Mercs have had the battery in the boot.

I’ve owned and seen many an old Holdens and Fords where the battery carrier in the engine bay has been eaten away.

A little bit of diligent maintenance goes a long way.

Aside from my many activities in life I come from an electronic manufacturing background and everything is repairable and a good repairer is also a good fault finder.

Your post is mainly rubbish as the examples you give can relate to any manufacturer local or otherwise.

As I said, you pay to play and if you can’t afford it then buy a $14k Kia and keep replacing them every 5 years.

I’ve told this story before, the BCM module in my Beemer failed after it was 12 months out of warranty and because the car had such low mileage BMW replaced it for free as they said regardless of the warranty period it shouldn’t have failed in that time frame.

Try that with a local manufacturer.

You want to experience price gouging, start restoring an old Falcon.


.

[Dave1966]

Glad Merc finally decided on where to fit the batteries. After years of R and D it was deemed not a good idea to mount a puta under a battery or sit a battery under the cabin air filter. Guess those models are endangered already due design.So how are you going to fix the wiring in the pic? It's bread and butter economics bud,this stuff is cost prohibitive in many cases,any brand,I'm just using MB due to the pic. So if anything is repairable why are you hoarding parts for your flatliner? I'm sure you can just make or repair anything you need

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Express

Well purchase a refurbished one that hasn't has a swim or acid bath.



.

Thats all well and good but the module is specific to that specification of car, its not like wrecking yards are full of $135K Mercedes SUVs in the same spec.

Injectronics is a Melbourne based mechatronics company specialising in this exact field, they repair ECUs and ABS modules etc.

On the phone to them, not familiar with its operation can only do inspection.

[Dave1966]

Originally Posted by commodorenutt

^^^ This x 100

Exactly right.

I've mentioned it on here before, but when a work colleague who is a tragic for buying 10 year old Mercs questioned why I would buy an FG, when I could buy a nice (older) Merc for the same money.

I told him there's no way in hell I'd have an older Merc that could well have many issues and been offloaded because of that. He laughed & said "so you buy taxi instead"

German colleague overhearing this piped up "In my country, Mercedes Benz is Taxi" - absolutely shutting him down.

Ironically, 5-6 years on, he no longer has any Mercs - he's converted to Toyotas, after his last E-series developed an ABS fault that was quoted at $3500 to fix using wrecker parts (or over $9K from a dealer and a 3 months wait for new parts).

I've also got enough friends who run workshops or wreckers who deal in this on a daily basis, and big bills are quite common, especially after the warranty ends, and far more common than on Aussie or Asian cars. It's not every Euro thaty has an issue, but a higher proportion of them that cost owners dearly.

It's like playing lotto - some will have a faultless run, whilst others will have nothing but problems. The proportion of problems, and costs, seem to be much higher in older Euros. And some younger ones to - like $17K to rebuild a BMW-engined Mini that smashed it's timing chains & guides - out of warranty time-wise, but still ultra-low km, and serviced every 12 months (less than 3000km/yr).


Clever marketing over many years by the likes of BMW & Merc, importing only the mid & high luxury levels has created a false impression of the true "prestige" levels of these cars, and badge snobbery has driven it even further.

Those who grew up with them in Germany and other first-world Euro countries know full well the base models over there are just like our Commodores & Falcons - but they were never exported over here. If Ford only sold Fairmont Ghias & Fairlanes, where would the buying public see them?

And for those old enough to remember. Aussie cars had vinyl seats into the early 80s. Mercedes Benz called their vinyl "MB-Tex" - and got away with it for decades longer...... So tell me, why would you buy a "prestige" car with vinyl seats??

Spot on,clever marketing.I guess they have to do something coz the prices we pay here need to be justified,people take the bait and think they are getting a luxury and superior type of car. MB is a mass production car used in fleets and taxis like many other mass production unit. The latest drama I saw was a trans rebuild on a euro SUV. They couldn't find a rebuild kit that was correct so he sat down for hours working out what was what and ended up buying two kits to get everything he needed which was still cheaper tha genuine,time and labour lost that he can't charge the customer,lesson learned.The best modern stuff seems to the the jappas in my book.

[Dave1966]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Thats all well and good but the module is specific to that specification of car, its not like wrecking yards are full of $135K Mercedes SUVs in the same spec.

Injectronics is a Melbourne based mechatronics company specialising in this exact field, they repair ECUs and ABS modules etc.

On the phone to them, not familiar with its operation can only do inspection.

Yep,sounds familiar. Be really aware of the acid damage to the wiring harness and plugs too mate. Good luck with it.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Dave1966

Glad Merc finally decided on where to fit the batteries. After years of R and D it was deemed not a good idea to mount a puta under a battery or sit a battery under the cabin air filter. Guess those models are endangered already due design.So how are you going to fix the wiring in the pic? It's bread and butter economics bud,this stuff is cost prohibitive in many cases,any brand,I'm just using MB due to the pic. So if anything is repairable why are you hoarding parts for your flatliner? I'm sure you can just make or repair anything you need

It seems that if anyone disagrees with your opinion you get upset, even when it's backed up with links.
You'll get on a lot better here if you leave the sarcasm out.

Originally Posted by Dave1966

Yep,sounds familiar. Be really aware of the acid damage to the wiring harness and plugs too mate. Good luck with it.

I think Franco Cozzo could work out what to look for, after all he is a sparky and has rewired a number of cars.

[blackf6]

Aussie v import? That isn't even a choice anymore.
I will die in my Leyland.

[Express]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Thats all well and good but the module is specific to that specification of car, its not like wrecking yards are full of $135K Mercedes SUVs in the same spec.

Injectronics is a Melbourne based mechatronics company specialising in this exact field, they repair ECUs and ABS modules etc.

On the phone to them, not familiar with its operation can only do inspection.

You’re right there wouldn’t be wrecking yards here full of Mercs but that’s why you start looking outside of your local playground where they may be sold in bigger numbers and approaching companies specialise in chasing the parts.

Seriously though, if you purchase a low volume vehicle you must also be aware that in time the parts are going to be difficult to source.

Even older local cars rely on the aftermarket for some parts and if you’re chasing cosmetics and it’s an older limited production car you’ll have to dig deep into your pockets or go without.

I priced the door trims for my 2016 VF2 Redline Ute and Holden quoted about $760 each plus another $160 for the piano black inserts.

I thought I’d try the wreckers and because it’s a Ute it doesn’t have the hole for the boot release so I can’t use one from a sedan as it will be noticeably wrong, the insets only have provision for two window buttons and not four like the sedan, the trim colour and fittings are particular only to the Redline and Maloo which in all has meant I’m very limited in my chances of getting them and on top of that I would want them to be in good nick.

So far no luck but that’s the trials and tribulations of purchasing cars where the volume is small.

I'm not saying buy Euro because you'll be well looked after, I'm saying they're no better or worse than the rest and in some cases there is more than one way to skin a cat.


.

[NX74205]

Originally Posted by Dave1966

Spot on,clever marketing.I guess they have to do something coz the prices we pay here need to be justified,people take the bait and think they are getting a luxury and superior type of car. MB is a mass production car used in fleets and taxis like many other mass production unit.

They are superior. Check the spec sheets. Taxi spec Mercs in Europe are not the same as the fully equipped Mercs we get here.

In any event, I'd much rather have a taxi-spec Merc than a taxi-spec Camry. The Merc will be far better built, for a start.

[Express]

Originally Posted by Dave1966

Glad Merc finally decided on where to fit the batteries. After years of R and D it was deemed not a good idea to mount a puta under a battery or sit a battery under the cabin air filter. Guess those models are endangered already due design.So how are you going to fix the wiring in the pic? It's bread and butter economics bud,this stuff is cost prohibitive in many cases,any brand,I'm just using MB due to the pic. So if anything is repairable why are you hoarding parts for your flatliner? I'm sure you can just make or repair anything you need

That little cover located behind the seat at the bottom of the photo is where the battery is located in the VE to the current VF series Utes.

You need to be a contortionist just to disconnect a terminal and remove the seat if anything more complicated is required.

So what's your point about MB design?





I’ve had 2 project cars that required a total rewire as usually the wiring is saveable or only some patching is required.

I paid a professional on the last using an aftermarket harness which wasn’t that expensive and with the other one after a little bit of tuition I helped my sparky mate which kept the cost down.

Unless the wiring in the photo you're talking about is totally fried all the way through the vehicle then you’d only need to have a pro patch it and replace the affected modules.

It’s nothing to get your nickers in a twist over, it’s just a car and they are repairable even taking into account Franco Cozzo legitimate concerns about sourcing parts.

But if I was to offer some advice I would probably suggest you don’t buy a Euro as it’s possible you may not be able to cope if something went wrong.

Where some of us are up to the challenge.


.

[Express]

Originally Posted by Dave1966

So if anything is repairable why are you hoarding parts for your flatliner? I'm sure you can just make or repair anything you need

Don't be silly.

I'm hoarding cosmetics which I've been doing with my cars since the 1970's and I'm not the Lone Ranger when it comes to doing it.

Think ahead 40 years when it comes time to restore a car and you have a shed full of almost impossible to get new OEM parts to play with.

All the parts that wear over time like leather console lids, interior dash panels and anything that is touched regularly.

Only a car enthusiast can appreciate the feeling that gives.

If you don't need them you will always find someone who will snap them up.

Before the years out I'll also have things like spare second hand front and rear bars, headlights, instrument clusters and mirrors to add to the collection.

It's something my father who was a bike and car nut taught me.

Hoarding car parts runs in our family and so does big sheds.


.

[Trump]

Originally Posted by Express

Don't be silly.

I'm hoarding cosmetics which I've been doing with my cars since the 1970's and I'm not the Lone Ranger when it comes to doing it.

Think ahead 40 years when it comes time to restore a car and you have a shed full of almost impossible to get new OEM parts to play with.

All the parts that wear over time like leather console lids, interior dash panels and anything that is touched regularly.

Only a car enthusiast can appreciate the feeling that gives.

If you don't need them you will always find someone who will snap them up.

Before the years out I'll also have things like spare second hand front and rear bars, headlights, instrument clusters and mirrors to add to the collection.

It's something my father who was a bike and car nut taught me.

Hoarding car parts runs in our family and so does big sheds.


.

Is this where you keep all of your spares?

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by Trump

Is this where you keep all of your spares?


image

Now that's what you call a shed , where's the big screen TV

[smoo]

Originally Posted by commodorenutt

^^^ This x 100

Exactly right.

I've mentioned it on here before, but when a work colleague who is a tragic for buying 10 year old Mercs questioned why I would buy an FG, when I could buy a nice (older) Merc for the same money.

I told him there's no way in hell I'd have an older Merc that could well have many issues and been offloaded because of that. He laughed & said "so you buy taxi instead"

German colleague overhearing this piped up "In my country, Mercedes Benz is Taxi" - absolutely shutting him down.

Ironically, 5-6 years on, he no longer has any Mercs - he's converted to Toyotas, after his last E-series developed an ABS fault that was quoted at $3500 to fix using wrecker parts (or over $9K from a dealer and a 3 months wait for new parts).

I've also got enough friends who run workshops or wreckers who deal in this on a daily basis, and big bills are quite common, especially after the warranty ends, and far more common than on Aussie or Asian cars. It's not every Euro thaty has an issue, but a higher proportion of them that cost owners dearly.

It's like playing lotto - some will have a faultless run, whilst others will have nothing but problems. The proportion of problems, and costs, seem to be much higher in older Euros. And some younger ones to - like $17K to rebuild a BMW-engined Mini that smashed it's timing chains & guides - out of warranty time-wise, but still ultra-low km, and serviced every 12 months (less than 3000km/yr).


Clever marketing over many years by the likes of BMW & Merc, importing only the mid & high luxury levels has created a false impression of the true "prestige" levels of these cars, and badge snobbery has driven it even further.

Those who grew up with them in Germany and other first-world Euro countries know full well the base models over there are just like our Commodores & Falcons - but they were never exported over here. If Ford only sold Fairmont Ghias & Fairlanes, where would the buying public see them?

And for those old enough to remember. Aussie cars had vinyl seats into the early 80s. Mercedes Benz called their vinyl "MB-Tex" - and got away with it for decades longer...... So tell me, why would you buy a "prestige" car with vinyl seats??

MB tex was base model. Back then velour was the option to have and something the local stuff didn't offer.

But the part that made MB stand out from the locals late 1960s/early 70s was the fuel injection, four speed auto, independent suspension, twin cam, several hundred thousand km ruggedness (w123, 108, 114, 116, 126, 124) and the quality that no local car has ever come near.
In fact the Euro spec 2.8 injected entry model from 1972 has more power than the VN Commo while the wheezer and 5.0 Holden with their 160kw into the 21st century had less power than the 4.5 V8 S Class from 1972 speaks for itself.

[Dave1966]

Originally Posted by Express

That little cover located behind the seat at the bottom of the photo is where the battery is located in the VE to the current VF series Utes.

You need to be a contortionist just to disconnect a terminal and remove the seat if anything more complicated is required.

So what's your point about MB design?


image


I’ve had 2 project cars that required a total rewire as usually the wiring is saveable or only some patching is required.

I paid a professional on the last using an aftermarket harness which wasn’t that expensive and with the other one after a little bit of tuition I helped my sparky mate which kept the cost down.

Unless the wiring in the photo you're talking about is totally fried all the way through the vehicle then you’d only need to have a pro patch it and replace the affected modules.

It’s nothing to get your nickers in a twist over, it’s just a car and they are repairable even taking into account Franco Cozzo legitimate concerns about sourcing parts.

But if I was to offer some advice I would probably suggest you don’t buy a Euro as it’s possible you may not be able to cope if something went wrong.

Where some of us are up to the challenge.


.

My point remains valid. The MB placed expensive model specific electronics right under the battery,near the battery is great for noise protection,but under it isn't very good for the obvious reasons in the pic. Does the Commodore have electronics under the battery? It doesn't seem like a superior design by MB in my book,end of story.

So you have rewired vehicles,were they late model electronically managed vehicles like we are talking about or old school stuff? Really not relevant if it's a conventional old vehicle rewire. If you rewired a late vehicle then I tip my hat to you.

Different repairers may have different views,but to cut and splice a can bus communications harness likely isn't recommended repair practice for any manufacturer,maybe it can be done,but it's a big call if your planning on guaranteeing it in the future and may well be criticised by other future repairers.

I see you mentioned in your next post your hoarding trim parts,something that only a car enthusiast can appreciate. Come on,there's many different levels of car enthusiasts,factory restorers,modifiers,racers and just the bloke that likes to drive his car. I get you like to keep your cars pristine,good on you,that's your thing. To me replacing a 40 year old brittle piece of leather or plastic with a new 40 year old brittle piece of leather or plastic isn't something I'd be interested in investing in. Many industries have shelf lives for such components for good reasons,seals,plastics leathers all suffer with age,but I get it. In the dark,cool and dry it's better than nothing,it's a huge price to pay to keep something pristine ,not my thing but I get it. My concern would be that no matter what you see as necessary to store there is always something that unexpected ,but good on you if that's your thing. We are all enthusiasts. Taking the theory to the extreme the only true way to support a modern car into 40 or 50 years of age would be to buy two new cars and keep the second to cherry pic,which of course isn't economical,but what is in the restoration hobby?

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by ebv8

i love my fords but my brother just got an E39 BMW when he bought his house (it came with it), its a 1994 525i and its perfect, i can't fault it at all, compare it to an ED this thing is so.... much better.
I do think they new generation BMW's and Merc are built to a price rather than just being built well but this old 94 BMW is a great car

One of, if not, the best BMW's that formed the benchmark for many similar cars including the BA Falcon and VE Commodore.

[Mercury Bullet]

Cheap Euro is no better than cheap Australian.

Pay very good $$ and get a very good car, cheap out and it will be ordinary. Badge doesn't matter.

Much better bang for buck buying Australian made though. Well was...

[SumoDog68]

Originally Posted by NX74205

They are superior. Check the spec sheets. Taxi spec Mercs in Europe are not the same as the fully equipped Mercs we get here.

In any event, I'd much rather have a taxi-spec Merc than a taxi-spec Camry. The Merc will be far better built, for a start.

Camrys might not be a lot of things but they are well built.

[commodorenutt]

Originally Posted by smoo

MB tex was base model. Back then velour was the option to have and something the local stuff didn't offer.

But the part that made MB stand out from the locals late 1960s/early 70s was the fuel injection, four speed auto, independent suspension, twin cam, several hundred thousand km ruggedness (w123, 108, 114, 116, 126, 124) and the quality that no local car has ever come near.
In fact the Euro spec 2.8 injected entry model from 1972 has more power than the VN Commo while the wheezer and 5.0 Holden with their 160kw into the 21st century had less power than the 4.5 V8 S Class from 1972 speaks for itself.

MB-Tex was still being used in 1990! Locals dumped vinyl from base models, replacing it with standard cloth (ribbed velour in Holden's case) in 82/83 during VH Commodore & XE Falcon model runs! Rose-coloured 3-pointed star glasses much?

I had to work on the wiring on a 450SEL once. It was a 1979 model, getting a conversion. Funny how it went better & used far less fuel after the tired old (cutting edge?) V8 was tossed out & replaced by a 3.8L VN V6 commodore engine & 4 speed auto.
Fully engineered, that conversion cost less than getting the heads reco'd on a 200,000km motor that had the stellite valve seats sunken into the soft alloy..... but they're so rugged right?

And so much for cutting edge technology - when Chevrolet were offering TPI on base V8s in the mid 80s, MB were still persisting with electro-mechanical FI (Bosch K-jetronic) until 86/87 on the flagship V8s in the S-class - oh, and that 5.0L V8 barely produced more than a VN 5.0L, despite having OHC and costing 5x as much..... Hell even the XE Falcon in 83 had moved on to L-Jetronic multi-point EFI

I'm yet to see a MB with over 250k on the odometer, that hasn't had 5 figure sums spent on repairs. Plenty of local large cars have managed double that with far lower maintenance & repair costs, and if they do break down miles away from a dealer, most mechanics can fix a local, but won't touch a euro. In fact, several workshops run by friends & family friends won't touch euros at all - German and French.

There's a reason why a 2005 BMW 3-series can be bought for the same price as a 2005 Corolla with similar km and in similar condition, and you don't need to be Einstein to see it.

[smoo]

Originally Posted by commodorenutt

MB-Tex was still being used in 1990! Locals dumped vinyl from base models, replacing it with standard cloth (ribbed velour in Holden's case) in 82/83 during VH Commodore & XE Falcon model runs! Rose-coloured 3-pointed star glasses much?

I had to work on the wiring on a 450SEL once. It was a 1979 model, getting a conversion. Funny how it went better & used far less fuel after the tired old (cutting edge?) V8 was tossed out & replaced by a 3.8L VN V6 commodore engine & 4 speed auto.
Fully engineered, that conversion cost less than getting the heads reco'd on a 200,000km motor that had the stellite valve seats sunken into the soft alloy..... but they're so rugged right?

And so much for cutting edge technology - when Chevrolet were offering TPI on base V8s in the mid 80s, MB were still persisting with electro-mechanical FI (Bosch K-jetronic) until 86/87 on the flagship V8s in the S-class - oh, and that 5.0L V8 barely produced more than a VN 5.0L, despite having OHC and costing 5x as much..... Hell even the XE Falcon in 83 had moved on to L-Jetronic multi-point EFI

I'm yet to see a MB with over 250k on the odometer, that hasn't had 5 figure sums spent on repairs. Plenty of local large cars have managed double that with far lower maintenance & repair costs, and if they do break down miles away from a dealer, most mechanics can fix a local, but won't touch a euro. In fact, several workshops run by friends & family friends won't touch euros at all - German and French.

There's a reason why a 2005 BMW 3-series can be bought for the same price as a 2005 Corolla with similar km and in similar condition, and you don't need to be Einstein to see it.

Rose coloured glasses, too right. After owning them, BMWs and Falcons for nearly fifteen years it's hard not to.
You'd be the first to deny the older Benz are near bullet proof. Timing chains and valve guide seals are common but hasn't retired them from service in the third world. The old V8 was not cutting edge for the 70s but well ahead of most manufacturers as far as tech goes.
The 126 500se were pushing 200kw and the top of the line 560s were 220kw which in 1986 there were only a handful of cars with more power than that and well above the flimsy VN. Have in mind the V8s were at the end of their twenty year life and were about to be replaced so why would MB go to lengths to change the injection set up!
For 1991 the new L Jetronic 5.0 V8 is a beast of a motor. My old 140 S500 had more low down torque than both my old BA Fairlane 5.4 3v and FG Boss 290, while returning the same open road economy as the FG XR8 despite weighing 400kg more, having two less gears and not felling like the interior is about to fall to bits every time I pull the door shut!

Re your last paragraph. Yes there is a Toyota tax. I'm no Einstein but does that same reason you think of apply to the non existent resale figures of local stuff as well?!