I know that BMW is viewed as a not-so-reliable manufacturer here... apparantly Euro spec BMWs are horrible, and as such, don't have much resale value. I can pick up a low end early 90s 3 series for $500... of course that's no a/c and manual everything (including steering). Euro spec BMWs are a different beast than US spec... I've seen a newer 5 series with manual windows.
I don't know much about Euro spec Mercedes, just that not very many people have them around here.
