i have heard some people say you can't really do any maintenance yourself. i don't understand why not. i have always changed the oil on my cars, replaced alternators, batteries, lights, troubleshooted and fixed more serious and/or obscure problems. but i've always owned domestic cars with easy access (autozone, o'reillys) to parts. will i have that option if i buy a mercedes?

You can definitely change the oil, batteries, lights, etc... The only issue with a high end car such as that is there are usually alot more electronics and safety mechanisms that you may have to bypass and/or disconnect if you're doing anything really involved. That said, I dont think there will be anything in the way of changing oil, batteries or lights, they will most likely be available at autozone, and if not, they'll be at your mercedes dealership.

Oil change and a few minor things but all the new cars require sophisticated, electronic, computer equipment to get most everything else repaired. It is very expensive equip.
Also, I have a BMW and the attitude of most people is if you can afford a luxury car you can afford to have maintenance done by the pros.
Otherwise don't buy one, even a used one.
It may still be under warranty so check that out.

Use a genuine MB oil filter some discount stuff is just that, there are various synthetic oils approoved
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