One of the major reasons I bought the XF was because it was based on the R170 platform and had the SLK320 engine + 6MT.

The engine was released in 1998 and produced for 9 years, used in 10 different Mercedes models and not one bad thing was said about it.

The R170 platform had been in production since 1997, making that an entire decade before I bought my 2007. I figure all the major issues had been worked out since then, and not only that, but there would be a pretty huge source of spares for all the critical bits available for a LONG time.

BTW - if the Crossfire wasn't available at the time, or if it was made in the USA or based on Chrysler manufacturing, I would have bought a Honda S2000 honestly