Almost 2 years ago, we bought our 2005 XF Roadster. I had done a lot of research on the vehicles learning two things.

First, the cars have a bad reputation with the general public. A lot of their bad press seemed to stem from the complexity of repairs when problems cropped up. More of the bad press on this topic seemed to stem from eliminating problems.

The second problem mentioned the cost of repairs. It seems parts are expensive for these vehicles. Diagnostic & labor was also mentioned to be costly for the XF.

Knowing all these negative facts, we decided to purchase our '05 XF. Because of the these negative we decided to purchase an extended warranty for this car for "peace of mind". I don't usually buy extended warranties because they are documented to be a waste of money. On the XF, we have used the extended warranty once to get a master brake cylinder replaced earlier this year. We had the work done at our local Mopar dealer. They weren't happy to see a XF in their service department. The service writer even apologized to me because I owned a XF. How thoughtless ---- this told me what they thought of the XF. The repairs didn't occur w/out problems. It seems they didn't know how to bleed the brake lines & tried to give me a car w/air in the lines. In fact, they tried this twice & failed. This dealer won't get anymore of business again.

I think Mopar dealers like the one I had to deal with caused the bad reputation of the XF. I think they weren't interested in learning how to repair a Mercedes.

The car has been a blast for us. She has not been trouble-free though. My second problem was caused by a different Mopar dealer. I used them to do an oil change prior to us moving. After we got moved, I noticed the XF had a stumble or hesitation from a stop. Finally after several months, I located the problem. I was under the hood w/the engine running when I heard a hissing noise coming from the rear of the engine at the back of the engine cover. It seems the dealer didn't seat the engine cover completely/correctly to mate it w/the MAF. I got the cover positioned correctly & the problem disappeared. Another problem caused by a Mopar dealer in a different location.

I guess it boils down to ---- if you want it done correctly, then do it yourself. But, for me I'm getting to the age (70) where working on a car isn't going to be an option for me much longer. Because of age & arthritis, I am starting to have to pay someone else do my repairs. Fortunately, I have located a repair shop in my area that knows our cars. The shop works on MB & BMW cars.

We don't regret getting Spitfire as my wife calls our XF. We really enjoy the car finding it to be a quality vehicle full of innovative features that were ahead the time. We are constantly learning something new the car can do.