As conveyed by others, the 5-speed Autostick is solid & extremely reliable. That can be essentially said for the entire rolling chassis, which is the M-B R170 design. As far as getting the car worked on, if required, find yourself a reputable independent German repair shop. Residing in Chicago metro area, there ought to be several of these auto shops around. They won't have any issues handling repairs to the rolling chassis since it's entirely M-B sourced.

And regarding pizzaguy's signature comment, while there are many CDJR dealers that claim experience with these cars, many of them no longer have service technicians familiar with the car. So getting a reliable & cost effective repair from these dealers is rare and subject to some ridicule from Forum members (We told you so!). However, there are a minute few CDJR dealers that can provide quality service on these cars. I'm saying that because I have such a dealer (Benson CDJR) near me in Upstate SC. There are still 2 service techs employed there that received training on how to service these cars. I haven't used them much, because I also have one of those reputable independent service shops nearby that specializes in German marques. (Note: This forum is an encyclopedia of known issues with repairs that anyone with reasonable DIY skills can execute. Any repairs I've had to make I completed using this Forum as my source for "How to". And fortunately, nothing major thus far.) I have discussed several issues with the service techs at Benson's and they have always been receptive to talking with me about my car. In fact, the dealer calls me up about every 3-4 months and offers to buy my car due to an interested buyer. Maybe I'll get an Alpha Romeo one day! Benson sells Alphas also.