Not really... No worse than a BMW or Mercedes of the same vintage. Stupid stuff broke in mine. The trunk latch, blower motor resistor, etc but the drivetrain was solid with over 100k on the car. If you can wrench on a car at all then a used german car out of warranty is a crazy value because people are afraid of them. Over 2 years of ownership I put 2k into my A8, $700 of which was standard maintenance.
Mercedes had so many badass engines during the mid-2000's. You really can't go wrong between the big naturally aspirated V8, the supercharged 500hp V8 or the twin turbo 500hp V12.
I LOVE that car. It's way too spartan to ever own one with the family. I could never justify it to myself either but if anyone ever wants to give me a ride in one, I'm game.
