Lease it. People say you shouldn't but it's worth it to me to never have the hassle of dealing with breakdowns. I had the HPFP issue someone mentioned in this thread. Had it replaced twice under warranty. Would bet that whoever got the car next had the same issue. Flip side is you're always making car payments. Ask yourself if you would be happy driving a 2000 530? In my opinion, the flash is long gone. I don't care about the flash, but I like the latest and greatest in tech.
I agree completely. Leasing is great...check out swapalease.com & similar sites. You can pick up somebody else's lease for no money down most of the time.
My gf bought a 2007 C230 in '09 and since then we put on new brakes, rotors, 4 tires, air filters, oil changes...etc. That's over $2,000 in maintenance.
If you divide that $2k by the number of payments and other costs that will accumulate over the length of ownership then the extra costs will be actually more than a monthly lease payment. The peace of mind of leasing is great.
Buying a car makes sense only if you plan on keeping it for atleast 4 years after you are done with the payments.