Other marque's reliability...

I recently came across a 2002 Mercedes Benz SLK on the M40, which caught fire and burnt to a crisp. ( not as the result of a collision) the lady who had been driving the vehicle, informed me, that the previous SLK she owned used to leak water, lots of water, due to the doors being misaligned. Is it me, or are these so called exclusive marques, just being made the same as any other vehicle these days ?

I had a smart fortwo city car that had the following 'issues':

1) Turbo manifold cracked
2) Water pump death
3) Timing chain tensioner failed
4) Piston rings failed meaning new engine. Barrels scored, valves burnt, so cheaper to buy a new engine than to do the work to fix it!
5) leaky rear windows
6) Dodgy earth strap eating the battery.

Not a very reliable make the smart, engine life is expected to be 50,000 to 60,000 miles before it needs a rebuild on the 599cc engine. Ouch!