mercedes had a bad rep towards the end of the 90's... will take awhile to live that down.
also, conditions can be harsher outside of europe, leads to more failures compared to simpler, more rugged cars.
hell, they used to be indestructible.. it's a shame that they're not at that same quality anymore.
edit: oh also if it's like VW, then the cars sold in other markets aren't even made in germany
Andreas Preuninger, Manager of Porsche High Performance Cars: "Grandmas can use paddles. They aren't challenging."