why are mercedes expensive?

IMAGINE THIS! IN GERMANY and a few other places there are NO SPEED LIMITS on the HIGHWAY! WE DUMMIES in America had to live with 55 MPH for a LONGER TIME as our dumb car complies tried to figure out HOW to meet GOVERNMENT EMISSIONS issues and ECONOMY issues and CRASH TEST issues.  In GERMANY the cars were ALREADY going 150 MPG all day long! OUR CARS could NOT DO THAT! OUR cars were only HEALTHY to about 80 or so for a LONG LONG TIME!  MOST EURO CARS go ONE step BETTER! They use RADAR to read the road ahead and on the SIDE so you will NOT HIT a DEER or a DRUNKARD As afar as i KNOW< BENZ cars get MORE MPGS using the AC ON than other cars do with AC OFF! They run the FUEL LINES through the ICY COLD AC hoses to CHILL THE GAS! This CAUSES more atomization and therefore MORE FUEL MILEAGE and POWER!EROPER pioneered LOW SULFUR gas that is BEST so far for the AIR WE BREATH!  BENZ HHODS go STRAIGHT VERTICAL to repair things, and like ALL EURO CARS< the will run for THIRTY PLUS YEARS! WE can NEVER be a GREAT COUNTRY AGAIN< as long as our CARS are not as competitive as THEY ARE! AUDI wins nearly every race it enters, even with TURBO DIESEL race engines! SOP there is GOOD NEWS HERE! Since most people get FRIGHTENED at the 100,000 mile marker, and the EURO CARS do NOT really wear out, a BMW, BENZ or AUDI can be bought at 90% off at about 100,000 miles! TODAY i was looking at several BENZ SUPERCHARGED HARD TOP CONVERTIVLES on line! They were ALL under $10,000 !!! My AUDIS were only $1800 and $300 USED and same for TWO BENZ cars I got ONLINE from CARGURUS! EVERY PART is numbered and they use the BEST alloys and technology there is! We are STIL trying to catch up here! The JEEP 3.7 engine is a piece of JUNK with a TINKER TOY water pump and NO retaining springs on the ROCKER ARMS! And GM still cuts CORNERS for PROFIT MARGINS! The AUDI A8 is made from 100% AMERICAN ALCOA aluminum and is a SAFETY CELL! The BARE BONES body weighs only 565 pounds NEARLY ALL AUDI engines are RACE proven technology and VERY EFFICIENT! The poor JEEP LIBERTY is SO black balled and it DESERVES IT! Most of OUR cars are WAY UNDER ENGINEERED and GNM loving people STILL: are in the DARK AGES>>> can you IMAGINE a CHRYELR MUSEUM with K cars and silly broken down 300s from yesteryear?? or a FORD museum with a PINTO on the floor?? OR a GM one with the FIERO< the LUMINA< the MINIVANS with PLASTIC door locks that BREAK, the A cars the J cars that have ALL DISAPPEARED NOW! There is SUCH s difference between a CAR and an AUTOMOBILE if you get the point! ALL BENZ cars are MUSEUM KEEPERS and same for AUDI< and BMW and even VOLVO and SAAB! NOW nearly ALL our domestic cars are using the SAME TRANS suppliers as AUDI< and BMW use namely ZF company parts! NOW we CAN be more competitive out there but STIL there is no BUICK MILLION MILE CLUB< nor is there a CHEVY hospital or BUICK health clinic! SEE MY POINT!  I LOVED my BOSS 302 MUSTANG! It was the FASTEST I even was on the road at 150 MPH<but is was ONLY GOOD in the STRAIGHTAWAY! IT was only $3600 off the showroom floor!! EUROPEAN cars can handle the ALPS if they have to and the RADAR that they are using PROTECTS from ACCIDENTS as well ! Even FALLING asleep behind the WHEEL!. MY AUDI TURBO would blow the DOORS off Camaros and MUSTANGS with CUT OFFS! NOT by MUCH, but such FUN FUN FUN! >>>TODAY the FORD EDGE is PART G+FOD and PART AUDI! It has HEATED and COOLED SEATS and CUP HOLDERS< like AUDI! AUDI ZF steering, AUDI ZF transmissions, AUDI cooling systems, even AUDI AC systems from ZF! There are 42 ZF plants in the usa that SUPPLY CADDY< LINCOLN , KIA, HYUNDAI and nearly ALL Ford and Chrysler cars! Most cars with SHIFT PADDLES are either ZF or AISIN WARNER of JAPAN!>>>TRY RENTING a BENZ for a week end and SEE why they are SO GREAT! OLDER GM cars had ONLY ONE DRIING WHEEL! So few had LIMITED SLIPP differential people would literally FALL OFF the road in BAD weather, or dig for HOURES to get out of bad MUD PUDDLES! AUDIQUATTRO< and BMW xDRIVE and BENZ 4 NMATICS will get you there SAFELY is nearly ANY WEATHER besides a real CYCLONE or HURRICANE!   CHRSLER still has MANY CARS that get BLACK BALLED by testing agencies! MY AUDI was SO CHEAP to insure and a TRUE JOY being a REAL AUTOMOBILE and NOT just a CAR!I used to drive RINGS around PARKED GM cars in the SNOW parking lots. and CHUCKLE! ABANDONED cars in the WHITE SNOW LOL! And MG cars are MOSTLY RENTAL CARS NOT as their MAIN buyers are in CHINA! The IMPALA and the MALIBU were sold to CHINA and MALIBU models were sold to SADDAM INSANE at one million for a LOT of MALIBUs! 

Mercedes are pretty standard cars in Germany,  they even use them as taxis.  But when they sell them in the USA they add a ton of options and upgrades,  driving the price up and moving into the luxury category.  

are they Not the Ones I Purchased a 1954 220 for 90 pounds  UK in Germany

a 230e 1987 $1000 in 2008

Yes. first, understand that Mercedes is the first car company. It was actually two companies: Daimler and Benz. This was in the late 1800s. Before Ford made the Model T, cars were something that only the rich could afford. Hence the reputation of Mercedes catering to the rich. It still rings true today in the S-Class, G-Class and AMG models, plus some of the E Class as well. 

The problem is, they are designed to only be relevent for three, maybe four years.This planned obsolescence causes their resale values to tank to the point they become affordable to those who can't usually afford a new one. Problem: they buy this to look rich, but because they don't understand how money works, which is why they buy one. They are shocked when that 15 year old S Class that they bought for $15K has the same exorbitant repair costs that it had when it was $130K brand new. Many used MBs have been poorly maintained because if this.  

1)  all German cars have much higher msrp prices in overseas markets than in Germany - yes, very high profit margins selling to the rich overseas.  Porsche, Audi, BMW,Benz are much more affordable in their homelands, although still expensive.  This is not true of cars made in Japan, Korea which sell in overseas markets at roughly the same price as home market (+ transport).   2)  while a mass produced car, Mercedes are more meticulously engineered and tested than other makes . . . tolerances are tighter and better materials specified.   3)  they come down an assembly line like others, but quality control is maintained to higher standards.

You're paying for the prestige, as well as the many standard features, technology, safety ( both passive and active ) equipment, etc.

Cause they are popular. The higher rating it is, the higher the price gets. It's mostly just comes from a Denial of Greediness though