Yep. It's one thing to pay $35k-$40k for a vehicle, but it's another thing entirely constantly shelling out $$$ on repairs and maintenance. After reading how much Northernridge paid for an oil change for his MB, owning a post warranty FGC would scare the crap out of me. LOL
Certainly scary, but remember that ridiculous oil change price is more to do with the German stealership than the actual car. Plenty of indy shops that specialize in FGCs in most areas.
Don't get me wrong, you'd still want to budget something like $3k per year for maintenance. But at least the car itself isn't depreciating all that quickly anymore. You might buy something for $35k and sell it for high-20s 5 yrs later. So just consider the maintenance like the depreciation on a newer ride.
Not for the faint of heart I suppose. A group that includes me until I man up and buy a 10yr old ride.