i agree the article got Mercedes costs wrong but your comment is on the other end of the spectrum. I've owned 2 Mercs and never had to run through 4 sets for 50k miles, 1 maybe 2 at most. But I do agree that merc dealers charge crazy for a service. I was once told to fork up $1600 for a full service. The local service shop charged me $150 for the same thing.

The article seems to suggest that BMW has a good new car warranty but Mercedes doesn't. All new mercs have 4 year, 50k miles warranty as well.