Question about european cars?

So the thing is, that im considering on buying a used bmw, or mercedes but alot of people tell me not to. alot of people tell me stuff like "hey man to much maintenance" or "hey to much cost" etc. The funny thing is i know this guy and hes driving a Volkswagen and he even tells me naw man don't buy bmw or mercedes to much cost this that, but then that in itself is a contradiction because hes driving euro himself. I have 3 Honda's and they are great cars, but i want something that's not basic i mean all Japanese cars apart from Lexus etc are just kind of plain and basic you know what i mean? but are the costs for euro cars really high? or is it just a great misconception/ contradictory fallacy as everyone implies? because i mean i see people still Driving like those 1980's diesel mercedes and its like damn i havent seen many 1980 jap cars running till this day like that. but what do you think? i especially want to know from those that own euro cars thank you.