Never been bothered about what badge is on my car and i’ve owned most in my lifetime(had 3 garages in my chequered past) plus I’m a typical bloke when it comes to 2nd hand cars(looking for the next one as soon as I get current one) and in general the newer french(under 15 years old) cars have been the best overall on reliability, value for money, practicality and driving comfort.
The last 6 german cars have had loads of problems, even one I bought new, it had so many faults within a year I got a full refund.
3 mazda’s were,,, well very mazda like, nice enough and did everything well but just lacked a bit of feel and were a bit squeaky/rattly plus a tad behind the times in general.
The newer pacific rim motors have come a long way from astras in a frock and can really compete in today’s market.
The less I say about merc the better.
These days I no longer keep 3-4 cars at one time and since joining the scheme again in 2013 have stuck to just their cars and the odd rental when I need something different.
If somebody gets a car just for the badge then more fool them, get a car that suits 1st and forget the neighbours.