Car in Question:
1993 MB 190e 2.6
Automatic Transmission

Hello everyone. I am very new to the world of Mercedes and am hoping that all of you with MB experience might be able to help me. I'm a college student, and my piece of crap Buick finally bit the dust. I visited a dealorship yesterday and found a '93 Mercedes Benz 190e 2.6 for $7,995. I didn't have time to test drive it yesterday, but from the looks of it, I could tell that the outer body had been well-maintained, and the inside was in immaculate condition.

Specifically, I have these questions:

1. I don't have a ton of money to spend on car repairs. Would this year/make of Mercedes be a good investment for me? (These cars have such good retail and trade-in value -- even if I drove it for 10 years, I could still get 1/2 my money back!)

2. About how much can I expect to pay per year in upkeep on a car such as this?

3. From doing online research, I've seen sporadic problems with head gasket failures and troubles with the a/c. They were other model years, not the '93. Is the '93 prone to any major mechanical problems?

4. What about service? The car has 70,700 miles on it now, and I'm not sure yet as to its mechanical history, although the dealor tells me it's in immaculate condition (but then again, don't they all?). Should I expect a service appointment soon? About how much should I be prepared to spend?

5. What about the timing belts and chains? I kept reading that these cars are very sensitive about these belts and chains, and I want to be sure that I don't mess something up if they need replacing. How would I know how when to replace these?

6. Overall, how reliable is this car?

7. Would you be able to point me to a page on the Internet or maybe something that you might have in terms of keeping track of scheduled maintenance (when to change the fluids, oil changes, etc.) People tell me that these cars require different maintenance than American cars, so I want to be sure to have a good schedule.

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WHEW! I think that's it! I'm supposed to go and trade my car in this afternoon. I will check back for any responses that you might be able to help me with. I'm grateful to all of you for your assistance in helping me make a good decision.