I have a 1986 190E 2.3 that has 245,000 on it. The only work I have had done on the car that was major was a valve job back around 200,000. The car does not burn any oil and still drive very strong. I am the second owner of the car, and the transmission was replaced around 100,000 because of some mechanic screwed something up. Currently the only thing that I would fix about the car is replacing all of the rubber seals in the tranny because it overheated because my auxiliary fan isn't working properly. The tranny will slip every once and a while between shifts...not really that big of a deal...just kinda annoying. i say stick with the car and take is easy on the car. As long as you stay low in the RPMs...the car will last a long time.

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George Carstens