Mathew,

This oil usage does not sound to me like it's totally excessive, however, after a top end, the valve guides and seals should have been taken care of. The BLUE smoke on startup could indicate valve guide or seal problems.

Good luck,

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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles