Hello everyone! Noob posting alert here

Looking at getting my first TD, a 98 E300. Owned by a coworker for the past 10 years, they are ready for something new. I just happen to be needing a car to drive to/from work and maybe some road trips, so....here I am!


165K miles on this one. Turbo was replaced last year. Owner states the car never had the same pickup after the turbo was replaced. On the test ride today, I could audibly hear what sounded like a boost leak (or quite a bit of turbo noise) coming from under the hood. Upon close inspection I notice the lower intercooler hose on the right side has some DUCT TAPE on it . He doesn't work on his own stuff, so it sure seems to me like somewhere along the line it might have had some bandaids applied to it....

It's had the services done at the dealer (A&B), needs a motor mount (and the boost issue fixed), but seems to drive nice, suspension seems nice and tight (especially for the mileage), and the price is pretty darn good ($3500).

Assuming I need to replace hoses, a motor mount, and track down what I hope is a boost leak what should I expect to spend (in parts, I can tackle most any thing mechanical). ?

Looking at the moment for:

Lower intercooler hose
Fuel filter (s)
Trans filter and fluid
Oil filter and oil

anything else you think I ought to do to give a known "starting point". I'd like to keep something like this long term, at least put 100k miles on it.