Help, 300E +Smoke?

Hello Mercedes DIYer's,

I've been looking for a commuter car for and found a gorgeous 92' 300E with 95k. The car is excellent condition inside and out. There is only one small problem, upon taking it for a test drive it appears to have the infamous Valve Guide problems related to this engine.

Thick white smoke upon startup for about 10 seconds, and after driving the car around for about 10 minutes to warm things up, it still had noticable white smoke coming from the exhaust. My heart sank as I have been looking for many months and finally thought I had found the one.

My questions are; 1) Is it possible that only the valve seals might need to be replaced due to the mileage or is it more likely that a complete valve job be performed? 2) What is the average cost for valve job? Doing a search produced anywhere from $1500-2000, should this include new valves? and 3) Should I keep shopping as they are asking high retail for the car?

Any insights will be most appreciated.

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Ross Newcomb
96 C280, Greenish Black