1993 W124 newbie

[JonS]

Hi Forum,

Urgently looking for advice !!

I have owned a 93 200E here in Ireland for 2 years now,
recently the car has developed an idling problem.
-cold starting is difficult and once started, the car runs very rough, idles very low and can cut out altogether - until warmed up.

After doing some research on this forum, and others I -
- changed the oil / filter
- changed the plugs (original mercedes bosch)
- cleaned the throttle plate
these only made a slight improvement...

I took it to a local independent mercedes specialist here in Dublin.
( there are only two here !! - so my choice was limited) He says it will cost up to and above 1000 euro (1300 USD) to ge the car running properly again. He says a problem like this can be very hard to pinpoint, and you have to work your way through new parts until you get it.

I was shocked by this as, the car is very drivable apart from this issue.
Do you think he may be trying to screw me for parts I don't need ?

Don't get me wrong - I have no problem spending the cash, if I know it will be good for the car, But i am reluctant to go down this route, when at the end of it, the problem may still remain, but with me a lot poorer - ( you need every penny to pay for fuel over here )

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.