The head gasket job and idling issues pretty much come with the territory with high mileage W201's. It definitely sounds like it has a serious case of "deferred maintenance".

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Prost!

FWIW,

I used to own a 91 190E 2.6.

I bought it from my best friend in 97 when it had 75,000 on it. He flew a Cobra gunship in Vietnam and so was meticulous about maintaining equipment. Car always dealer serviced at exact intervals.

He told me that the transmission when cold would not shift right away. Needed a little warmup. Jump in it and head down the street cold, and it would lug along for 20-30 seconds before shifting with a bit of a lurch.
My 124 does not have this characteristic.
As the dealer said, the trans. was working properly.
It was annoying when you were in a hurry.

looks like what, 15 minutes, to install the tri-star?
That would translate to a shop rate of 90.00 per hr.
Not too bad.

Your 124 is supposed to have that characteristic. The first shift of the day is delayed until 3000RPM to help warm the catalytic converter.

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2012 E350
2006 Callaway SC560

Their hourly rate was $110. It's expensive, but I felt their service department was excellent, and they took $100 off the inspection charge because they realized I probably wouldn't get the car now.

I wasn't surprised by the head gasket or the idling, as I had heard about those issues. I would have been willing to pay to have that fixed, of course, just not when so much else also needed it.

I also have to say it is to Mercedes credit that the car still drove and handled as well as it did with all the problems going on, including screwy rear alignment, and one tire which was more worn down than the rest due to the alignment.

Oh, and one other thing.. The car has 66,XXX miles (which was corroborated by Car Fax). Not high mileage, if you ask me, for a 1991.