Looked at several 190E's and have decided to not bother looking any more. All have been thoroughly worn out and not worth repairing to a level I would be comfortable with.

Have been looking for Volvo 740/940's as well but they seem thoroughly worn out, too.

I do see good examples of both driving around but I suspect that the owners know what they have and will not sell.

So, I'm looking at the Mercedes C220/C230 models and am pleased with what I see. Was serious on a 1996 C220 in apparent good shape and low miles but a PPI revealed over $3000 in repairs required (brakes, suspension, transmission). No wonder the owner didn't have records because he never did anything in which to get records. He did keep it clean. The PPI turned out to be a wise move and an important lesson!

Thinking of Volvo 850's as well but I've heard negative comments on the electrical reliability although sound vehicles mechanically.

Interesting comments from some sellers include:
It's clean, it's OK!
It's a Mercedes! It's a Volvo!
They last forever!
I paid cash, I didn't need receipts or records.
It looks good for the year.
Excellent condition (when you look at it in the dark).
What do you expect for a car that's x years old?
Nobody keeps records.

...and I'm still looking.

Cheers,
Paul

__________________
1989 300E
1999 C230 Kompressor
2005 Toyota Highlander AWD

Also owned:
1964 Chevrolet Impala (first car)
1972 Fiat 124 Sport Spider (first sports car)
1976 VW Scirocco (first new car)
1970 Pontiac Parisienne (epitome of bland)
1980 VW Scirocco (last new car)
1953 GMC 6x6 (amazingly well engineered)
1967 Austin Healey 3000
1987 F150 4x4
1978 F150
1987 VW Jetta
1992 Toyota Previa AWD
2003 Toyota Sienna
2001 Nissan Pathfinder 4WD
1949 John Deere Model M