....the devil in the details.... Up the road from ya Dale in Columbus and I own an '89. 260e. Everything your fellow forum members have said is right on. As was mentioned, I'd grab those service records in a New York minute and start pouring over them, better yet take some pictures of the invoices and post them on here for comment. Whomever spent $3900, $2300, and $1000++ on this car did some big time repairs and you want to know what those repairs were.

In regards to the car, the inline 6 is a nice peppy engine. Your son won't be winning any races, but it's not like driving an 80's MB diesel either. The 260e has best been described....not by me, by someone else....as a de-contented 300e. Pretty plain interior, just right for a teen. My kids drove my Benzes and I always felt they had an extra measure of safety as a result. I kept those cars and am now restoring them from the various wear, tear, and mishaps. You can do the same thing when your son goes off to college by dropping a 300e engine in that puppy and have a nice vintage Benz for yourself.