I paid $11k for our first 300E, a '91 in '97 primarily for a sense of safety for my new family after driving an econobox Honda. After an $1100 90k service I realized I could only afford to do the maintenance myself. If you have to rely on a dealer then these cars maintenance and repairs will no doubt be costly. The '91 now has 150k and so far I only had to replace the water pump, belts, tensioner, and smog pump.

Maybe the extreme hot and cold CO weather attributed to the cooling and climate control failures. My parents blew a head gasket in 100+ degree Las Vegas heat. You probably didn't need to replace the alternator unless the bearings failed (uncommon). A $30 regulator can be replaced in 5 minutes. $2k for an '88 with 125k isn't bad. Over $2k for all the parts you replaced is reasonable.

Buying an old car is always a risk because of the unknowns. I wouldn't recommend any used car if you require absolute reliability and can't maintain the car yourself unless the car was completely refurbished. If it were, it would cost more than a new car...

__________________
'88 300TE, 175k, black RENNTech 3.6L Recaro C's AMG 1 SOLD
'92 500E, 110k, Spruce green, stock SOLD
'94 E320 Cabriolet, 130k, E500 wheels, Emerald green SOLD
'94 E320 Cabriolet, 110k, black, stock, SOLD
'88 300TE, 229k, dark grey, SOLD
'90 300CE, 212k, white, new paint, SOLD
'91 300E, 209k, white, rebuilt head SOLD
'74 914-6, grey, 2.7L 325hp twin turbo Audi conversion