My first MB was a 190E, and it was fairly simple and troublefree. But, there is a tradeoff in the technology: keeping the engine & tranny running just right required more frequent attention bosch k-jetronic (or whatever it was called), control pressure cables for the tranny etc. On the newer models, with less mechanical/analog and more digital, they're more set & forget until a component breaks. When it does break it can be a lot more expensive to replace.

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Prost!