Chet,

Christ, you expect a new perfect car for $3000? Pay $3000 for and expect to pay another $3000 for repairs in a few years and it will still be the best and loewst car you can get.

uh...i will assume this was meant tongue-in-cheek.

no. i don't expeect a perfect car. i was just asking questions about what i should look for. i'm extremely excited about buying a "classic" mercedes but am not naive about "getting what i pay for".

question:

i'm a little confused about the mileage comments. i read about the cars being "tanks" but read also about being wary about a car with "these" many miles. if the engine has been maintained well, what should one "reasonably" expect in terms of mileage before a person needs to think about re-building, replacing, etc.,... an engine.

this car seems to have had a lot of TLC but will get a better idea when i take it to the mechanic. should i genuinely be worried about the mileage?

let me know.