Here's my two cents. A friend of mine bought a new 1987 260E. Since around 1989 I'm the only person to have worked on it. All scheduled services were done on time. The oil and filter were changed between the services (approx. every 3,500). All wear and tear items were checked periodically. In other words, the car was well taken care of. Still, it had all the problems one would expect from this chassis/engine combination. I re-built the transmission at 150,000 miles. I did a valve job/guides at 275,000. A/C compressor, drier, etc. at 325,000(it never needed an evaporator). At 470,000 miles cylinder #3 lost compression. A leakdown test indicated a problem with the piston/rings/cylinder wall. We decided that enough was enough and my friend sold the car for $1,500. The new owner was made aware of the nature of the engine problem but decided to buy it anyway. Considering it's age, the car is in remarkable shape. I planned on photographing the odometer and posting it here but I didn't get the chance.