dont let the people here(even if they are immensly wiser than yourself...) scare you out of your own car.
i read a great deal before jumping into my 240d(a little less miles than yours) and didnt do ANY of the silly mechanic checks or even check the oil before i bought it.
i got lucky and got a decent one, but it has a lot of pressure in the engine(theyre supposed to, right?) and pushes oil out of many little holes in the engine. i add half a quart of oil bi-weekly because of it. it doesnt scare me, its an old car. even with 5 year old commuter car miles(150k or so) a 25 year old car is going to have more wear on it. more cold starts, more stop and go.
if the possibility of high repair bills scare you, these arent the right car for ya! i, myself, just relish every mile i spend with my shlomo and ill put a new engine in there when he absolutely stops running. until then, ill putter around with a big stupid grin on my face as i hold up someones soccer practice
