Hi all - I'm the guy with the 1993 190 2.6 he loves and takes incredible care of. Why? I'm beginning to wonder myself.

At the 90k mile service I spent close to $4k on all kinds of necessary maintenance, the service itself and precautionary measures. New suspension, brakes, water pump, rubber hoses/lines/belts, interior bits, wheel bearings (front), O2 sensor this, PVC valve that and a multitude of other minor, mostly-wearout type things (covering the front and back of two full service forms).

I ended up with the same great car but one that ran like new and handled slightly better than new. And it was worth it as hey - this is my commuter car, it's paid for and it's going to go for another 100k miles before it needs anything, save tires and brakes. Plus, it's rock-solid, rattle-free and fairly fun to drive. Almost four grand to make it like new? Sure, no problem.

Then oil consumption started to increase. Fairly dramatically. 8k miles later I'm still shy of 100k miles total and it looks like valve guides and seals, and maybe a timing chain "while they're in there", which is not really "in there" as I come to understand it b/c there's a big difference between the TOP of the engine and the FRONT of the engine. Like six hours of labor. A search of three respected independent MB shops (respected for quality of work - honesty is always a ?) around here puts me in the $2000 ballpark if the valves look great, the $2500 neighborhood if they also need some R&R, but of course "you can't see that stuff until you're in there". And to get at the FRONT of the engine, roll in a new chain and change the guide or the tensioner runs another $700 or so bucks on top of that.

So I could very well be either getting ripped off or more likely coming to grips with the idea that as a multiple-MB owner my luck has taken a turn for the worse and the concept of a well-engineered, long-lasting and worth-the-money piece of machinery is really no better than a japanese "piece of ****" (pardon my french and prejudice). You see, my other MBs went well past 200k with no more than regular maintenance and the occasional water pump. And of course I helped perpetuate the idea that MBs were worth the $$ because you could get ridiculous mileage out of them. I'm now feeling horrible b/c every Honda, Mazda, Toyota or Nissan I've ever known has gone well beyond 100k miles w/o so much as a new timing belt (and those ain't $700 installed). Yet I'm 98k miles into this 190, am looking at an additional $2-3k+ and I'm seriously considering dumping the car and buying -gasp- an Acura or something.

And according to MB Doc, the 92-93 190 2.6s are supposedly one of the most robust models MB ever designed!

WAAAAAAAAHHHHH! Someone bring me some perspective, if you can! I need it.