Your advice please!
 

Sadie=1990 300E

Sadie's valve tick seems to be getting increasingly worse. Now that she has hit the 230,000 milestone and after listening to her early morning chatter for the last 6 months I am faced with this question should I : (a) have a valve job done and keep on benzin
(b) have the whole motor rebuilt or replaced with used (c) turn her into a luxury flower pot. With the exception of a few ball-joints and 4 shocks she needs nothing that I am aware of and she looks fantastic. I would like to do the most cost efficient thing with Sadie, It scares me to think of spending the money for the aforementioned parts only for her bottom to fall our shortly down the road. Your suggestions please.
Thanks
Brandon

Do the valve job complete with lifters and guides and seals and keep on goin'/

Do a wet/dry compression test and leak-down. Betcha the bottom end is still strong.

Do the top-end, and she'll last for years to come. MB bottom-end failure is rare, even at your mileage, especially in the M103 engine.

After the head is off, you can check the bore.

Thanks guys for the quick replies,

I was hoping thats what you were going to say. Sadie has been great so far and being that she is paid for makes her more attractive than a new benz.
How much can I expect to spend at reputable shop for the valve job?
Thanks again