So I through a circuitous route I now have a 1996 S320 with 144K miles.

I took it to a place my buddy recommended here locally and I had him do an oil change and a 30 point inspection. The results are:

Without going into a lot of detail I *had* to get this car. It would not be expedient for me to claim California Lemon Law and return it. The car itself rides smoothly and the mechanic said only the heater hose, coolant and brake flush are a priority. The other thing is the 150K service is coming and it's $750.

I have a couple questions I am submitting to the collective wisdom of the group:

1 - Why am I not more alarmed than I am? The car is fairly old and the body and interior, save for the mirror housing is in decent to good shape. I really like the car so I am willing to chalk a lot of this up to general upkeep. Further, having previously owned a smaller 190E I know these cars will run forever if you perform standard maintenance and address issues immediately, so while objectively that is a cringe inducing list, I feel that I will also have a car which will maintain decent resale value when I pay it off in 24 months (which is what I tell my wife, but I fell in love with the car the first day I drove it and if I do all that work there's zero chance I am going to part with it.)

2. I live and work in the same town East Bay Area city but can take 880 to work to save wear and tear, but hell....880 is no picnic itself. There are frontage roads I can take. So my question is, given the above repair horizon, is driving mostly in one town going to be too much attrition for the car?

3. What does it cost to replace a headgasket?

4. Are the estimates above on par with the prices members of the group pay or have paid?

Sorry for the long post but I figure this is the place to do it.

Thanks in advance,

Weygand

Also...the hood ornament is missing (I can't believe that is still popular)...should I go with the replacement star or the little badge?

 

HEAD GASKET REPLACED WILL RUN YOU ABOUT $1000/$1300

 

The place I have been going to for my car thus far gave me a quote of $2100 plus tax. Should I look around? I really like the place I take my car but damn.....it seems like they are about $800-1K above other prices mentioned on the web.

 

If your head gasket is only leaking oil.Try a oil sealer,bars leak stop,CD2 leak stop.They are bad for just leaking oil.Get a battery advanced auto parts or wal mart.