I have a chance to get a 1992 140 body 500SEL with 65K miles, one owner
(CARFAX), Texas owner, dealer serviced car with evaporator, pump seal
recently replaced. Price is around $16K. Need advice on expected repair
costs and future if big stuff already replaced.

BACKGROUND
I noticed several older threads (Google search) indicating that 1992 was a
terrible year for this car. Question arises: Does the car become stable
after big items replaced?

GOALS
I want a reasonably priced, fairly reliable work car for the long commute
(40 miles). I do not mind some maintenance, and preventive maintenance, but
do NOT want to spend $2K-3K or more a year on repair maintenance
(unexpected, unplanned). Have been an Camry and Odyssey kind of family guy.

QUESTIONS:
1. Were there cars pretty much uniformly bad, or were some OK after the evap
and pump seals were replaced?
2. After some of these types of things were replaced, they settle down into
good cars, or did they requires constant repairs? IOW, if I look at service
records and see that many items (ball joint fix for shimmy, evap, etc.) were
done, can I expect it to be a good car, or can I expect to spend $3K or more
for maintenance every year I own the car?
4. Any other good advice or something I should know?

I really like the look and performance of the car, but if my pockets were
THAT deep, I'd buy an new one and pay for the maintenance, too.