The car burns about a quart of oil every 1000 miles is there a bigger problem?

I am thinking of buying a 1989 Mercedes 300E with 99,000 miles the present owner states that it runs good with the acception of burning a little oil is there anything I should be aware of?The car burns about a quart of oil every 1000 miles is there a bigger problem?
probably the valve seals are bad, not real expensive to fix but also could be bad piston rings and if that your talking a major rebuild of the engine.The car burns about a quart of oil every 1000 miles is there a bigger problem?
I own a Pontiac GTO and GM sent out a letter that stated if i used my motor above 3.000 rpms to check my oil level once a week. At 99,000 miles and Mercedes Benz quality. $5.00 a quart for mobil one every thousand miles? See if the present owner can show you the receipts for ';A'; and ';B'; mercedes servicing. The average Heck there is no average Mercedes benz owners. either drive the car into the ground or keep it forever. Excersise caution get mechanical check out see receipts and see what kind of oil this guy is using.


Crazy as normal MB owners you cannot close the glove box for the service receipts.
Older Mercedes also leak a bunch, so that may be some of the oil loss issue, but old cars with upwards of 100k miles are going to have wear. If the car IS burning oil, there would be a whitish or bluish smoke coming from the tailpipe, typically when first started, and on downhill sections after climbing a hill.





Good luck!
One suggestion before you buy. Take the car to a trusted knowledgeable mechanic and have the car checked out. Have the owner agree to repair any defect found that he did not list or the deal is off.





MB's are expensive to work on and so are the parts. Be careful.
well is there smoke coming ou the exhaust,if so then you have a problem...
that is not unusual...at that time unleaded gas was so bad they let the valve seals leak to lube the guides


lots of new cars of that era burned that much when new
I'm not sure that I would call a quart every 1,000 miles ';burning a little oil';. That's actually fairly hefty consumption.





If your state has required emission testing the car will probably fail the test.





As far as ';bigger problems'; are concerned the engine will probably need an overhaul soon as it probably has rings going on it.





If you are getting the car cheap go ahead an buy it. Just be aware that the minor problem could turn major at any time. Also bear in mind that engines that burn oil are harder to start in the winter time.





Good luck!
From my own experience, most older cars do and will burn some oil, no matter the mileage on the car. So, buy the car, drive it, and be happy with it.
Sounds like you have some bad valve seals.
I wish my car only burned 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles! Buy it and drive it like ya stole it.