1985 mercedes a good idea?

This little old nice guy wants to sell his 1985 mercedes 190e i want to daily it. It has a rebuilt tranny only 4k miles on it and a new catalytic converter 100k miles he only wants 1000$ i heard they are surprisingly easy to work on yourself i'm 16 i have a steady income for a 10th grader anyways and don't recommend any hondas or anything because that's never going to happen. I live in northern wisconsin i know its rear wheel drive but everybody up here has to learn how to drive in the snow one way or another and i would like to do it in a nice car i would actually like like and old caddy audi or mercedes.

Yes, its cheap and the transmission has been rebuild only 4k miles ago, if there isn't rust and the car drives ok, then that is a good purchase. Its a very good point that the transmission has been rebuild, because that is an expensive wear out part. A critical point of the 190 are the holes on the sides where the car-jack goes in, once using the car jack, the paint in those holes comes of and the holes start rusting badly, else when the paint isn't scratched off anywhere, the 190 is well protected against rust.

there are other wear out parts too, for example the steering and the wheel-bearings, after 100k miles they will be worn out and wobbly but for a $1000 purchase price that is no problem, the wear out parts can then be replaced and for someone who likes to mechanc workm, that will be a *fun experience. Who knows, maybe the steering doesn't feel woobly and the car rolls smooth and straight, then the steering and wheel-bearings wouldnt need a replacement, make a test drive before buying to find out. Mercedes is a premium brand, the parts will cost more than for a toyota.

something people don't mind is the drivers seat, after a high milege the drivers seat will be worn out and hang through, on a longer trip a worn out seat tires the driver much faster and isn't good for the spine, the drivers seat should be replaced too, the car will then feel much different with a new seat and that is good for a hygienic reason too.

there's a notable difference between a 190 mercedes and a 200, the 200 is a more comfy ride but if there's non for about $1000 with a recently rebuild or replaced transmission, then this 190e is a better choice.

there are chains to put on tires for driving on snow and ice, those might be a help for driving in snowy and icy regions.

oil is very critical in an engine, who knows when that old man did the oil change last time, the first thing to do right after the purchase is to change the oil and even before the test drive and before the purchase it will be better to pull the dipstick out to have a look at the oil level and oil color, if the oil is very dark, then that means the engine was stressed unnecessarily already.

The cost of repairs and maintenance will be high, the cost of labor will be high, but with so little invested it's probably worth the risk.

Go for it. But not unitl a qualified, certified mechanic gives the car a complete inspection.

Ask your mommy and daddy, I for one, will not give advice to some inexperienced neophyte who probably couldn't change a tire or do brakes on a car that is a challenge to work on. German cars are very temperamental. I own a collection of Audis and VWs and have factory manuals for each. There have been times where I know I'm in over my head or lack the proper tool(s) to do the work, thus I rely on my good buddy Dieter, who worked at one of the VW/Audi plants in Germany for many years.

31 year old Mercedes? I wouldn't touch it with yours.
You'll spend all your spare time working on it with very expensive parts.
You heard wrong.