Swap 1993 Mercedes 190e - MOT Win

[2MB]

...and 'last of the proper Mercedes when they were all hand built'

[AndyW201]

Big like here from me! This may even spur me on to whack a fuel pump on my 190 and get it back on the road...

[michael1703]

I bloody told you! Also, if you've got sill grot it's more visible on a well lit 4 poster than it is in a dark workshop that use a pit

[Tickman]

I bloody told you! Also, if you've got sill grot it's more visible on a well lit 4 poster than it is in a dark workshop that use a pit

Good point, my MOT station has a pit which might explain quite a bit  

[BorniteIdentity]

I bloody told you! Also, if you've got sill grot it's more visible on a well lit 4 poster than it is in a dark workshop that use a pit

Thing is... Garage #2 said they wouldn't pass it. I guess he saw welding pound signs. I did go into the whole thing with an open mind: as it was only advised last year. I was slightly sceptical it could deteriorate that quickly when it's been garaged every night and never driven in the rain.

 

I have an appointment with the welder on Thursday and am now in two minds. The job needs doing but who knows how long it might tick along for? The money saved could be reallocated into new tyres or paint for two of my other cars.

 

Food for thought.

[michael1703]

The mess of slapped on plates will make the permanent repair of properly welded on sills more expensive.

 

Whoever does the proper welding has to unpick the mot patch welders handy work

 

Save up for a set of sills for another year

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Don't forget "Bullet proof engine", "Merc innit".

 

 

If those CLK alloys were fitted, the advert would need the L@@K SWOP in the title and the use of brought rather than bought.

 

 

I'd stick it up for £2500 and see what occurs. 

[forddeliveryboy]

If you do sell, take note of Junkman's 300D advert, where it said little other than it had recently completed a long trip and something like, "Reliability? It's a Mercedes".

[BorniteIdentity]

Looks like I'm selling it then!

 

Dunno tho. It owes me a fortune and feels better each time. But maybe y'all right.

[alf892]

buy a bus.......sounds like your pounds per mile would be similar.

[richardmorris]

Its certainly not going to get any cheaper to repair the longer it is left 

Ah, but there could well be less original metal to cut away saving time!

[SiC]

Looks like I'm selling it then!

 

Dunno tho. It owes me a fortune and feels better each time. But maybe y'all right.

Do you really still love it?

 

Or feel like you need to keep it because of all it's put you through and needs to repay you in emotions?

[BorniteIdentity]

I do love it yes.  I will love it even more once I get these bearings changed so it doesn't make a noise on overrun. I actually thing I'm 90% there with it now.  

 

To make it as good as I'd ever want it, it needs

 

4 tyres  (actually 1 but they're all old now)

a ball joint (will do both because inevitably one new one will cause the other one to go almost immediately)

New pinion bearings (to shut it up!)

 

And that's about it.

 

I've realised I'm not very good at tolerating things that don't work.  I guess that comes with driving a 90s Toyota every day.  I could sell up and buy some other chod for £500, but I don't think it would have any sense of occasion.  Whilst it's not an SL, it is different enough to feel special.  If I sold it then I'd only want to buy something similar and probably end up spending more than I sell for.

 

I've learnt now though: when unsure, do nothing.  You can shut the garage door and just leave it in there until you feel differently/certain.

[Skizzer]

Seems a shame to sell a car you love and have spent loads on, just at the point when somebody else is going to get the benefit of your investment. And think of all the money you aren't losing on depreciation - the only one of my cars that costs me a lot to own is the modern one.

 

Skizzer's summary: DOUBLE OR QUITS.

[egg]

I agree, you've put the hard yards in on a car that 'was close to the edge' in Mike Brewer speak. This car could live well into its 30's now! 

[richardmorris]

I suppose it comes down to :-

Do you like it

Does it do what you need it do ( ie practical)

If you spend another £500 on it will it work well for another couple of years,

Could you buy a better one considering the money already invested and immediate welding bills?

 

I went through this with my last Citroen cx. It never let me down at the side of the road but cost a small fortune in running repairs ( mainly welding). The biggest bill as £1400! Which was a major service, fuel pump rebuild, injectors and timing belts plus welding to sub frames. Being deluded I'd have carried on spending but when the subframe parted company with the body the welder called time-out. Purchase price and bills I think I spent over £8000 on it in five years and 70,000 miles. I sold it for £500 for parts.

Someone more deluded and with a larger wallet than me is apparently having it restored!

[egg]

In general, without deluded people, there wouldn't be any classic cars 

[BorniteIdentity]

I *think* we had the final straw today. Was my lads first day at secondary school. Really wanted to take him and his friends in the 190e. Wife made a fuss. Have now realised I have a car that I can't trust to get me to work and can't take on the school run.

 

Ie. I have a large German ornament in my garage.

 

If someone wants to give me a good price for it they can have it. Otherwise it might as well just sit and I'll drive it around the village once a week.

 

It's sad...but pretty futile.

[richardmorris]

Fair enough. A car needs to be a car. If it's something nice to look at on the drive it's not performing it's designed function and, unless you have lots of space, time to move it on. Good luck.

[egg]

I get it. In my case, while junior egg likes the blue car, Mrs Egg doesn't like 'relying on it' either (despite it being smoother, quieter and more spacious than our Fusion with fewer rattles).

 

Hope your lad had a good day anyway!

 

Take your weekly drive round the village for a few weeks and see how you feel then, maybe put it on 'car and classic' at top end money, there's really not a whole lot wrong with it now.

[HillmanImp]

However giving in like this is probably why 90% of the population have a £200 a month eurobox.

 

We regularly take the piss out of people whose car breaks down and they run out and spend an extra £6k on another car as 'its getting unreliable' when we all know thats stupid. But they all do it and then complain that they cant afford the deposit to buy their own house.

 

Don't be them, unless you have a better option to give you a reason to sell like a Vauxhall Viva.

 

 

*am i doing better? Apologies for being sensible in my last post.

[BorniteIdentity]

I've had this on C&C for 48 hours and already struggle to find the will to live.  One guy seems very keen - but a quick google reveals him to be one of those chaps who fancies himself as "dealer of excquisite cars of taste".  ie he will want to buy it cheap, polish it and advertise it for £6295.

 

Does anyone fancy taking this on as part of a cash neutral transaction?  I'm well aware that this thread will have terrified even the hardest of petrol heads into the fetal position - but it really is a well sorted car now.  I don't imagine there'll be any takers, but if you have something then let's talk.

 

Failing that, I think I'll keep it and just potter about it whenever I'm allowed to by management I get the opportunity to do so.