Goodbye old chum

[Milford Cubicle]

Are 190s that bad? The short test drive I had in a 190D 2.0 a while back was quite pleasurable, and judging from the amount of them still kicking about they're surviving well.

What are you replacing it with?

2000 On a V Peugeot 206 1.4 glx

Oh noes! I'd have kept the Corsa TD, they're great little things.

[AnthonyG]

BMW 316i Compact. Ugly little runt and not fast, but they're pleasant enough to drive and £1000 will buy a minter of an N-P plater now. Neolithic E30 rear suspension, tough iron block SOHC engine plus cheap parts from Euro Car Prats. Much easier to fix than a Focus or any of the French scrap. Electric front windows will require fixing at some point in all likelihood.

F**kng awful things - sold to wankers who wanted a cheap way into the 'badge' and the secondhand rear suspension meant most ended up in a ditch at one point in their lives. Expensive to insure as well, as the insurers have cottoned onto the fact that they are a chav chariot of choice.Mercedes 190s are good cars, but they are not fast or sporty. Non easily available parts (ones you have to buy from Merc) are expensive. There are also a lot of shitters out there now, all of which are best left to the exporters/breakers.P.S. Pete M don't like 'em because he broke his!

[Rocket88]

Comments here just go to show that any car is only as good as how previous owners have looked after them. I bought a mid nineties Beemer 525 turbo diesel on a frined's recommendation. Feckin hateful thing, not that quick, not that economical, and the parts were a fortune...........just bought a series 1 Laguna manual, the world and his wife warned me off.......it's fine, comfy, nice to drive, and not bad on juice, and less squeaks/rattles than the Beemer!

[MrRegieRitmo]

There's very definitely an element of luck involved with every car you could take on!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

the secondhand rear suspension meant most ended up in a ditch at one point in their lives.

Nonsense.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Yeah theyre not really powerful enough to wang themselves into a ditch are they? I must say those compacts are sufficiently obscure and shite that I could probably tolerate one for a while, not many BMW's that do it for me but they are defo in the zone, as are the later compacts with the built-in headlight gimp masks.

[AnthonyG]

Yeah theyre not really powerful enough to wang themselves into a ditch are they?

No, but the fact they were a wanker magnet once about 7-8 years old meant most did end their lives up off road. Was the gimp mask one the same old rubbish underneath, like the 'Mk4' Golf convertible?

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I'm not sure if they're shite enough tbh - just pretty ordinary and still very common. Judging by how many of them you see, there must be a factory making secondhand Compacts. Mind you, they're very cheap now, loads around for 500 quid.I'm not sure any 3 Series is Autoshite territory, E21 and E30 apart. E30's are a bit scene now though.Later ones were just a bit too smug. No - I think it needs to be old E34 5 Series unfashionable 4 GR8 value. Grandad red metallic auto with leathers and non working a/c. Tick the following options list for shiteness:Fold down front armrestsMetric tyresDouble sunroof (Touring only)Wiper arm that clouts bonnet top edgeLeather with worn side bolsterThese turds epitomise Autoshite. To be truly shite, they had to be really good when new or at least funky (Renoulbt 15/17 for example). If not, they're just shit.Love the gimp mask analogy btw. I think John Cleese styled the Mark 2 Compact.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Yeah theyre not really powerful enough to wang themselves into a ditch are they?

No, but the fact they were a wanker magnet once about 7-8 years old meant most did end their lives up off road. Was the gimp mask one the same old rubbish underneath, like the 'Mk4' Golf convertible?

Most of them were bought by Women iirc. The later one was an up to date E46 underneath. The E36 used an E30 rear end which was far from rubbish. I drove a couple when new and they were pretty good and the ride was better than you'd imagine. The interior was a bit naff though with a dash made from a pimply plastic that reminded me of a seventies Renault.They were cheap and cheerful but they seemed to last well and of course the first owners knew the resale value would be strong. The real wankers bought higher spec Astras and Escorts that weren't worth a cup of cold piss after 4 years or a wobbly Golf 3 that rusted like a bean can.