Merc 190E , what to look for

[Rusty Pelican]

Just been offered the above , wont be for sale until sept so plenty of time to decide , its a 2 lt Auto on a G plate , one owner from new , FMSH with 80K on the clock , immaculate is an understatement of biblical perportions , its totally spotless inside and out , cloth seats , power steering , leccy windows but no air con , original first aid kit well out of date , original tool kit and triangle , even on steels with uber cool hub caps and a history second to none .

Catch is he wants £1800 for it .

Too pricey or not

[Rocket88]

Too much, but if it's really mint, it's probably worth it. A good 190e, if looked after, is nigh on indestructable, and will last just about forever. If you're prepared to keep it for that long, might be worth considering an lpg conversion.

[Cavcraft]

Way too pricey unfortunately. They're nice cars but almost desperately unpopular for some reason and surprisingly hard to shift. I'd have thought perhaps £1200 would be a fair offer, though I doubt the owner will see it that way.

One day they'll become worth a few quid but not for a long, long time yet.

 

What to look out for? Electric windows packing up, rust (especially wheel arches and jacking points), fuel pump relay (though if it starts and drives it should be ok) and then the general checks on any old car.

Cloth seats and spaz box devalue it even more unfortunately, though the automatics are far nicer to drive.

[Rusty Pelican]

Thanks for the info , your right £1200 would be about right , it is without doubt the best ive ever seen , not a mark on it anywhere , Every single thing is working , we will see as ive got first refusal on it , meanwhile the Beemers running lovely so its not an issue ATM

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I agree it's a bit much. I really like the styling of the 190, but I don't think I'd ever own one- it's a bit cramped inside...

[Pete-M]

Water pump problems, head gaskets, clunky auto boxes, anti roll bar bushes, whining diff, heater fan motor, the list goes on.

 

Mine was a '90G 2.0i Auto and it very nearly put me off Mercedes for life.

[Autoplas]

If you are over 6 foot due to the gigantic steering wheel the drivers position is cramped

 

Looked after properly (and that means regular servicing without cutting corners) they are great cars - very well constructed.

[Timewaster]

clunky auto boxes

 

Jeez - have you tried the manual?! Awful!

[Pete-M]

clunky auto boxes

 

Jeez - have you tried the manual?! Awful!

 

Yup, they're legendarily bad.

[Bren]

People who buy 190's usually end up in two categories:

 

a) They are mightily impressed by MB build quality and become fans of the marque

They are so shocked by the agricultural feel they are put off for life

 

They are a good solid car, still plenty around so £1800 is'nt as much steep as feckin vertical!If you can get it for £1000 - 1200 it would be a good buy.

[Rusty Pelican]

Cheers guys , Your info has put me off somewhat ,Still recon it would be good buy for a bag of sand but i know thats not going to happen plus the mpg is going to be a tad low for a tight ass like me ,Think il plod on with the Beemer for now

[Cavcraft]

MPG shouldn't be too bad, I'd expect low-mid twenties at worst.

[Pete-M]

MPG shouldn't be too bad, I'd expect low-mid twenties at worst.

 

I don't think I ever got more than about 24 from the p.o.s. I had.

 

Hateful thing, that was. Know someone who had a manual one, and that wasn't terrible on fuel.

[Cavcraft]

The 'non-E' (i.e carb) autos were bloody awful on fuel. My 2.0 manual would crack early thirties no bother and I know lads with injected autos who said 30-ish wasn't too much trouble on a run.

 

One big plus of these cars by the way is the stupidly cheap parts prices, even from Merc themselves who are quite possibly world leaders in parts for out of date models. Second hand parts starting to get harder to find though as they're GR8 4 EXPORT. Just like what happened to mine

[Guest Len H]

The diesels are supposed to be the best engines ever for running on illicit fuels, so I'd select one of them. The engines aren't far removed from industrial power units, they even have a basic in-line fuel pump instead of the usual rotary pump found in passenger car diesels.

 

It's a shame MB couldn't be bothered to convert the 190D 2.5 turbodiesel to RHD.

[wrecker]

The diesels are supposed to be the best engines ever for running on illicit fuels, so I'd select one of them. The engines aren't far removed from industrial power units, they even have a basic in-line fuel pump instead of the usual rotary pump found in passenger car diesels.

 

It's a shame MB couldn't be bothered to convert the 190D 2.5 turbodiesel to RHD.

turbo hits steering box

[ashmicro]

I had a 1992 2.0i manual, and it was bloody great. Nothing but nothing went wrong with it, never even blew a bulb! I worked at Queen's University at the time, and once the car park bloke spotted the 190, he'd keep me a space next to the main doors.

 

 

I'd concur that £1800 is a bit salty, but if it's really mint £1500 wouldn't be unreasonable.

[Barry Cade]

Everyone complains about Merc manual boxes.. I think they are great. I've had 3 190's - all manual, and 2 W124's, of which one was Auto. Manual was much longer legged and much more economical.

[alfetta]

I bought one to replace my knackered saab 900 T16S - only thing I miss is the saabs speed, the Merc is a far far better car....

 

It's a 1.8 manual and frankly after the saabs dire box it's positively fantastic! Agricultural? My old saabs and e30 BMW I'd class as that but not the merc...

 

Price wise ebay average for 'cooking' (non cossie models) is 500 quid, with some exceptional ones reaching the ton...