A classic compromise.

quenching

Evening all,

I've spent ages looking for a 30+ years classic and have seen some awful pieces of junk for ridiculous money and eventually got hacked off and stopped. I then came across this 25 year old Mercedes 190E and decided it would be a worthy compromise. Not quite a classic but it will be soon enough. I had to take some photos of it for an agreed insurance valuation so though I may as well pop them up here as well, excuse the lack of artistic merit, the insurance company only wanted basic shots for information.

I bought it in the UK in September this year to replace my previous '92 190E. This one is a 1984 190E 2.0 automatic with 34k miles, 1 previous owner and looks like it left the showroom last week. The interior is blue cloth without any tears or wearing, and no marks or scratches on any of the trim. I still have to get a cover for the front towing eye though. All the electrics work, including the rear windows, sunroof and passenger side mirror, and has had a remote alarm fitted that also controls the central locking. And no rust, at all, anywhere! Its difficult to believe its 25 years old when driving it and overall I'm very pleased!

carchaeologist

That gets my vote..welcome to 190 ownership!:D

Tomebagel

Very clean,will it be your daily driver?

manta mad

that looks like a hell of a clean car !

well wear boyo ! :cool:

very good choice of classic to be .

245

It looks great and unbelievably clean - doubt if you'd find a better one without paying a lot for it

B11gt00e

Looks tight and the lines are unbelievably straight.

One previous owner - lover more like!

You did some good tracking to hunt her down.

Enjoy her and happy driving.

kev1.3s

stunning it's probally 20 years since iv'e seen one as clean

Ballykine43

Congratulations. Looks like you found the kind of car we all dream about. Enjoy.

shawnee

Best of luck with it. A good clean 190 will always be appreciated by merc enthusiasts.:p

Dades

Lovely.

Would love to see the blue interior.
They don't make 'em like they used to.

MercMad

Stunning car, in timewarp condition, well wear.

I have a '91, basic car in white, that is fairly straight but it needs about 3 days or proper cleaning and buffing to make it respectable, but the interior is mint. Just dont have the time !

tc20

well done quenching - that looks brand new! congrats

quenching

It is indeed to be my daily driver, in and out of Dublin city centre, but only on days when cycling isn't an option! The previous owner was a village doctor in South Yorkshire who kept it garaged all its life. When I got it I took it to Lichtenberg Classics for a check, it needed a new oil pressure sender, some new tie rods, a new distributer cap (it still had the original 1984 one fitted), and a bit of rubber hose changing, all age related stuff really and a grand total of about €600. I can highly recommend Benjamin Licthenberg if you need any Mercedes work doing, a gentleman to deal with. It then did its NCT and failed miserably! My fault entirely, I had forgotten to replace the small metal clamp that secures the battery So, 2 minutes work later it passed with flying colours.

Still have to pay motor tax at the full rate for a fews years but it does qualify for classic insurance at about €260 and any parts generally seem to be very cheap. I'm sure I'll have lots of minor age related issues to deal with but thats half the fun isn't it.

Pdfile

you have my favorite merc for lemonade money....


can i get some lotto numbers off ya ? :pac:

johnf2020

I had one identical to that back in 1996;). It was a 1983 car loaded with extras. The reg number was IZG 117. The first name on the old brown tax book was--Michael O' Flaherty. I suspect its him of Motor Distributors.:)
I loved that car, back in the days of NO MORTGAGE, NO CREDIT CARDS, NO PERSONAL DEBT WHATSOEVER and I had that car.....Oh God what happened:eek:

MercMad

johnf2020 wrote: »

I had one identical to that back in 1996;). It was a 1983 car loaded with extras. The reg number was IZG 117. The first name on the old brown tax book was--Michael O' Flaherty. I suspect its him of Motor Distributors.:)
I loved that car, back in the days of NO MORTGAGE, NO CREDIT CARDS, NO PERSONAL DEBT WHATSOEVER and I had that car.....Oh God what happened:eek:

............I hear ya ! I was only thinking the same thing this morning on the drive in to my overworked, underpaid, uninteresting job that I cant give up due to all the above type of debt !

Anyway.........lets not darken the tone anymore !!

I have driven plenty of these cars over the years but the one that stands out was collecting a brand new 190E auto in 1988 for a relative of my employer at the time.Straight off the forecourt, it was my first drive in a brand new Merc..........never forget it.

Pdfile

MercMad wrote: »

............I hear ya ! I was only thinking the same thing this morning on the drive in to my overworked, underpaid, uninteresting job that I cant give up due to all the above type of debt !

Anyway.........lets not darken the tone anymore !!

I have driven plenty of these cars over the years but the one that stands out was collecting a brand new 190E auto in 1988 for a relative of my employer at the time.Straight off the forecourt, it was my first drive in a brand new Merc..........never forget it.

my uncle you'd to sell these....


ive been in all the specs right upto the cossy lumped ones and well.... you just need the comfort, not the need for speed... chances are if you did you owned a seirra/escort ( excuse the generalisation :P )

a_v525

Would recommend gettin' black plates

Seweryn

quenching wrote: »

Evening all,
... I then came across this 25 year old Mercedes 190E and decided it would be a worthy compromise. Not quite a classic but it will be soon enough.

Welcome to the M-B W201 Club. What's a lovely example with no mileage. Well, my 190D covered half of your total mileage within last 6 months .

Good Luck with it.

quenching

Well this is my second 190 actually, the previous one below had 162k on it when I sold it, a cracking car that I'm sure will last the same again.



Not so sure about getting black plates on the '84 one, I kind of like the modern plates, I think they kind of suit it as it looks so new.

TigerTim

What a cracker. It looks fantastic. Good look with the new motor. I've always fancied one of those as a daily driver but very hard to find a good one, especially with the salt/rust in the UK.

T.

onlyfinewine

Lovely looking Motor..................remember the (single) timing chain will need doing every 60,000 miles. (Possibly worth checking out)

I am unclear as to the cost of the car, was it 600 for the repair work plus what you gave for her plus the VRT when you brought her in to Ireland?

I can't believe she only cost you 600 plus VRT? If so you should be well pleased.

She will still be rolling and a pleasure to be in when the modern plasticmobiles have been recycled.

InTheTrees

Beautiful car. I once had a ford fiesta booked at hertz for five days on a trip to England and when I arrived they'd run out of fiestas and I got a brand new 190e! I was in heaven for five days, totally revised my plans and flogged the hell out of that car.

One thing; 35k miles is amazing. It's a time warp. But be careful as seals and rubber components can dry out with that little use. Just a thought.

quenching

The simplex timing chain is on my watch list alright, but at my annual mileage it'll be 2017 before I get to 60k, might get it done before then! Rubber seals etc are all in great condition, the odd rubber pipe needed replacing due to age but nothing else so far. I paid a lot more than €600 for it, that was just for the work done when I got it.

Johnboy Mac

quenching wrote: »

The simplex timing chain is on my watch list alright, but at my annual mileage it'll be 2017 before I get to 60k, might get it done before then! Rubber seals etc are all in great condition, the odd rubber pipe needed replacing due to age but nothing else so far. I paid a lot more than €600 for it, that was just for the work done when I got it.

No need to worry about the t/chains, tensioner & guides on those. Good for 100k plus provided oil changes are carried out, I'd recommend every 6k mls with a filter using 10W/40 Semi.

shawnee

I think the 190s are a classic. Problem with nearly all the Irish ones are driven to the ground, even those with less than 150k are wrecked from our roads. Had one for a while last year but it needed a lot of work so wasn't a viable option. Was in The Canaries recently and there are loads of privately owned ones still on the road with several hundred thousand miles on the clock , good roads and v little rust. Best one I have driven is the 2.6 model , an absolute bullet . Friend has one at the moment but just drives occasionaly.

InTheTrees

And then there's the cosworth version which are becoming really rare now.

PanhardPL

That particular 190E would have had many extras including ABS, which was not a standard fitting on the 190E at the time.
From personal experience the brakes on the standard model were not up to scratch for such a speedy car.

TigerTim

Out of curiosity, does the 190 have the pneumatic/fluid suspension(not sure of the correct term) or doest it have standard springs/shocks?.

T

carchaeologist

TigerTim wrote: »

Out of curiosity, does the 190 have the pneumatic/fluid suspension(not sure of the correct term) or doest it have standard springs/shocks?.

T

Its just the 2.6 ones that had that wasnt it? Mine only has standard shocks and springs.

DF1

Without prying too much, was it a dealer or private sale you found this with ?

Seweryn

carchaeologist wrote: »

Its just the 2.6 ones that had that wasnt it? Mine only has standard shocks and springs.

The Nivomat System (Self Leveling Suspension) is an optional item on the 190, which means that any car can have it installed - it was ordered by the buyer.

quenching

DF1 wrote: »

Without prying too much, was it a dealer or private sale you found this with ?

I bought it from a dealer, it wasn't cheap But you get what you pay for and was excellent value as far as I'm concerned.

Another pic from the "Post a picture of your classic car thread"....

TigerTim

Is there an easy way to check if it has the Nivomat system. Are these troublesome?.

T.

Seweryn

TigerTim wrote: »

Is there an easy way to check if it has the Nivomat system. Are these troublesome?.

It is very easy to check it. Open the bonnet and see if there is a Z-HM Hydraulic Oil container (there is a blue sticker with Z-HM written on it) and that is a first good sign (if the car was not modified). To confirm that, lift the back wheel, get under the car and have a look if there is a hydraulic pipe going to the "shock absorber" (hydraulic lifter in fact). If it is, then the system is complete.
It is not troublesome system, unless the car came from UK with rusty hydraulic pipes. I used to drive an imported estate 124T and I had to fix the whole system when it started to leak from the rusted pipes. Not to complicated job, but better to have it in mind. Other than that it is reliable and if the shock or a sphere (a kind of a ball with membrane half argon gas and half hydraulic oil) is gone then you can easily get a second hand one.

Johnboy Mac

Seweryn wrote: »

The Nivomat System (Self Leveling Suspension) is an optional item on the 190, which means that any car can have it installed - it was ordered by the buyer.

That's right, the only 190's with SLS as standard are the 2.3 & 2.5-16's. Optional extra otherwise but quite rare bar the odd 2.6.

TigerTim

Thanks, Seweryn

T.

2cv

190E is a great car. Love them!

Don17

I sold my 190e to buy a newer car

Regret it so much now!

I want another 190e

Seweryn

Don17 wrote: »

I sold my 190e to buy a newer car
Regret it so much now!
I want another 190e

I sold a newer car to by my 190D this summer. Now I am looking for another one, so if there is a good one with OM601 engine, let me know please .