Danno

I've got an '86 190E 2.6 and it was a pretty decent car for the previous owner. Drove it for 10-years or so with minimal maintenance. It's decently fast because it weighs only 2600lbs or something like that. The guy was one of those ignorant types who only took care of maintenance when it left him stranded. This last bit was too much as he ignored a clogged thermostat which caused a lot of overheating. Which eventually blew the headgasket. So I picked up the car for nothing!

The DareDevil

It amazes me how many of "those types" are out there.

Scary when you think about it... Even scarier when you see them on the side of the highway with failed ball joints or tie rods

MM951

My grandpa has over 400K on his 83 something huge diesel MB.

Orginal owner too

yellowline

How about an old Volvo? The RWD bricks are usually good for 20 years/250k+. A 740/940/960 might be solid, less expensive all around. Good cold-weather car too.

Nabeel

That looks like the leather interior, not the tex. Leather is very rare in the 190 series. You can tell by the stitching pattern on the seats- the tex seats had vertical stitching going all the way down the seat cushion and backrest, while the leather has a sort of solid rectangular border around the vertical pattern. Dunno if that explanation makes any sense, but I'm pretty sure that is a leather interior in the picture. Also, that car looks to have heated seats (the two switches right below the window switches). Those were another rare option on the 190.

All in all, it looks to be a solid car, and I actually like the exterior color. If you can get that thing for $1500-2000, and there are no other major issues with it, it looks to be a fantastic deal. Does the A/C work?


edit: Here is a picture of the tex seats. Note the difference in the stitching pattern compared to the leather. Leather is very rare on the 190s, I don't think I've ever seen one in person, and I've looked at plenty of these cars (one of my friends is wanting to buy one, so we've been scouring used car lots and ebay).

Nabeel

Last of the manual trannies? Not really...you can get a new C230 Kompressor sedan or hatchback with a 6-speed manual. The new SLK also has a 6-speed manual standard. Although you are right in that after the 190 was discontinued in 1993, no MB in the USA could be had with a manual until 2001, when a 6-speed became available in the new C-class and SLK.

Nabeel

I'm pretty sure that a newer MB headunit can be placed there, but they get pricey, and you can't find one with in-dash CD. Try an aftermarket Nakamichi unit, they sound fantastic (blows away any stock MB stereo) and still looks as though it belongs in that car's interior.
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...roductID=13364

schumi

The maintenance and repair costs on those makes the 911 or 944T look like a Celica by comparison. They are cool cars though.

Alpine951

Look over at www.mercedesshop.com. Good forum over there. I would have bought a 190 myself, but I jumped on a 1994 Audi 90s for $2500. I used mercedesshop.com when researching a 1998 C230 we bought two years ago with 58k miles on it for my wife.

jyoon

had an 86 2.3-16v 5 speed before i bought my last 951. those cars have alot of vacuum problems with the locks. make sure the locks operate properly cause it can be a huge and expensive pita to fix them. mine only locked and unlocked from the trunk. also i think those cars always start in 2nd gear which kind of sucks unless you get on the gas from a shop. the car in general was solid, but the engine was noisy.

RMills944

I'd try to find a diesel personally. They're easy to work on and still can be made to be pretty quick. I know I love my diesel, and I'm sure there's mods out there for the old Benz diesels.

That car looks pretty good. It looks really clean for the mileage. Any service records?