Mercedes-Benz W201 190

*is

They were my first and second cars. Really wonderful. Interior is incredible, very comfortable, surprisingly sporty for a 20 year old box.
Just learn to do stuff yourself. Luckily for you parts are still available due to some German rule about continuing to produce parts for discontinued models or something.
Watch out for the cold start valve and the shitty relay that goes bad. Google it.

I have no idea what you're talking about. Getting a W126 in good condition is going to easily cost you 5 times as much as a W201. Where I live you'd be looking at 10-15k euros for a W126 compared to 2-5k for a W201 if both are reasonably clean. Or are prices across the pond that much out of whack?

A W126 is the same price as a W201, at least in Québec, Canada.

Well then you can't deny that that IS out of whack: both are youngtimers from the same manufacturer, so the older, more luxury and less built model should be more expensive by any reasonable standard.

Its hard to tell really, it comes a lot more down to how it has been treated

A well-maintained one can do just as fine as a W124/W201, but they are much more often neglected

Yeah, but this is not europe. People sees old benz as a money pit. They don't know how reliable and quality made they are. They wouldnt touch it with a 20 years pole. There is a minority of person that knows the true quality of old benz, so the market it rare of buyers, hence the low price.

I guess it is different in Europe where people knows these cars are worth it.

Yeah this also true.

jesus, did they drive that exclusively in a salt mine?

No, my buddy is just really shit as maintaining his own vehicles

Winter up north is rough on cars.

>What are some common faults?
Rust and retarded previous owners.
>Is it difficult to wrench on for a beginner?
Not really.
>Would I find a good one for around 5000 euros?
Yes - 5000 euros will be plenty to buy a nice 2.6 (the inline six), just don't expect a 16v.

Plus the fact that salt is most likely on the ground for the majority of the year wont help.

It doesn't, but the thing was in much, much better condition when he got it 4.5 years ago

If he had removed what little rust was on it and also kept it clean it would've been better than mine

190e is my favorite car , i just like the looks for some odd reason

really hard to find a clean one in Ontario, they are either rusted to hell or have too much mileage to consider dding

And at the end of the day they are fairly slow and dated looking, at least that's what the general public will think when they see you

i almost moved on, i might consider getting a c63 which is the spiritual successor of "cheap" powerful entry-level car

if i ever won the lottery i would restore a white 190e to factory conditions

>He doesnt know about the W202 C36 and C43

...

If I won the lottery I'd restore a W124 CE300 over any W202 honestly, I find them a lot prettier

While I agree with you, its what you said after that made me cringe.

Que?

Quoi?

I was actually looking to purchase one of these too, my area it seems like they go for 1500 - 5000 for it still runs status and than 10+ for boomer ones that think their super rare

I've owned two so far, great cars, fun to drive, but they're not fast. (even the 16v is slow by today's standards). Ones with manual transmissions are really hard to find. Parts aren't too hard to find, working on it is pretty easy. As others have said watch out for rust.

The climate control blower motor will go out eventually, and it can be a bit pricey for a new one, but they're not too difficult to replace, but if you hear squeaks from it when it's running you can expect to pay a couple hundred to replace it.

So Im guessing these cars are much easier to find in good conditions here in Europe?

I gave up and just got myself an E30 325i. M50B25 swap incoming. They're cheaper and easier to find with an adequately sized engine (2.0+). Pic kinda related.

I've owned two, a 2.3 and a currently a 2.6, and like everyone says they are good cars as long as you get one that has been taken care of. The 2.6 is also far superior, it has more torque but almost identical fuel consumption as the 2.3.

Common issues across all trims are the hydraulic door locks and sunroof, and the small electronics. Never had transmission issues in either car but the 2.3 liked to overheat and ended up blowing the head gasket which is partly why I got rid of it.

Normally I see W201's for anywhere from $500 to $2000 but those are all non-starter project or donor cars that need another $1000 to get running reliably. I paid $3000 from a list price of $3500 for my first W201 and $3750 down from $4500 for my current one; it had 2 previous owners and only 108k miles so I didn't really give a shit how much it was, I just wanted another 190E and so far this one has been a dream.

Basically you just need to make sure you're buying one that has been maintained, too many people bought these for the badge and ran them into the ground imo.

I also have to add that my only gripe with this car is that there'S NO FUCKING CUP HOLDERS GODDAMNIT MERCEDES WHERE THE FUCK IS MY BIG GULP SUPPOSED TO GO, BETWEEN MY LEGS?

master race e30 reporting in

ah yes, how origina..zzzz