Anyone here got experience with Mercedes W 201, preferably in Central Europe?
I'm seeing deals at around 1.5-3k USD where I live (Poland) that aren't even rusted to shit or anything.
I'd preferably like to get a Diesel but I'm also considering a gas one with LPG. Transmission has to be automatic.
Any advice, pros/cons?
Are there merc retailers or mechanics specialized in mercedes near you?
Mercedes is a reliable brand but if anything goes wrong you need the right people to fix it up or it will only get worse
they're gutless boats. Handling is great but god help you on a steep incline
There are, but I might not be able to afford those any time soon. With the kinda budget I'm looking at, I'm more likely to service my car at what I'd call a mom and pop mechanic that doesn't specialize in anything.
On the other hand, Mercedes are very popular in this country so it's not like a W 201 is gonna be exotic for them either.
I don't live in the Alps or anything so I don't think I should be worried about that.
I grew up with one. My father owned one in the early 2000s. It's an old car, slow acceleration, not very clean or safe, bit noisy, rather boring to drive, big to park. Properly maintained it can last a million miles though
Ah yes and I forgot to say I always felt ashamed as a kid in that car turning up at school because all my friends dads had modern cars
Great chassis, but not very fast. Diesels are very reliable, petrol engines might have a lot of electrical gremlins. Aside from that, they're simple to fix yourself.
I had a W201 turbo with around 350hp. Very fun to drive but destroyed the weak open diff. ASD diffs are a lot more durable but not as common.
>Central Europe
>Transmission has to be automatic
You have to go back.
I thought Poland didn't take any refugees in?
test
Good to see fellow blood on here, Look around Bmw's like the X5 or 5/7 series, dont know car prices in poland but they are cheap and reliably, much love muj brat :]
Why would you recommend him an X5 when hes asking about old Mercedes, those are completely different cars. Also you wont find those cars at that price point and have them be reliable since they will be high mileage or beat to shit.
Finnish 190E owner here.
In your price range most w201s will be in ok shape, but do keep in min that if they have any extra equipment (sport suspension, roof hatch etc) they are very likely to have been imported from Germany, which means the odometer has been fucked with. Best tip is to go to Germany to buy one.
When buying you should look at the seat and steering wheel, if there is a big patch of wear on the seat its been driven more than about 250 000km. Check that the fans work at full speed and that the injection system doesnt stagger when driving.
On the outside pretty much check the normal places for rust, in the wheel houses and such.
W201s are pearls from an era of great Mercs, try to find a model with some special equipment, youll enjoy it much more!
Regards
A tip from someone with experience in Germany. Try to avoid buying those old Mercs from young foreign looking guys, those are usually beat to shit, not maintained and often modified. Try and find an older native who took care of it.
>LPG
Can't install modern lpg system on k-jetronic
Yes, the best would be to get a barn find thats not even up on mobile.de or anything. Just newspaper ads til someone calls in.
native germans are extinct tho
Manuals are atavistic bullshit though. I mean, I drive a manual now because it was my first car and a good deal. But when I'm going to buy something I actually want and am going to consider an upgrade it has to be an automatic now. If I ever get a manual again it's gonna be a weekend/fun car, and not a DD, but that's unlikely.
In general, manual elitism is like driving a car where you had to crank-start the engine and being smug about it. Read: you'd have to be fucking retarded.
Your suggestion of a 5 or 7 BMW - assuming E34 or E32, respectively - is legit enough, but the X5 thing has got to be a fucking joke. Still, a 3 would be the same niche and closer in size to a W 201.
>but do keep in min that if they have any extra equipment
Thanks, I'm gonna avoid most non-OEM stuff anyway. I'm not too worried about them messing with the odometer. I know mileages around 300-500k km are more realistic than the ~200k most are getting sold at, and also nothing to worry about, at least with the Diesel engines.
Didn't mean aftermarket stuff. But the well equipped (from factory) models were usually sold in Germany.
>Transmission has to be automatic.
I had a 190E automatic for 6/7 years
it's awesome in every way except snow
the front weight bias will kill you in the snow
no joke
Hey, different user here. Same region, same question except about the W202. I've heard these cars are still very reliable and well-made albeit heavy and slow. Anything else I should know when buying one?
Oh also, what is the tuning potential on these cars? They are RWD so I wanted to turn it into a cheap drift/track car for the weekends.
Get a C230K and change the Kompressor Pulley.
Close to 240HP it is fun and cheap.
Or if you have more money, C36 (one of the best AMG ever done).
202 are good chassis but heavier than 201.
save up twice the value of the car for repairs
>just trust me poljski pederu
Just get a Polski fiat 126P. Don't listen to this guy . Get a Lada instead or some other polski fiat. Lada is much more reliable than a mercedes and ton more comfortable as well. Superior Soviet engineering btfo German retarded West and East faggotry niggering.