Considering buying a 190 to replace Focus

[pajd100]

I am considering buying a 190 or 190e to replace my new Focus which is costing me around 200 quid a month plus insurance at the moment. I have a maximum budget of £2000 to spend and then I am willing to put aside up to £100 per month for maintenance and bills etc.

I want a reliable car that isn't going to cost me a fortune every month like my focus does at the moment. Do you people think I will be able to find a decent example for £2000? Obviously for this money I am going to be buying a fairly old high mileage car so is there anything in particular I should look out for on an old 190?

One final question, Are all the engines four cylinder? I think the 2.0 would be my choice if they are and I also prefer manuals over automatics, I presume they are slightly cheaper?

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Suzanne]

I picked my 190e up for £1675 a few months ago. 113k, E reg, dark grey/black, alloys, cosworth body kit, years mot, years tax, manual ( I prefer em too) 2.0L.
I LOVE this car, no probs with it at all, except for a punture the other day Insurance is cheap, cheaper than my old 1.6 escort anyway. Try and get one with some history (mine didnt have any but had recently had an AA check which was all clear)
Anyway, excellent choice. :bannana: :bannana:

 

[Steve_Perry]

I was told that my previous car, a 1986 190E with 122k miles on the clock, was only worth approx £650 to £750 if I were to try and sell privately, that was back in Jan 2002. The car was solid and reliable but the body was not in A1 pristine condition. It was a 4spd auto 2.0L I4. The drivers seat was starting to fray at the edges where the lateral support gets rubbed getting in and out of the car. I eventually traded it in for my current car with a £1000 value.

If you want more info generally then you could try parker's guide as they still list the W201 190 series.

S.

 

[pajd100]

Yeah I actually got the idea of a 190e from parkers as I was searching their car reviews.

I just got an insurance quote for a 2.0L 1988 190e from elephant.co.uk and it was considerably cheaper than my focus. surprisingly even the 2.5 16v was only £20 more expensive to insure than my focus. Still I think the 2.0L would be powerful enough for me. Any ideas how I could get a test drive to see if I like the car? I'm guessing if a second hand dealer somewhere near me has one they would let me go for a test drive in it?

I am fairly happy to service the car myself as I am in the process of restoring a 1970 VW Beetle so I have a garage and tools etc. but I would be grateful if anyone knows of any expensive problems that I should be wary of when buying one.

This car from Autotrader looks pretty good:

1992 MERCEDES-BENZ 190 E 2.0 4dr Saloon
Silver, good condition, 5 spd manual, power steering, e/front windows, e/sun roof, remote alarm, central locking, CD player, ABS, f.s.h including receipts, 1 years MOT, nice looking car, bought new car so no room in driveway, private sale - no dealers please. 109000 miles. £1850.

Still I can't get out of the finance deal on my Focus until Christmas so I have plenty of time to look around and find the right car

 

[Steve_Perry]

To answer your earlier questions all models from MB even the specials and Cossies etc were 4 cylinder, some exotics like Brabus versions might have stuck in a I6 or V8 but they are extremely rare. I don't think there will be much difference between manual or auto because the cars are so relatively old most of the value has depreciated off them.

Any private dealer should let you take the car for a test drive, even if your buying privately they should let you take a spin, I'd never buy a car without driving it first.

Umm if you're going for manual then you don't have to test the auto box for smoothness Only other thing I'd check is for smoke out the exhaust when the engine is cold, the valve guides usually wear on these 2.0L engines because they were originally designed for leaded fuel, certainly the older models. It's nothing serious (mine used to smoke on cold, especially when booted hard) but if you feel you want to change the valve guides it's an expensive job because of the labour involved. I'd also check the condition of the front road springs if you're going for an old model as these tend to get brittle with age and then fail/snap. That happened to me, whilst on a normal commute home from work. If you can get a/c and leather then go for it Also the early models have the advantage of not having a cat that robs power from the engine, whilst the newer ones come with airbags for added safety.

S.

 

[Sp!ke]

One question.....how come the Focus was costing £200 a month...was this maintenance, finance or what?

Dont forget the 190 wont be as economical on fuel as your Focus.

 

[GrahamC230K]

Being able to afford £200 a month finance aside, I would rather a nice modern Ford Focus over a tired 190 anyday

 

[Andy W]

Older cars can be money pits, I know !

 

[pluggers]

My dad sold his 190 about 18 months ago it was a Silver 1992 J reg 1.8, 5sp manual with about 85000 miles on the clock and in absolute mint condition inside and out with full history.He was considering a part ex against his next car,until he was told yea we will do a PX I will offer you £1000. Anyway he sold it private for about £1300.What he didn't realise was that older cars with more miles on were going for about double that.
So it is safe to say that out there is a car that can be had for little money, You just have to do a lot of searching for the right car and maybe someone like my dad.

 

[Kinky]

I've just managed to negotiate an Alfa 155 V6, 94 M, for £450 - down from £1k !!!!

Haggle hard - it's a buyers market.

K

 

[bazza]

Merc did make a 2.6 I6 190E(even harder to find a manual one of those!)

I've had my 2.0 auto for over 3 years now and the only repair I've had to do is the water pump, although I suspect the heater matrix has started to leak. Not bad for a 1990 car of any make.

I had a Focus as a company car and even though it was reliable and comfy, I still took the Merc, 9 times out of 10, if we were going anywhere out of work.

PS I paid £70 for mine in April 2000 with 78,000mls and FMBSH


Bazza

 

[Kinky]

£70?

Bargain of the decade. Nice one Bazza.

 

[Steve_Perry]

Originally posted by bazza
Merc did make a 2.6 I6 190E(even harder to find a manual one of those!)

I've had my 2.0 auto for over 3 years now and the only repair I've had to do is the water pump, although I suspect the heater matrix has started to leak. Not bad for a 1990 car of any make.

I had a Focus as a company car and even though it was reliable and comfy, I still took the Merc, 9 times out of 10, if we were going anywhere out of work.

PS I paid £70 for mine in April 2000 with 78,000mls and FMBSH


Bazza

Ooh a mistake on Parker's Guide then they have the 2.6 listed as 4 cyl. Thanks for that info Bazza

£70?!? Wow I am impressed, good one How did you manage to negotiate that price then?

S.

 

[bazza]

I cheated,
Father in law was trading in against a new c class and the dealer offered him bottom book for the car,£2k at the time, although, including the c class, he had spent £70k at the dealers on cars within 5 years.
I was looking for a car so he decided if anybody was 'going to steal it' it might as well be family!

So I am stuck with it, as the only sensible thing to do is run it until it dies, and if it lasts another 3 years it will be the bargain of the decade. 6 years out of a £70 car at 9,000mls a year,cost per mile anybody?

 

[pajd100]

Now if I could get one for £70 I would be well impressed! :bannana:

To answer your questions, yes it is the finance that is costing me £200 on the focus so I would rather try to put away half that for mainteneace (ie £100 per month or £1200 per year). Do people think this will be enough to run a late eighties / early nineties 190??

I am definately interested in the 2.6 if it is definately a six cylinder but it is listed as a four cylinder on the Parkers website. Anyone know definately which it is? I've always wanted a car that has something other than 4 inline cylinders under the bonnet.

It is nice having a new car like the focus but you can't help but think your just paying the depreciation with the finance and the car isn't really "yours"

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Dieselman]

Originally posted by pajd100
Now if I could get one for £70 I would be well impressed! :bannana:

To answer your questions, yes it is the finance that is costing me £200 on the focus so I would rather try to put away half that for mainteneace (ie £100 per month or £1200 per year). Do people think this will be enough to run a late eighties / early nineties 190??

Unless you are doing intergalactic mileage it will be more than enough as long as you steer clear of main dealer labour rates. Even then it should still be enough.

 

[Will]

190E 2.6 is *definately* a straight-six!

 

[bazza]

2.6 is deffy a 6 cylinder, seen a few of them for sale recently and the only problem with them is the extra weight on the front upsetting the handling slightly


Bazza

 

[scotth_uk]

?????

190e 2.6 driver here. No handling issues at all. Goes like the clappers. Fast enough to keep up with a lot of buzzboxes.

 

[vito113]

here is the specs for the 190's, hope it helps.

2.5L-16V _ EVO II
4 cyl : 2498cc : 150 kW : 7.5 secs : 250 km/h

2.3L-16V _ _ EVO I
4 Cyl : 2498cc : 150 kW : 7.7 secs : 230 km/h

_2.5L-16V
4 Cyl : 2498cc : 145 kW : 7.5 secs : 235 km/h

2.3L-16V
4 Cyl : 2298cc : 136 kW : 7.7 secs : 230 km/h

2.6L
6 Cyl : 2597cc : 120 kW : 8.9 secs : 212 km/h

2.3L
4 Cyl : 2298cc : 98 kW : 9.5 secs : 197 km/h

2.0L
4 Cyl : 1998cc : 87 kW : 9.8 secs : 190 km/h

1.8L
4 Cyl : 1797cc : 80 kW : 12.1 secs : 185 km/h

2.5L Turbo
5 Cyl : 2498cc : 93 kW : 11.5 secs : 195 km/h

2.5D
5 Cyl : 2498cc : _69 kW : 14.2 secs : 175 km/h

2.0D (………zzzzzzzzzzzz)
4 Cyl : 1997cc : _55 kW : 18.1secs : 160 km/h