First MB - 190E: does this one sound OK?

[Geoffrey Inett]

Neilrr: Thanks for all this useful information. Yes, there do appear to be quite a lot around in general, but where I live (Framlingham, Suffolk) is a tad off the beaten track and good cars to go to see are a bit thin on the ground. Having done a 200m round trip last Sunday to look at a car that was described as pristine inside and out (far from it), I'm very wary of making similar trips, though there are a couple of cars south of London that look interesting at the mo and I may possibly consider looking at these at the weekend, but another very long trip. I'm also torn between low mileage cars with little service history and ones with about 130k+ but with a full one that have clearly been well cared for. I think that I will give the one I've talked about a miss on grounds of price. I'm also not too sure whether to be concerned about the tappet noise that is clearly a common problem. No-one really seems to be too worried about it, but some people say beware. Unless the noise doesn't go away after a short time running, my inclination is to go with it, but try to improve things with some decent oil. Also in my experience there is very little that a good long run of around 200-300 miles doesn't cure.

 

[kensalriser]

Did you find one in the end Geoffrey?

Always treat low mileage cars with no history as average or high mileage cars. There's usually a reason why there's no history - without the back-up it's wise to assume the worst.