Newbie 190e owner

[der Bartige]

Yo people, i've just bought a 190e on Friday, and thought i'd join up on advice from my cousin.

It's in almandine red i believe (512), only done 56k so i was really chuffed. Mechanically it seems sound. The previous also seemed like genuine chap.

It does need a bit of tlc body work wise - a nice clean will do . The aerial doesn't work (motor sounds but no movement), i broke the driver side wing mirror arm , other small bits and bobs, most importantly need new wheels.

From scouring the internet, 225/45 r16 is ideal for 16", apparently. But i'm looking for 8 hole alloys or Cosworth style in those size? Although having said that i suppose original 15" would be that bad either. Just want it to look like it feels the arches without too much tyre or too much alloy. I got a feeling the car has been lowered on the front, as it looks tilted to words the front, even on flat roads, and the fact those mud guard keeps hitting the bumps or when i;m going into my drive!

 

[optimusprime]

hi

Welcome to the forum, As for your car they are a good buy in good condition.The fronts are low on the road.You can get a replacement mast from ebay,the number will be on the end button of top section.I would fit a new grommet to your wing . Remove the old aeriel and open it up to check you have no broken bits from the old mast in there,its no good putting a new mast in if you have plastic bits inside.You just get a friend to switch the radio on and it will pull the mast in automatic .All instructions on the bag new mast comes in. Gpood luck with you car. As for wheels check my mate out [email protected] phone 07737360966 Rob

 

[automaniaman]

Hello & welcome to the forum

 

[der Bartige]

Thanks for the welcome people!

Cheers for the info Optimus, and the link to your mate. Will be adding up potential costs. Mechanically it seems sound, majority of the problem is aesthetic and one electrical. Going to have some fun over rest of the year.

 

[stwat]

Hello and welcome.

 

[Westbarn1]

Hi, Welcome to the forum

 

[Charles Morgan]

I appreciate the wheels are not right for the car, but tot up all you need to do first, nothing worse than spending a fair whack on appearance and then finding issues!

My 190 is in Almandine too, lovely colour, and runs 16 inch AMG wheels. 15s have a real advantage - you can buy rubber very cheaply.

 

[der Bartige]

I appreciate the wheels are not right for the car, but tot up all you need to do first, nothing worse than spending a fair whack on appearance and then finding issues!

My 190 is in Almandine too, lovely colour, and runs 16 inch AMG wheels. 15s have a real advantage - you can buy rubber very cheaply.

So true mate. on all accounts. I'm defo going to do the aerial, wing mirror, boot first then on to tyres/wheels. Just can't help but think 16s look proper. But end of the day bank balance has to be taken into account. And yes Almandine is super lovely.

 

[Rungles]

Very nice mate!

Welcome

 

[John Jones Jr]

Hello and welcome.

 

[carat 3.6]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[roastbeef]

Hi and welcome great cars the 190

 

[Mike Walker]

Hello and welcome. Lovely cars which waft down the road so enjoy your ownership. A couple of suggestions from past experience:-

If you replace the aerial do check the inside of the boot area below for corrosion. Water gets past the grommet at the base and into the boot. If drain holes are blocked...........rust!

Check the condition of the rubber door seals as they can perish and let in water.

If you need a Haynes manual pm me as I have 2 spare.

Happy motoring!

 

[219]

Welcome to the forum - that's a very tidy looking 190 you have there !

If you are looking for parts it is well worth your while joining the Mercedes190 forum

Mercedes-190.co.uk

which is dedicated to the W201 series ( your model ) .

Quite a few of us are members of both forums , but over there you will find lots of technical info and either parts for sale or members breaking whole cars .

As has been mentioned , if your aerial is still the original Hirschmann unit , you can replace just the mast ( available from your MB dealer ) lots of parts are still available at reasonable prices from the dealers , compared to other makes for cars of this age , or there are places like ECP or GSF .

If the little adjustment arm of the driver's door mirror is broken , this is probably the result of someone trying to fold it flat - they are only meant to fold in the event of a collision - you will need to replace the whole mirror ( W201 ones are the same as W124 ones ) and a used one is easy to fit - if it comes in a different colour you can swap the covers over - you should be able to get one from somebody over on the 190 forum .

As per other advice , I'd just run it as is for a bit and see how it goes before spending a lot on wheels and the like .

Bear in mind that original , unmolested and low mileage cars like yours are getting quite rare and doing too much to it coukd reduce its value .

 

[mgcjag]

Hi new myself......enjoy your new MB......Steve

 

[der Bartige]

Thanks for the welcome lads, my first Merc

@Mike, Ah mate wish i knew about the Haynes manual, bought one off ebay the other day!!! lol
Thanks for the advice, will check out the aerial side.

@Ponton - Already join got some excellent info on there, they're really good people. To let you know i went down to a scrap yard where they were breaking a 190e, because the engine went boom apparently, and bought a tonne of parts (wing mirror for eg) including bonus stuff like wheels, and a Zebrano gear knob all for 300 quid. Saved me a tonne that did.

I 'm middle of transplanting wing mirrors. It's a white one so i'm swapping shells. But the white one was recently painted, and very poorly because the paint had sealed the cover shut lines and seeped through the other joins. Taken a bit of work. :/

I was the one who broke the arm. Basically the mirror had seized and couldn't see out my right side so i thought i'd adjust but i broke it.....oops.

It's running high on idle (p and n) and fan kicks in, so i'm charging the battery (because it hadn't been used for ages) checking out the fuse, and got someone to help me diagnose further, to see if it's an air flow problem or distributor issue. It's also consuming a lot of fuel. 50 miles done and i've used nearly half a tank?? What's that about!

Also will go down the originality route. It won't be a museum piece, but it will be tidied up good and proper and few quid spent on it making it mechanically awesome.

@mgc (steve) congrats man, which Merc you got?

 

[The Boss]

welcome Jay

 

[Drift500sec]

 

[Drift500sec]

 

[der Bartige]

Cheers lads!