Thinking to buy an old merc

[Adam230K]

and i mean REALLY old, 20 years is the absolute minimum.

I think i'm having my mid-twenties crisis, i've really got an urge to get a really old mercedes for like £500, a straight six or something, and i slowly restore it myself.

What candidates are out there? the 190E 2.6? 280CE? E280?

Please help me find the right banger mercedes for me!

 

[BlackC55]

a 123 would be perfect but for £500 it will be a shed.

Rust is the main issue.

 

[jonnyboy]

+1

 

[Adam230K]

rust is the thing that worries me, not aesthetically but MOT's and structural integrity worry me, as i know w123's can suffer from that pretty bad. Are w124's any better?

 

[BlackC55]

A 124 for £500 will be a shed.

spend 2k on one and get a good base to start with.

 

[Adam230K]

thats the thing, i want it to be a shed. i want to park it and not care whats going to happen to it, i want to be able to drive it and not care about other people's mistakes, i wont have to worry about vandals, nothing!

i bet i can find a shed without major issues and source all the stuff it will need slowly and cheaply though

 

[trapperjohn]

What about a 190? In the past couple of years I have bought 2 off 190Ds for sub 500 and both have been - not bad and still running. Both have run MoTs with not much fuss. Tiff on here got a cracking 190D (MANUAL) for I think around 500.

Oh and they are not sheds in the true traditions of the word.

 

[BlackC55]

A 300TE 124 is a great car with quite a quick engine. Loads about.

 

[d w124]

So what you`re saying is buy an old merc and not care about it,while you bemer sits safe on a garage Buy this and you`ll be happy No tax, no mot, spares or repair ....... For Sale (1995) on Car And Classic UK

 

[Tiff]

and i mean REALLY old, 20 years is the absolute minimum.

I think i'm having my mid-twenties crisis, i've really got an urge to get a really old mercedes for like £500, a straight six or something, and i slowly restore it myself.

LOLOL!! REALLY old!
My 190 is my only car,does 1200+ miles a month reliably and in comfort,at a steady 46 MPG, and cost less than £500.

Any other car at 20 years old is a heap,or a pampered emerging classic. A 20 year old Mercedes is just doing what a Mercedes does. Give me that above the 2003 A class Diesel I was working on,and swearing at today. a couple of injectors,if they eventually come out,will cost more than my 190...

OR...

 

[st4]

Pontoneer offered me a 190 2.6 for my foreign trip, sounds a good enough car in need of a few basic jobs. I'd PM him.

 

[219]

Although it is still sitting at my mum's , I think it is spoken for now ......

 

[wemorgan]

A 20 year old Mercedes is just doing what a Mercedes does. Give me that above the 2003 A class Diesel I was working on,and swearing at today. a couple of injectors,if they eventually come out,will cost more than my 190...

Great post, one of the best in a long time

Makes me want to buy a 190 now.

 

[BlackC55]

LOLOL!! REALLY old!
My 190 is my only car,does 1200+ miles a month reliably and in comfort,at a steady 46 MPG, and cost less than £500.

Any other car at 20 years old is a heap,or a pampered emerging classic. A 20 year old Mercedes is just doing what a Mercedes does. Give me that above the 2003 A class Diesel I was working on,and swearing at today. a couple of injectors,if they eventually come out,will cost more than my 190...

OR...

I have a tool for this job. I do lend them out with a deposit.

 

[JonMad]

A decent 190 looks a great way to spend 500 quid. And looking at Tiff's example, will meet your 20 year old criteria.

My H reg MX-5, prior to getting the CLK, was more on the heap end of the scale (apart from all the track bits I put on it), so I agree with Tiff's point there as well, albeit without many other 20yo cars to compare to.

 

[PJH]

and i mean REALLY old, 20 years is the absolute minimum.

I think i'm having my mid-twenties crisis, i've really got an urge to get a really old mercedes for like £500, a straight six or something, and i slowly restore it myself.

What candidates are out there? the 190E 2.6? 280CE? E280?

Please help me find the right banger mercedes for me!

My 280E is for sale, L reg 1993, air-con works, MOT & tax £895

 

[Adam230K]

I would love to try a 190e as i'd like to compare it first hand to the 202 i had.

Was just snooping round... and i saw this dodgy ad... weren't all cossies manual?
1989 MERCEDES-BENZ 190E 2.5 16v

 

[Will]

I would love to try a 190e as i'd like to compare it first hand to the 202 i had.

Was just snooping round... and i saw this dodgy ad... weren't all cossies manual?
1989 MERCEDES-BENZ 190E 2.5 16v

190Es are great cars - solidly built and easy to work on.

Both the 2.3-16 and 2.5-16 were available as autos

Will

 

[Adam230K]

I stand corrected!

Question: Did the 190e's ever had the TD engine? I'm aware there was a 2.5 diesel engine at the time, but was it turbo?

 

[Will]

I stand corrected!

Question: Did the 190e's ever had the TD engine? I'm aware there was a 2.5 diesel engine at the time, but was it turbo?

Don't think any of the MB diesels of that era were turbocharged (124/201 etc), it was too much hassle due to the steering box being in the way on RHD cars.

Will