Very clean low mileage. 190LE.

[Will]

Hmm, not sure about that. When I bought mine, it looked great to me but it still needed a full exhaust system and a head gasket. I can't remember what it cost me to fix but it wasn't far off the purchase price of the car.

Without wanting to sound funny, head gaskets don't normally go overnight, and if it needed a complete replacement exhaust it would have been pretty obvious from a visual inspection

Having said that - the original MB exhausts are very long lived - might need a backbox every 5-10 years, but the downpipes and mid sections last for a very long time - 15-20 years I would guess.

As with any cars, you need to check them over - well worth taking someone knowledgable along if you're unsure. A head gasket is something I've already mentioned - parts are cheap (less than £30), labour would either mean a weekend of DIY or paying for someone's time/expertise otherwise

Will

 

[Rob77]

Without wanting to sound funny, head gaskets don't normally go overnight, and if it needed a complete replacement exhaust it would have been pretty obvious from a visual inspection

Having said that - the original MB exhausts are very long lived - might need a backbox every 5-10 years, but the downpipes and mid sections last for a very long time - 15-20 years I would guess.

As with any cars, you need to check them over - well worth taking someone knowledgable along if you're unsure. A head gasket is something I've already mentioned - parts are cheap (less than £30), labour would either mean a weekend of DIY or paying for someone's time/expertise otherwise

Will

Yes, I know all that now but not sure what point you're making. I didn't crawl under the car and couldn't anyway as it was (is) lowered. There was no blown exhaust sound so I never thought about it. Anyway, I straightway put new genuine MB front middle and rear sections on it. I did leave the basket a while before getting it changed but what I'm saying is they can hide faults as well as any car.

 

[Rob77]

Without wanting to sound funny, head gaskets don't normally go overnight, and if it needed a complete replacement exhaust it would have been pretty obvious from a visual inspection

Having said that - the original MB exhausts are very long lived - might need a backbox every 5-10 years, but the downpipes and mid sections last for a very long time - 15-20 years I would guess.

As with any cars, you need to check them over - well worth taking someone knowledgable along if you're unsure. A head gasket is something I've already mentioned - parts are cheap (less than £30), labour would either mean a weekend of DIY or paying for someone's time/expertise otherwise

Will

Yes, I know all that now but not sure what point you're making. I didn't crawl under the car and couldn't anyway as it was (is) lowered. There was no blown exhaust sound so I never thought about it. Anyway, I straightway put new genuine MB front middle and rear sections on it. I did leave the gasket a while before getting it changed but what I'm saying is they can hide faults as well as any car.

 

[Will]

Yes, I know all that now but not sure what point you're making. I didn't crawl under the car and couldn't anyway as it was (is) lowered. There was no blown exhaust sound so I never thought about it. Anyway, I straightway put new genuine MB front middle and rear sections on it. I did leave the gasket a while before getting it changed but what I'm saying is they can hide faults as well as any car.

The point I'm making is that the car didn't hide anything - you didn't check it!

Surely an exhaust is amongst the most basic of items? It's something that you expect to require periodic replacement , a wear and tear item - and should have been obvious if you looked underneath.

The last 190E I sold (a 'Cosworth' 2.5-16), I was happy for the buyer to have a quick look underneath - it only takes a minute. I still reckon if it was that bad that it needed a complete exhaust you could probably have seen enough from underneath without jacking it up - lowered or not

 

[Rob77]

The point I'm making is that the car didn't hide anything - you didn't check it!

Surely an exhaust is amongst the most basic of items? It's something that you expect to require periodic replacement , a wear and tear item - and should have been obvious if you looked underneath.

The last 190E I sold (a 'Cosworth' 2.5-16), I was happy for the buyer to have a quick look underneath - it only takes a minute. I still reckon if it was that bad that it needed a complete exhaust you could probably have seen enough from underneath without jacking it up - lowered or not

Ok, you're right but I checked it over as much or more than I'd imagine the typical used car buyer does. The exhaust was that bad, I bought the new parts and a friend with a garage fitted them. And you cannot see anything under this car unless it's on a ramp. As for the gasket, there was no water in the oil or oil in the water and so I saw no reason to worry about it.

Sure, if I'd been an engineer, I'd have found these but my point is that for the average punter it can and does hide things.

 

[Rob77]

Oh and another thing I forgot to say about the heater matrix that was gone too. Again, if I'd known then that it was a weak spot, I'd have looked for tell-tale drips but at the time I'd never heard of a heater matrix, far less realised that a new one was £100 or so and that replacing it was a dash out job