Merc 190E 2.6

[wrighty78]

I'm considering "upgrading" the old Merc to a 2.6 version and am off to have a look at one at the weekend.

Does anyone have any experience with the 2.6 engine? Anything in particular that I should be looking out for? And are they as reliable as we would expect? And what about fuel consumption?

I'd be grateful for any tips / advice / experience.

And if anyone is interested in a 2.0 Sportline with full MOT....

[TwistingMyMelon]

I really wanted a 2.6 190, great cars, I just couldn't find one anywhere apart from a lovely example at w124.com which was out of my price range for a "everyday" car.

good luck chap and pictures

[wrighty78]

Thanks chap! This one is described as "immaculate" and has done about 95k miles, so I'll let you know how I get on.

I've seen a couple of 2.6s come and go on the w124.com site but, as you say, they're big money. No doubt excellent examples but like you I'm not really looking to spend that much.

Fingers crossed for Saturday...

[Beirut Taxi]

How did it go?

I haven't driven a 2.6, but I have been told by a few people now that they 6 cylinder engine really does transform the car.

It can be a bit thirsty though.

[wrighty78]

A bit disappointing, to be honest.

The bodywork was very good and the engine lovely and smooth, so it should have been a done deal. But the ABS was playing up, the braking was awful, the speedo and milometer didn't work, the steering felt vague, one of the rear windows din't work and one of the back doors wouldn't open, and the chap who knew where the service history was stored wasn't there.

Its for sale at a garage, and the chap said all these problems would be looked at and sorted out. I guess I've got no reason to doubt him, but I just didn't get a very good feeling for the car. It's about 200 miles from home and I don't fancy collecting it to discover some or all of the niggles haven't been sorted.

Just a pity the car hadn't been prepped in advance or else it all might have turned out very differently. It's up for fairly strong money (just short of £2k), so I was hoping for more to be honest.

Still, if anyone's based up near Huddersfield and is interested I'll send you the details.

Wrighty.

[Pentoman]

Probably worth avoiding if there's no proof of mileage (also be suspicious of tall stories about where the service history is....). Speedos regularly fail, and rear windows likewise, but the rest is more of a problem.

Keep us up to date on the search though - I do like reading people's experiences.

[rubystone]

Rapid cars, but big engine in the front doesn't make them as balanced as a 2.0 litre. Find one with Sportline suspension and of course on a facelift (89 on) and you have yourself a very good car indeed. They do use fuel, can use a bit of oil and can, and do, do big miles. Plenty of cars were clocked when in the 5 year old bracket,so buy on condition really...if it has FSH to back up those low miles, even better. The faults on the car you have seen are typical 190 faults, not confined to the 2.6.