1988 Mercedes 190E 2.6
Discussion
I thought I would stop cluttering up the barge/retro/Mercedes threads with my cars and make a reader ride thread for my latest purchase - a Mercedes 190E 2.6. The car will sit alongside my w124 300E, and 500SL. From having zero interest in old mercs a few years ago, I appear to have developed an unhealthy obsession!
The 190 was purchased from a chap in Stoke, sight unseen and with no return ticket and with a year's insurance arranged. I had several phone calls with him, pictures (of the car!) were exchanged, and he came across as a really nice genuine chap.
The car is in excellent condition. The green velour interior is unmarked, and splendid, and it drives like a nearly new car. It really does encourage relaxed civilised progress. It isn't slow when asked, however the pleasant ride and smooth straight six engine make wafting about very pleasant indeed.
In terms of improvements (I prefer this term to "repairs"), the speedo doesn't work, and the knob on the end of the handbrake needs replacing. The latter sounds small and of little relevance, but as its one of the first things you touch on driving the car, it's actually a bit annoying.
Anyway, a few photos.
The plastic mats will go! It has the most fantastic history, including the original bill of sale and a copy of a Mercedes enthusiast article that it featured in.
I did 380 miles in it last Monday and it was great, if less comfortable at high speed compared to the w124 (lower gearing?). All in all it's a bit of a timewarp car and a joy to drive. A family friend who's a 80s/90s BMW nut and has a lovely e28 535 in his collection confirmed that he's now on the lookout for a 190 2.6 after I let him drive it!
The 190 was purchased from a chap in Stoke, sight unseen and with no return ticket and with a year's insurance arranged. I had several phone calls with him, pictures (of the car!) were exchanged, and he came across as a really nice genuine chap.
The car is in excellent condition. The green velour interior is unmarked, and splendid, and it drives like a nearly new car. It really does encourage relaxed civilised progress. It isn't slow when asked, however the pleasant ride and smooth straight six engine make wafting about very pleasant indeed.
In terms of improvements (I prefer this term to "repairs"), the speedo doesn't work, and the knob on the end of the handbrake needs replacing. The latter sounds small and of little relevance, but as its one of the first things you touch on driving the car, it's actually a bit annoying.
Anyway, a few photos.
The plastic mats will go! It has the most fantastic history, including the original bill of sale and a copy of a Mercedes enthusiast article that it featured in.
I did 380 miles in it last Monday and it was great, if less comfortable at high speed compared to the w124 (lower gearing?). All in all it's a bit of a timewarp car and a joy to drive. A family friend who's a 80s/90s BMW nut and has a lovely e28 535 in his collection confirmed that he's now on the lookout for a 190 2.6 after I let him drive it!
e21Mark said:
A 190 is the only Merc' I've owned. It was a white, time warp 1.8 auto, so slow but still a nice drive. Yours certainly looks great. Can I ask what sort of ballpark it was in re cost?
Hi Mark, I hope you're well. It was within the £1-5k barge thread budget. There are very few 6 cylinder 190s left in this condition with reasonable miles (this one has 77k) so I thought it was worth it. It has a valuation of £6k on it from the MB club.
tobinen said:
The interior/exterior colour combination is quite something. I think you've done really well there and I am almost as green with envy as the velour. Happy mini-barging!
Thanks Tobinen, it's a really nice looking thing. The interior/exterior combination attracted me to the car in the first place. I had another 190 2.6 on the radar with slightly higher miles priced above the 1-5 barge thread budget that had leather, but the exterior colour just didn't hit the spot in the same way. I parked the car outside a pub earlier and a couple of car enthusiasts in our party went out for a tour. Strangely the little 190 appears to be of much more interest than the W124 or SL (though it's in fantastic condition).
If anyone can help me with the handbrake knob I'd appreciate it! I have had a quick search with no luck so far.
Some great posts, I love the scan of the pricelist.
Travelling 4 up the car is definitely creaky at the front so I I'm using the w124 this weekend instead and I will put it on for ball joints after the weekend. A shame as I have taken all my cars on this Inverness-Applecross run and I'm also heading over to Skye. Never mind!
The car also occasionally stalls when you have been running at speed and come to an abrupt stop. It did it twice when I first got it and I thought that a run of 600+ miles had blown the cobwebs out, however on Thursday it did it twice in a 30 mile trip. Any deas are welcome, otherwise Tommy the mechanic can sort it! The fun of 28 year old cars that I expect to provide full daily service
Travelling 4 up the car is definitely creaky at the front so I I'm using the w124 this weekend instead and I will put it on for ball joints after the weekend. A shame as I have taken all my cars on this Inverness-Applecross run and I'm also heading over to Skye. Never mind!
The car also occasionally stalls when you have been running at speed and come to an abrupt stop. It did it twice when I first got it and I thought that a run of 600+ miles had blown the cobwebs out, however on Thursday it did it twice in a 30 mile trip. Any deas are welcome, otherwise Tommy the mechanic can sort it! The fun of 28 year old cars that I expect to provide full daily service
Spinakerr said:
Good to hear it out and about - for the stalling issue my first port of call would be the idle micro switch (often just a clean), the fuel dump relay and then the throttle cable setting and it's attendant springs.
Perfect thankyou!BGarside said:
Beautiful 190. Love the velour interior - seems very rare on 190s. I assume it's a pre-cat model with the full 166hp too.
I think John Haynes were,selling it a couple of years back?
What's the mpg like on these? I'd quite like to try one if I eventually get bored with my 325i.
No cat - fortunately all my cars were spared this!I think John Haynes were,selling it a couple of years back?
What's the mpg like on these? I'd quite like to try one if I eventually get bored with my 325i.
I will look into the history to see if I have anything from John Haynes. I cannot recall seeing anything from them. It was sold by the SL shop to the current owner.
The MPG is 25-28. They are simple engines so don't go any lower but don't go much higher. I had a big 80s/90s BMW fan drive the car a few weeks back and he's looking for one. The engine isn't a patch on the BMW 2.5 for zingy-ness, but it's lovely and smooth and the whole car is very solid compared to 80s BMWs.
FatBoyDan said:
That's a belter. Love the smooth straight sixes. Recently bought a 190e myself, 2.0, but could not pass it up:
Lovely - do you have a reader car thread?!BGarside said:
A friend bought a nice 190e 2.0 a couple of years back and the simplicity, quality and timeless styling appeal to me.
It's quite bizarre to modern eyes how a quite Spartan car could be sold as a premium-priced luxury marque, but of course the BMWs and Audis of the day were similarly sparsely equipped.
A 190 today seems like a rolling rebellion against the obesity, bling and over-complexity of modern 'prestige' cars. Think I'd like to own one one day...
I was attracted to the more spartan end of the 190 market, but in the end I though I'd look for a 2.6 to keep up with the modern TDIs, and with electric windows and so on.It's quite bizarre to modern eyes how a quite Spartan car could be sold as a premium-priced luxury marque, but of course the BMWs and Audis of the day were similarly sparsely equipped.
A 190 today seems like a rolling rebellion against the obesity, bling and over-complexity of modern 'prestige' cars. Think I'd like to own one one day...
As I mentioned on the barge thread I have ordered front and rear springs and shocks, and am having the ball joints replaced on Saturday. I suspect one of the front springs may be missing a coil as it seems this is relatively common and the left mudflap drags on the ground a little on cornering when there is a largeish passenger in it.
I am looking forward to taking it on the Barge 1-5 meetup in the lakes on Sunday!
CharlesdeGaulle said:
0a said:
New mats installed. I rather like them (sad mode on!).
0a - I like them too, but any reason you didn't go for green mats rather than the rather fetching brown? CharlesdeGaulle said:
0a said:
Yes. The interior is very green especially when viewed from the back seats, so I went for the brown which sort of goes with the outside. I went for blue mats with the SL which break up the grey interior on that (and go with the exterior).
Sensible thinking. Shame that firm doesn't do mats to fit the XJS. I currently have what looks like a bath mat over the carpet in the driver's footwell.
Regarding bath mats see the opening photos on this thread! Now in the bin. Horrible!
Well I did 320 miles in the car today, and it was easy and pleasant. The car is solid and stable at 90ish. The RPM is reasonably high, but then the straight 6 is very smooth. The cruise control appears not to work, which is fairly common on this era of Mercedes. Any suggestion as to how easy it would be to fix would be appreciated.
I really like the simplicity of the interior. For example the ventilation controls which are so easy to use to get airflow and temperature correct. I dislike modern systems that never seem to get airflow to my liking. The interior isn't as polished as the w124 by any means - for example the window controls are positioned too far forwards, the hazard lights switch next to them rather than on the dash, and the headlight switch is on a panel angled downwards. However when there's little to operate this doesn't really matter!
I really like the simplicity of the interior. For example the ventilation controls which are so easy to use to get airflow and temperature correct. I dislike modern systems that never seem to get airflow to my liking. The interior isn't as polished as the w124 by any means - for example the window controls are positioned too far forwards, the hazard lights switch next to them rather than on the dash, and the headlight switch is on a panel angled downwards. However when there's little to operate this doesn't really matter!
Thankyou Alec. It was great to see your car at the barge meet. It would be good to see you at the next meet - further to go, but a good chance to give the XJ a run. It's certainly a very much more luxurious than the 190!
On the 190 front I came home today to find front and rear springs, and front and rear shocks. I will deliver these to my mechanic with the car next week.
On the 190 front I came home today to find front and rear springs, and front and rear shocks. I will deliver these to my mechanic with the car next week.
Not too much to report on the 190e front aside from that I have still not got the new suspension parts fitted yet - life gets in the way sometimes!
In good news the insurance agreed value came back with what I'd consider to be a reasonable price and more than I paid for it.
I drove it for the first time in a week last night and it was pleasant with the sunroof open pootling through central edinburgh.
I do find the steering wheel rather large and low.
In good news the insurance agreed value came back with what I'd consider to be a reasonable price and more than I paid for it.
I drove it for the first time in a week last night and it was pleasant with the sunroof open pootling through central edinburgh.
I do find the steering wheel rather large and low.
mccrackenj said:
H4r1s said:
Looks like a lovely example. The sportline steering wheel is a good upgrade and a bit smaller.
I can't believe they put the same size bus steering wheel in 16v models too.
Have you sorted your speedo out? As I've recently completely taken mine apart and put it back together to sort various issues, they're not that difficult to work on.
Hi Alec, sorry I didn't get any more than a 2 minute glance at your car at the Lakes, what awful weather! I can't believe they put the same size bus steering wheel in 16v models too.
Have you sorted your speedo out? As I've recently completely taken mine apart and put it back together to sort various issues, they're not that difficult to work on.
I can 100% recommend fitting a Sportline wheel if you can. My manual Sportline had it and I really wouldn't have wanted a standard wheel.Admittedly I'm shorter than you so I had my seat further forward and higher than you might have it, but even so I think a full size wheel in a 190e would be an irritant even though it isn't in a W124.
Does anyone here know where to source a handbrake knob (the thing you press) - mine is broken and it's annoying to have to use a split button every time I get in the car. An eBay search has not revealed anything.
The PH sticker is on (and very subtle) and I gave the car a good drive this morning. With the little straight 6 it's so smooth.
CharlesdeGaulle said:
0a said:
The PH sticker is on (and very subtle) and I gave the car a good drive this morning. With the little straight 6 it's so smooth.
I've been rude about PH stickers before, but I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt on this one. It's a close-run thing though. I have completely failed with the aim of this thread - keeping a log of the car's progress without cluttering up other threads around the site. Oh well!
The 190 has had a slight amount of rust on the front right wing - a tiny bubble. After a slight scrape with a lady in a Fiat on this very panel, I was directed to a great bodywork chap who was a big fan of old mercs. It was agreed that the front of the car needed a respray, and he promised to do a great job - the cost for the merc OEM wing alone was a lot (think 10 times what I paid for 2 aftermarket wings for the W124).
It now looks fantastic, I'm very happy with it. I even gave it a clay bar!
The 190 has had a slight amount of rust on the front right wing - a tiny bubble. After a slight scrape with a lady in a Fiat on this very panel, I was directed to a great bodywork chap who was a big fan of old mercs. It was agreed that the front of the car needed a respray, and he promised to do a great job - the cost for the merc OEM wing alone was a lot (think 10 times what I paid for 2 aftermarket wings for the W124).
It now looks fantastic, I'm very happy with it. I even gave it a clay bar!
I collected the 190 today, and it now rides even better than before. Interestingly it doesn't look high like the 300E did when I replaced the springs and dampers.
The outside temperature control is back working, and I now have cruise control! Useful for the 350 miles I drove in it today.
The spring in the gearbox has been done, and a full gearbox service. There's still some 'shunt' in the auto transmission (manually going down the gears) at low speeds compared to the 300E - ideas welcome!
The outside temperature control is back working, and I now have cruise control! Useful for the 350 miles I drove in it today.
The spring in the gearbox has been done, and a full gearbox service. There's still some 'shunt' in the auto transmission (manually going down the gears) at low speeds compared to the 300E - ideas welcome!
Edited by 0a on Saturday 24th December 01:57
Mr Tidy said:
0a said:
I collected the 190 today, and it now rides even better than before. Interestingly it doesn't look high light the 300E did when I replaced the springs and dampers.
The outside temperature control is back working, and I now have cruise control! Useful for the 350 miles I drove in it today.
The spring in the gearbox has been done, and a full gearbox service. There's still some 'shunt' in the auto transmission (manually going down the gears) at low speeds compared to the 300E - ideas welcome!
Maybe find a manual one! The outside temperature control is back working, and I now have cruise control! Useful for the 350 miles I drove in it today.
The spring in the gearbox has been done, and a full gearbox service. There's still some 'shunt' in the auto transmission (manually going down the gears) at low speeds compared to the 300E - ideas welcome!
Never had that problem with my manual 2 litre 190e!Mercedes only ever release a manual gearbox so they can charge for an auto.
The wings on the SL are now perfect - there was a tiny amount of bubbling but catching it early meant there was no issue sanding and painting.
Worth it when original wings are getting more expensive. The OEM wing used for the 190 here was £750 unpainted from Mercedes. Ouch! I paid 1/10th of that for the wings I will use on my w124 but I accept the quality won't be there. I'd suggest as a much more desirable model which is worth a vast amount more you want to stick to proper ones on yours!
Worth it when original wings are getting more expensive. The OEM wing used for the 190 here was £750 unpainted from Mercedes. Ouch! I paid 1/10th of that for the wings I will use on my w124 but I accept the quality won't be there. I'd suggest as a much more desirable model which is worth a vast amount more you want to stick to proper ones on yours!
I did enjoy taking it to the barge meet at Duxford, and it was actually quite comfortable if a little buzzy for 4 blokes!
This did highlight a few things that need doing:
1. Ball joints. Grr. There's a squeak from the rear which sounds like the classic 80s merc BJ squeak.
I have asked my mechanic to replace them all twice now. He's great in all other ways but it's clear he doesn't like doing them as it has come back twice now with a comment that they looked fine.
I will address this strategically next time - I will only put it in for the balljoints. He will have nowhere to hide and will have to do them.
2. Throttle hesitation - it feels like the throttle cable is stuck at full depression. If I lift off slightly it sometimes surges a bit.
3. There's still a slight clunk from the gearbox sometimes, particularly changing up off throttle or light throttle.
Help/therapy with the above would be welcome!
This did highlight a few things that need doing:
1. Ball joints. Grr. There's a squeak from the rear which sounds like the classic 80s merc BJ squeak.
I have asked my mechanic to replace them all twice now. He's great in all other ways but it's clear he doesn't like doing them as it has come back twice now with a comment that they looked fine.
I will address this strategically next time - I will only put it in for the balljoints. He will have nowhere to hide and will have to do them.
2. Throttle hesitation - it feels like the throttle cable is stuck at full depression. If I lift off slightly it sometimes surges a bit.
3. There's still a slight clunk from the gearbox sometimes, particularly changing up off throttle or light throttle.
Help/therapy with the above would be welcome!
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