RE: Shed of the Week: Mercedes 190E
Discussion
Numeric said:
Mercs of this era used to have a distinctive smell. Hard to describe but you somehow knew you were in a Merc even with your eyes shut.
And the view on a long drive especially at night of the star at the end of the bonnet, just in your line of sight to guide you home somehow...
Utterly simple quality that died with the C-class and its cruddy comrades!
Oh my god I thought it was just me! Nail on the head, my dad had a 230TE W124 and a 230E W124 and they had the same smell, what do you think it is? Both were cloth seats, could it be the fabric? Or just early 90's Mercedes Benz magic And the view on a long drive especially at night of the star at the end of the bonnet, just in your line of sight to guide you home somehow...
Utterly simple quality that died with the C-class and its cruddy comrades!
diehardbenzfan said:
Numeric said:
Mercs of this era used to have a distinctive smell. Hard to describe but you somehow knew you were in a Merc even with your eyes shut.
And the view on a long drive especially at night of the star at the end of the bonnet, just in your line of sight to guide you home somehow...
Utterly simple quality that died with the C-class and its cruddy comrades!
Oh my god I thought it was just me! Nail on the head, my dad had a 230TE W124 and a 230E W124 and they had the same smell, what do you think it is? Both were cloth seats, could it be the fabric? Or just early 90's Mercedes Benz magic And the view on a long drive especially at night of the star at the end of the bonnet, just in your line of sight to guide you home somehow...
Utterly simple quality that died with the C-class and its cruddy comrades!
Shed said:
Being the 190E, this one has the 122hp version of the 1.8-litre slant four petrol plodder…
Oh no it doesn’t.J4CKO said:
However, 107 bhp with an old school auto might make for a turgid level of acceleration…
Correct, both with 107bhp and 0-60 time of Turgid.So it's a damaged repaired underpowered base spec 25 year old Merc. Marvellous start to £1500 shedding indeed.
BFleming said:
I can't help but think some SOTWs lately cross over into classic car territory, but with this one being Stolen/Recovered I assume it has a CAT-something rating (even though the seller can't quite bring themselves to state those exact words).
Not a valid assumption at all. Those are purely write-off categories and there's no reason to believe it was written off in any of the four categories. No particular reason to believe it was damaged, even. I've had cars stolen twice. On both occasions I got the car back a while later with no damage, reversed off the insurance claim and carried on driving them for a few years. No write-offs, no Cat A, B, C or D, but a flag does go on the car to say it's been the subject of a theft claim. It didn't cause me any grief: they were both cheap as chips basic transport anyway. I scrapped one a few years after the event, and eventually traded in the second about 2-3 years after the theft.
Lowtimer said:
Not a valid assumption at all. Those are purely write-off categories and there's no reason to believe it was written off in any of the four categories. No particular reason to believe it was damaged, even.
I've had cars stolen twice. On both occasions I got the car back a while later with no damage, reversed off the insurance claim and carried on driving them for a few years. No write-offs, no Cat A, B, C or D, but a flag does go on the car to say it's been the subject of a theft claim. It didn't cause me any grief: they were both cheap as chips basic transport anyway. I scrapped one a few years after the event, and eventually traded in the second about 2-3 years after the theft.
It turns out though that it was damaged and has a categoryI've had cars stolen twice. On both occasions I got the car back a while later with no damage, reversed off the insurance claim and carried on driving them for a few years. No write-offs, no Cat A, B, C or D, but a flag does go on the car to say it's been the subject of a theft claim. It didn't cause me any grief: they were both cheap as chips basic transport anyway. I scrapped one a few years after the event, and eventually traded in the second about 2-3 years after the theft.
Lowtimer said:
...and there's no reason to believe it was written off in any of the four categories. No particular reason to believe it was damaged, even.
Apart from somebody upthread having checked the plate, and found it was written off with front end damage in 2007, and is now CatD recorded, of course...I like that. I'm a big fan of my 190 2.6. On balance part of me wishes I had gone for the boggo 4 cylinder for the full poverty Merc feeling.
The ride is excellent for a small car, and they feel phenomenally well built compared to, say, a modern 3 series. I love the body shape as well.
Mine wasn't shed money though, even at the new budget level!
The ride is excellent for a small car, and they feel phenomenally well built compared to, say, a modern 3 series. I love the body shape as well.
Mine wasn't shed money though, even at the new budget level!
MrGeoff said:
diehardbenzfan said:
Numeric said:
Mercs of this era used to have a distinctive smell. Hard to describe but you somehow knew you were in a Merc even with your eyes shut.
And the view on a long drive especially at night of the star at the end of the bonnet, just in your line of sight to guide you home somehow...
Utterly simple quality that died with the C-class and its cruddy comrades!
Oh my god I thought it was just me! Nail on the head, my dad had a 230TE W124 and a 230E W124 and they had the same smell, what do you think it is? Both were cloth seats, could it be the fabric? Or just early 90's Mercedes Benz magic And the view on a long drive especially at night of the star at the end of the bonnet, just in your line of sight to guide you home somehow...
Utterly simple quality that died with the C-class and its cruddy comrades!
0a said:
I like that. I'm a big fan of my 190 2.6. On balance part of me wishes I had gone for the boggo 4 cylinder for the full poverty Merc feeling.
The ride is excellent for a small car, and they feel phenomenally well built compared to, say, a modern 3 series. I love the body shape as well.
Mine wasn't shed money though, even at the new budget level!
Maybe because I'm more of a Jag/British car fan than a German car one, but the appeal of the Sparta-Spec completely escapes me! I would always choose a six over a four (particularly since the Merc 2.6 is such a smooth engine) and velour or leather over cloth. I don't like to wind my own windows or to heave my bodyweight to adjust the seats! I also like to have A/C! I must be shallow, but I don't get less-is-more! The ride is excellent for a small car, and they feel phenomenally well built compared to, say, a modern 3 series. I love the body shape as well.
Mine wasn't shed money though, even at the new budget level!
dbdb said:
Maybe because I'm more of a Jag/British car fan than a German car one, but the appeal of the Sparta-Spec completely escapes me! I would always choose a six over a four (particularly since the Merc 2.6 is such a smooth engine) and velour or leather over cloth. I don't like to wind my own windows or to heave my bodyweight to adjust the seats! I also like to have A/C! I must be shallow, but I don't get less-is-more!
I thought that, but am now tempted by the spartan approach. Perhaps it helps that I have 2 w124s, an r129 SL, and a Jaguar XJ! 
te when new....Lowtimer said:
Ltd148 said:
Could SR be Stolen / Recovered?
Likely, yes. Would not be a factor for me at this price level, providing any damage had been properly repaired. It's survived another 10 years so they obviously didn't wreck the engine or transmission.Edited by Lowtimer on Friday 11th August 09:37
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