Impart thy wisdom: MB 190e Cosworth

So I generally consider myself a BMW fan at heart, having an E30 we campaign in ChumpCar and having experienced the joy that is E36 M3. Watching the old DTM videos got me thinking about the old MB 190e that used to campaign against the E30s. They seem remarkably cheaper than e30 M3s of the era, which are quite priceee. Take this one for example, http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-190E-2-3-16-16v-5-speed-Think-Nardo-Senna-E30-M3-No-reserve-/130807646361?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1e74be4899

I know nothing about them, although I find myself drawn to them, would be fun to experience the 'competition' to our E30. Price seems quite low compared to the BMW equivalent of the time. Are these bad cars? Any reason to avoid them if a decent example is found?

I'll be watching this thread with interest....

It's been brought up a few times this year. I'll just leave this here..

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/i-kind-of-want-a-mb-190e-23-16/53011/page1/

Prices of these have been slowly creeping up. I remember when you could get a clean runner for a few grand. Now they're pushing $10k.

Still would love to have one.

According to James May- Martin Brundell thinks they're the best car ever.

Getting cheap I've seen a few for 2500. If you really want one join the benz forums and buy one from an enthusiast. Other than that I don't know much about them. The 16V are a dime a dozen verses a M3 E30. I don't remember the last M3 I've seen, those cars sound more japanese than german in the engine department. I personally love the EvoII with the ridiculous looking rear wing but those cars are expensive.

oh if I had 5 grand burning a hole in my pocket...

My friend just bought a nice one. Everyone is drooling over it.

benzbaronDaryn wrote: The 16V are a dime a dozen verses a M3 E30. I don't remember the last M3 I've seen,

Really? I've seen maybe 2 16V's since I've known about them... I see E30 M3's a few times a year. Saw one on I-95 yesterday, in fact.

I do not see either anymore.. and the last E30 M3 I saw had an highly modded S52 stuffed in it's nose... totally ruined a classic.

Maybe you are thinking of the standard 190E? those are pretty common.. at least as comon as E30 325s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANv83OJk--4

The answer is E36. The 190E has a better rear suspension than the E30, but it's engine sits even further forward in its chassis than the E30. It also weighs the same as an E36 325, which does everything better for less money.

Someone who works/lives near me has tan one and I see it quite often on my short commute.

Just remember it has a dogleg first gear, otherwise you will be racing backwards before you know it.

I think the biggest problem with Cosworth.. compared to the M3.. it does not look all that special

I test drove one a few months ago. They're cool and interesting, but have a lot of limitations. If you're not wanting a cool, old car to drive sometimes, pass on them.

I dd one for a couple years, my brother dd one for five years. They are awesome tossable cars, prices are on the rise finally for good ones and you don't want a bad one (or an auto).

Here's my enabling for the day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3FJOaWSdyE&sns=em http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDxyohTcS3g&sns=em http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANv83OJk--4&sns=em

http://chambana.craigslist.org/cto/3407747387.html

Nice lookers..

A good one seems to cost around $6-8000 now. The euro versions had 20hp more than the US versions and there are quite a few Euro grey market cars running around here. Paperwork for registering them can be challenging, I passed up one in SoCal because of this. The car had an Arizona title and plates, but he hadn't referred it for Cali and hadn't gotten a Cali title for it. I was suspicious, so I decided to pass.

Some parts are NLA, the injection system is somewhat problematic, you need to understand CIS. Most people are converting them to EFI with Megasquirt though.

They're fun, durable cars that will be classics, but aren't particularly fast...