Manual M-B 190E 2.6 - any good?

Cotton said:

In reply to yupididit :

I’m closer to IL than you are! 

I know right. He hasn't replied to my offer, yet.

yupididit said:

Cotton said:

In reply to yupididit :

I’m closer to IL than you are! 

 

I know right. He hasn't replied to my offer, yet.

Don't feel bad. He didn't respond to my cash-in-hand offer for the same day he posted it. Hell, I'll even increase my offer. Since the new best offer is $330, I'll go to $335, plus a case of Naturdays, AND a bag of Jolly Ranchers.

Actually, in truth, I don't think this car is worth much more than my offer. It is an undesireable model within the line - anyone who wants one of these really wants the 2.3 Cosworth. Anyone who wants a german "sports" car is going to get an E30, E36, or VW. It isn't much of a luxury car by todays standards, especially with ripped leather on the seats. It is old, but not a classic. 

Seriously, what does this have going for it? Especially in Chicago, nobody wants RWD, nobody can drive a manual anymore, the buyer for a $1000 car will not want a Mercedes which is (a) old, (b) expensive/hard to maintain, they want a Corolla. 

There just isn't a market for this car anymore. The only ones on facebook markets have been listed for a long time. I could probably buy one right now for $500, the only difference being an automatic transmission... and I don't think the manual makes it more desirable, unfortunately. The market for it is basically on this board.

EDIT:  Inserted "probably" qualifier to my statement above.

mtn said:

It is an undesireable model within the line - anyone who wants one of these really wants the 2.3 Cosworth.

If you check the W201 forums, there are a lot of guys who would be interested in a manual 2.6 car. It's going to be a small and specialized market, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it undesirable. The 16v is always going to be in higher demand, but prices on those have been going up (even for rough examples).

JBasham said:

Two friends of mine have owned that chassis with the smaller Cosworth motor.  Both used it for dedicated HPDE duty.  They absolutely loved it.

I wouldn't want one as my "only" track car, but it's the sort of thing I would love to have in the fleet.

I've been racing a 190E 2.3-16 for years now. It's a great platform - stiff chassis; strong brakes; bulletproof drivetrain; neutral handling; not too heavy; great visibility; and good aero even by modern standards.

Like all old cars, you need to do maintenance (bushings, etc) and upgrade the suspension before you really beat it on the track.

Interior is kind of ruff, use to keep a German Shepard in the back seat, and front drivers seat is torn, passenger seat no tears , but  other than that solid car!

In reply to LanEvo :

Mtn I appreciate the input!

To me it’s a beater with a heater! Has been the best daily car ever! Good mpg and low maintenance cost ! I bought a 2000 e55 amg and lost interest, but has been a fun car!

Ohhh forgot that I replaced the heater core in mine. You basicly have to take everything forward of the front seats apart and out of the car to replace that. For that reason only I think is why I got $900 for my car when I sold it in the early 2000s. These cars are not special at all and I would argue that if you want a small Merc there are much better options for almost pocket change that are much newer that have twice the performance and luxury. Just look at early c class cars. Hell E 500s Can be found for less than 4K. There are 4-5 on CL ne’er me all under 4K. 

I would be hard pressed to give you $500 for that car. It would not pass the safety inspection in my state as it sits and to make that car right you will have spent as much or more than you will spend for newer better small Mercedes. 

Here is an example that I was looking at as a DD for me. Even is a formatic so it should be decent in snow. 

https://providence.craigslist.org/cto/d/warwick-2007-mercedes-benz-e500-4matic/6827625931.html

The  current range for these in my area, with one exception,  Is $2500 to just under $4000. The lowest is for $1500 but it has sheet metal damage from a deer strike. 

mariusg said:

In reply to LanEvo :

Mtn I appreciate the input!

Have you decided on a price yet?

If you were closer I would take that for $500 or less. Put a M90 on it with a big FMIC and a MS2. Then do the box flair treatment and a classic Merc livery and take it to the GRMChallenge. 

The "I'm enjoying the reactions" bit says a lot. If I ran a forum,  this "Jus' lookin' fer offers" BS would result in a ban. 

Make this with a rattle can silver paint job (or a roller), Get some of those Plastic screw on fender flairs from JC Whitney and away we go. 

Edit forgot the big ricer wing bolted on the trunk or maybe get one of those wings from a modern WRX.  

I think we have the makings of a parking lot build here.

Instant DTM clone from the late 80's early 90's

Ohhh forgot the plywood front splitter

Not Huge.  Kind of like this one.

I just had a thought. I wonder what would happen if we painted it with aluminized roof coating?  It could look really cool or be an epic disaster but it sure would be fun.  I am never going to look at a silver Merc the same again.  LOL  

This stuff you just have to make sure it is the non fibrated stuff.  It is cheep  $60 / 5 gal at Lowes and I bet it would not look bad at all.  

This is what happens when I am working on a Saturday and get distracted.  

I just discovered that they use rubberized non fibrated aluminum roof coating on the roofs of RV's so it should work. .. . Yes?

This is the stuff we want.

Ohhh and I get a 12 year waranty