Looking at 190 E for
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Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 889
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From: Southern Illinois
, 2023 BMW X4, 1991 190E
Looking at 190 E for
I am looking for a third car to drive around locally and maybe short trips and have been focusing on E350 but have become interested in the 190e because it would be smaller. My wife was a Mercedes to drive around, instead of our 7 year old ML350 ( she wanting to save it for some reason) On the e 350 side I have been looking at the Luxury model, RWD since it sits a little higher than the sport model and I really don't want the expense of AWD
It seem there are not very many 190 e for sale. I have research the site and feel the 2.3 will fit me needs. Below are a few questions
1. how is the entry height, I don't want a low entry.( compare to E350)
2. As the small Mercedes does it give you the feeling of it being a Mercedes.
3. Any particular years to stay away from
4. Major issues
I realize most will 90,000 to 100,000. just need to know the issue.
Thanks for your help.
It seem there are not very many 190 e for sale. I have research the site and feel the 2.3 will fit me needs. Below are a few questions
1. how is the entry height, I don't want a low entry.( compare to E350)
2. As the small Mercedes does it give you the feeling of it being a Mercedes.
3. Any particular years to stay away from
4. Major issues
I realize most will 90,000 to 100,000. just need to know the issue.
Thanks for your help.
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Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 1,369
Likes: 195
From: SF Bay Area, CA
190E 2.6L 1989, 190E 2.6L 1988, BMW 535dXdrive 2014, BMW 428i 2015
Not sure if a 30 year old car is going to fit your needs here but the advantage of a 190E is that it is very much DIY friendly car. If you are not going to maintain the car I would not buy one. You will have a hard time finding good reliable mechanics now and it will get very pricey quickly.
It is easy to maintain these as DIY and a 30 year old car will have many wear items to be replaced. I would look for a 2.6, a 2.3 may be a bit too underpowered in today's standards.
Also cars up north will start to have rust issues, even in a well built 190E. Look for a car that has spent most of the life on coastal weather (WA, OR, CA). Best place to check for rust is the jack points as they are hidden and tend to collect dirt/mud and dampness.
(1) If you and spouse are not particularly tall, the entry height is about right
(2) It does have the same feel as a 300E Mercedes of the same era, as they are basically the same car with the exception of being slightly smaller
(3) I would stick with 89-83. 89 has some minor advantages, but the 90-93 has other advantages, So it is probably a wash. Early '89 builds had a weaker valve train.
(4) Nothing major, just many small wear items need replacing now and then. Manual transmission are harder to come by and less trouble, auto transmission can break down ~200K miles. Head gasket could fail if the engine was allowed to overheat throughout life repeated times. Mine never had a HG issue, I'm at 204K miles.
Good luck with the decision/search process
It is easy to maintain these as DIY and a 30 year old car will have many wear items to be replaced. I would look for a 2.6, a 2.3 may be a bit too underpowered in today's standards.
Also cars up north will start to have rust issues, even in a well built 190E. Look for a car that has spent most of the life on coastal weather (WA, OR, CA). Best place to check for rust is the jack points as they are hidden and tend to collect dirt/mud and dampness.
(1) If you and spouse are not particularly tall, the entry height is about right
(2) It does have the same feel as a 300E Mercedes of the same era, as they are basically the same car with the exception of being slightly smaller
(3) I would stick with 89-83. 89 has some minor advantages, but the 90-93 has other advantages, So it is probably a wash. Early '89 builds had a weaker valve train.
(4) Nothing major, just many small wear items need replacing now and then. Manual transmission are harder to come by and less trouble, auto transmission can break down ~200K miles. Head gasket could fail if the engine was allowed to overheat throughout life repeated times. Mine never had a HG issue, I'm at 204K miles.
Good luck with the decision/search process
Last edited by dolucasi; Dec 8, 2021 at 04:20 PM. Reason: typo
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1991 190E 2.3
I agree with much of what Dolucassi said. As the owner of a much loved190E-2.3, I don't find it to be underpowered. The M102 engine in the 2.3 also doesn't have the head gasket issue that the M103 engine in the 2.6 is notorious for. Very glad Dolucassi hasn't had that issue but then again Dolucassi's level of maintenance on his car is top notch. . I would recommend that you buy the best car you can afford because there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes-Benz.. Try to find a car with a good service history and few owners. I would also recommend having a pre-purchase inspection done by a knowledgeable MB expert in order to try to spot any significant and expensive repair issues.. If the seller objects, walk away. There aren't too many 190Es left with less than 100,000 miles with few owners and good service records. Many will suffer from severe maintenance neglect, many owners or be filled with replacement parts of questionable quality. The 190E was designed to be the baby S class of it's generation and that's what it is. It's legendary MB designer Bruno Sacco's best and he also designed the S class that the 190E is based on. A low mileage, well maintained one with good service records will give you years of reliable service. Be prepared to pay for one in such condition as they've been going up in value because they're pretty rare now.
