Hello,

Been interested in buying a "classic" car for a long time. One on my short list is the Merc 190e 2.3-16.

Any current/past owners shed some light on owning, maintaining, and living with one in modern times?
Is a engine rebuild possible (more like doable)?
How hard is it to find parts available for theses?

Any other tips are welcome.

TIA!

 

No matter which car you buy, be sure and have a pre-purchase inspection done by a model expert to look for both accident damage and any expensive repairs lurking under the exterior. If any seller refuses such an inspection, walk away. The self leveling suspension is no longer available so if you want that, be sure to buy a car that already has it. Cars with the SLS typically sell for more money. Manuals typically sell for more than automatics. There are still places to get parts such as the MB Classic Center, Adsitco, FCP Euro, etc. I've never owned a 16v so I don't know how livable one would be on a daily basis. Try and find one that has maintenance records. All W 201s need their maintenance. Keep up with the maintenance and you'll have a reliable car for many thousands of miles.

 

Yeah, I'm concern about getting a W201 with its need for maintenance. I can wrench, but don't want to spend all my weekends in the garage ya know. Perhaps I should go even older and simpler cars ('70's). But I really liked the 2.3-16s as a kid and now I feel like I should have one before I'm too old lol. Manual for sure, but I don't need the SLS, I heard some swap it out with spring/strut combo, which I would do. Also, a lot of examples have a lot of miles like 150K -sh, I mean I know its an old car. Do you know if these engines can last up to 200-300k miles before a rebuild? Anyways, thanks for your kind reply.

 

I could safely say that a W201 is a very good car to have as a classic. If you regularly maintain it it will last forever.
A 2.3-16 is not a good daily/frequently used car. Ones with many miles now will need a lot of soring out and their engine parts are not readily available.

I am biased but a 5-speed manual transmission 2.6 liter 6cyl. W201 is a fun car to drive and is close to a 2.3-16 in performance.

I now have 2 of these cars. I drive one daily. They are not easy to find, only 700 of them shipped to us back in the day. And in California, there is enough of a supply to convert a failing auto transmission to manual. Not that difficult, plenty of enthusiast have done it.

I would much prefer them to something like a W114-W115 or W123. I have driven a W114 from new as a family car. It was a fine car in it's day but it is not as revolutionary as the W201.
And the OBD-1 really help in maintaining the car and keeping it on the road. It is easier than the OBD-2 systems and just enough complexity to make it a DIY.

 

Over the past year I did what you are talking about doing but with a 2.6 sportline. It was a clean rust free California car that ran and drove when I bought it. All in I'm into the car for close to 20k to get it to a point where all of its original systems are functional and the car drives like new. I did all of the work myself and probably have 400 hours in it. I am in my 40s but have been working on cars since I was 13 and Benzes for about 20 years. If I paid someone to do this work it would have been prohibitively expensive to take this on. I have been daily driving the car for a few months now and its great, exactly what I wanted.

If you aren't game to do the work, hunt the parts and/or open your checkbook this may not be the car for you.

 

If you don't want the SLS then buy a car without it. They'll be less expensive. Cars that have been well maintained will last. W201s have been used around the world as taxis and they've racked up hundreds of thousands of miles. Again, take a marque expert with you when you look at a car in order to be able to spot expensive, needed repairs, previous accident damage, etc. Try and get as many maintenance records as you can. Try to buy a car from a warmer climate. They'll be more expensive but they'll be rust free.

 

Great job rescuing a Sportline. Sportlines are pretty rare so I personally wouldn't pile up too many miles on it. I would also keep it off of salted winter roads. Just my 2 cents. I've owned my W201 since it was brand new. Last year I had to to a refurbishment of all of the rubber suspension parts because my car was now more than 30 years old and rubber deteriorates over time. It wasn't cheap but my car is now ready for the next 30 years. Some pictures of your Sportline would be nice.

 

I would agree that the W201, if used daily is a DIY enthusiast's car. I spent $6000-$7000 on my '89 and made it run like new. I know because I owned it new.
I put 40K miles on it during that same 7 year period. If I had not done all the work that would have been easily $20K-$30K.

So if you like working on cars the W201 is great and I have to say my original with 210K miles on it has never let me stranded anywhere, the car was never towed for any reason.

But, you are correct, to keep these and use them daily, you have to DIY. Without a doubt.

 

I built the car to drive but as a three seasons car to avoid winter salt. My car is a 1993 Limited Edition car which makes it one of 700 produced but in the end its a car and like my other classics, I drive them a lot (just not in the winter).

 

Thanks for the pictures. Looks like you got a good one.