As for me, I actually did not own my car for the full 36 year term. Soon after we had our child my wife's partner at her office wanted to purchase the car due to the 5 speed novelty at 125K miles. It was my daily driver since then. My wife drove a W124 sportline and for our son's safety and the need for a bigger family car we kept the W124 and sold the car to our friend in 2002. The car was donated back to me in 2016 when our friend bought and electric car. By then the W124 was long gone after it developed the dreaded reverse gear not engaging problem. And I decided a manual transmission is a keeper. It was also something I could service as opposed to an auto transmission. It also practically had the same transmision as the 1975 W115 that was the family car and I learned how to drive with the W115.

Fortunate for the car and myself, it was garaged all it's life although used daily and my friend took good care of the car. And I figured if this car is coming back to me, it is Kismet. I should keep it and cherish it. I spent $6K-$8K to make it new again with all OE parts. Today, I can safely say is drives as well as it did the day I drove it away from the showroom.

I also wanted to teach my son how to drive a manual transmission car. Which I did but he ended up with Miata's and BMW manual tranmission cars in the end. He is currently designing electric cars but enjoying manual transmission old classics.

My issue with Benzworld was not the moderators but the administrators. But that is a long story.....

 

190efan- I totally get it. According to what I remember what my german would describe to me: MBs were built for utility, transport, and luxury. I guess part of the idea of the 3pointed star (mobilization of land, air, and sea). I think like every other car company selling in North American they realized that there is more profit in being upscale than to accomodate for us modest folk. I am a firm believer that simple is best least amount of stuff to go wrong the better. I feel like its part of what modern people call progress; gentrify everything working class including cheap foods like hotdogs to suit the tastes of the kings and queens that walk amongst us.Its sad to think that these issues have spread and not a localized problem. It has been a little over a decade since I have traveled cross country. Makes me regret not taking up an offer to move to small town kentucky all those years ago.
also going back to you writing about dangerous things the worst thing that ever happened to me was shattering a zimmerman drill front rotor. it took out a finger side part of the spoke on my bbs wheel; i drove home carefully slowly with a piece of rotor stuck between the brakepads. i hit a rock that put a small crack in the oilpan late night in the sierras everytime i would stop could see oil pooling under front tires. i drove 2 hours home on the freeway in clouds of burning oil smoke with about 4gallons of oil to top up. even stopped to get fuel and to a 24hr autozone to get more oil +jb wet weld+brake clean. once home drove up 2wheels on curb ran to toss a drain pan underneath and went to bed. next morning brake cleaned the crack, jb welded, and topped up oil. No leaking, rod knocking or wierd issues drove to work later that day. i thought sludge buildup saved my engine and no prolong lube was used. i also had a time a my front wheel fell off during road testing in my neighborhood (forgot to torque wheel after finishing some frustrating repair). my point is stuff happens its lucky had enough braincells as to always calculate the risks to others and a cool enough head not to panic. i even had a time i bent a tierod+slightly a controlarm on my corolla after a rock was in a apex and used boulders to pound back straight enough to drive home.


dolucasi- thats still admirable to even consider keeping the car. I think the w124 is a phenomenal platform, but like all mercs of that era I dispise the CIS. if it had more conventional electronic fuel injection these cars would have easily been more regarded. I know that MB as of then was conservatively old school in their choices i.e. steering boxes used til late 90s instead of racks. some of this stuff in my opinion could have been more simplified. Still nothing compared to the complexity of modern cars, but simple enough a caveman like myself could wrench. Things like the vacuum operated door locks yet no tilt steering column boggles me, but i guess its part of marketing the brand stateside as luxury. I also did not understand the need to change the climate controls. My euro did not have ac, but everything always worked great 16v nam has some crazy push button dial thing that was finicky at best. I think for myself to get this car back on the road and keep running in the future modifications will be needed to simplify/modernize as parts i am sure will dry up further. by the way i remember i once went to the sanjose north and south pickapart yards are they still there? many years back went to check it out as the yards in soledad and mosslanding would not have more than maybe one 201 there. from 01-11 or so out here there would always be minimum 2 or 3 w201s in local socal junkyards at any given time (i used to go atleast once a week to 2 local and as far out as 80miles away ever other month). I think i read a while back that the mecca of mb's sold in US were in orange county/socal hence the abundance. in all those years i have only ever seen 1 16v which the engine, trans, diff were of course gone when i got to it. i was lucky enough to get the steering box and the front seats which were half cloth and manual in good shape.

As far as meeting fellow 201 enthusiasts/190rev members i have only met 10-12 people. did not meet anybody while living in northern central coast. I felt like even my early days of ownership performance/euro related parts were hard to find so having a community was important. now i am not sure what to think as i do not do the spacebook/myface and see very very limited listings on ebay or craigslist these days.

 

San Jose South P&P is closed. Newark and SJ North are open but they have not had a 190E in at least a year.

CIS is not too bad, all you need is a EHA current gauge in your dash and you are set forever. I'm sure you have seen mine in some older posts.

 

Actually, the Bruno Sacco designed MBs are very highly regarded. That regard has only grown since the passing of legendary, hall of fame designer Bruno Sacco. Auction prices for low mileage pristine examples have really gone up. The W126, W124, W201 generation is considered by many to be MBs greatest generation and the last generation of cars that were built to a standard and not a price. Since I was raised by an engineer who happened to also have German ancestry, I have great insight into how the German engineering mind operates. That's why I've never really considered my W201 to be an appliance. I have a daily driver/appliance for that. I've always considered my W201 to be more. All mechanical things need maintenance and MBs are no exception. Keep this generation of MBs properly maintained and they'll reward you with hundreds of thousands of miles. Too often people blame the cars when the real culprits are bad luck with road debris or diy mechanic repair mistakes. Both the W124 and W201s have been used as taxis around the world which further cements their reputation as durable cars. Cars certainly mean different things to different people. I was raised to appreciate good engineering and especially good German engineering. It has never shocked me that the automobile was invented in Germany. The attention to detail on my W201 is pretty amazing. The wooden dash piece actually has bits of aluminum in it so that the wood won't slinter in a crash. The taillights are ribbed so that snow won't pile up on them enough for the taillights to not be able to be seen. Those are a couple of details that most other automakers would never think of.

 

dolucasi- What other yards are major or the largest in norcal? I've been to one 80miles south of me that had a tractor pulling trams and trailer for large things like hoods like an amusement park since it was so big. I have noticed many of the places i used to go to were bought up by a nationwide company or closed since then prices for admission and individual parts have skyrocketed. same price to pull the part yourself as it is to buy on their website not to mention lots of things are broken or in **** poor condition. I used to know a service writer and tech at a local dealer who'd give me cost+10% pricing, but had lots of the parts i was looking for at the time NLA or backorder. used to go to same dealer long before i met those guys; parts guy knew me by name since i was the only person asking for parts for that car. Lots changed since i stopped wrenching on that car. As for CIS, i know it can be decent, but pricing for those parts are outrageous if i could find them. I would rather finish my standalone efi conversion in order to obtain parts readily available, at reasonable prices, and flexibilty in tuning. I do have backup 16v specific CIS parts that are mothballed, but eventually will all go up for sale.

190efan- I had no idea bruno sacco passed. I remember reading a huge tribute artcle about sacco's involvement in MB through a UK magazine about 15years ago. I am aware that there is lots to be said about the details in engineering in mbs of that era. Stamping part#s onto components is very helpful. As previously stated I have not owned anything of pristine example as i enjoy using them. Valuing things according to what others think is not my thing. There is no doubt of the durabilty of these cars my 8v was what would have been used typically as a taxi in europe. Ease of repair and reliabiltyare major factors in my car choices. Since the use of tpms and canbus based systems on cars its been more discouraging for me keep up with the tech. older things in general that have a sense that the creator had pride in their work adds a bit of their soul into each one resonates with me. cars have been such a big thing in my life from a standpoint of a faithful companion for fun and adventure. transportation or just an appliance has its place, but thats what saps the joy out of the journey. I am no engineer just a oddball and sucker for junk. please no hard feelings

 

Indeed a few years ago pick and pull was a place to go to get spares of any part, interior bits, etc. It has gotten quite expensive now but more importantly no 190's in site. The big one here is Newark but all I see are 124's coming in now and then.

 

Hey theonlyone, I have had my 190e running for almost 5 years now after it sat for 20. The ppl here and many others have helped me restore the car. I tend not to use Benzworld because the culture seems to have changed a bit, some owners can have a superiority complex and assume you’re an idiot if you haven’t had the car since ownership or a mechanic but instead of helping you they tell you to use the search feature when many of those threads are decades old. It depends on what forum too but most ppl are decent.

Technically I had this car my whole life…I would stare at it since I was kid and only ever rode in it once to go get comic books with my grandpa when I was 5. The car sat until I graduated college and I’ve gotten it back on the road. The way the car is built just kinda clicks and I find it extremely reliable and cheap to repair(most of the time). The car has helped me build confidence and I don’t really go to mechanics anymore. I have two MBs and working towards my first AMG. I don’t plan to ever buy another car for the rest of my life after that.

Essentially I keep my car because it is sentimental, looks amazing, drives amazing , and I’m able to get how it works which saves money as an excellent weekend or even back up car. The car will teach you alot and tends to get a lot of compliments while not being super flashy

 

betterdaze- thank you for your feedback. i think benzworld was always full of snooty folk. i never really used the site since i found the 190rev. as it is a one model specific that had many active members there was always tons to read about. its a shame that its all gone. i was shocked recently seeing that 2phast's website was still up! I am not computer or tech savvy, but i feel like between dead links and weird sponsor ad crap the search function in so many sites have become iritating. i recently heard it is part of web 2.0 or something, but even in the days of the early 28k -56k - then satellite/cable internet it seemed like was searching for info was easier in someways. ever since the introduction of online diaries or blogs then myface/spacebook i've been skeptical of the use of all that personal info. people claim its to keep in touch and meet people, but as a loner/ introvert i never found a need. I find peace in learning more about how to's. Sports/ news pop culture/ celebrity gossip all make me sick.

as for cheap to repair its subjective. Ever since i started driving i knew doing things myself was the only way for me to afford this. what i learned early on was that the more expensive the car new the faster the depreciation, the caviate being parts/labor will remain the same as new so i've always stayed away from the temptations. i think this maybe the last hurrah for the automobile; but its the golden age of affordable fair quality tools and info for the most part. if your health is inline and your finances willing its an amazing time to diy. best of luck in your endeavors

 

This thread has been a very interesting ready for me. Like all of you, I've been in the W201 ownership scene for a very long time-my 89 was purchased new by family and I started taking care of it around 2007.
Back then I used to pay a shop to work on it, but over the last 10 years, I've learned how to do all the repairs myself.
I always found forums like 190rev to be very helpful for providing all sorts of DIY information and reference materials. They were always better than trying to read the factory service manuals. Definitely used to read 2phast's website as well-I consider him to be the godfather of W201 modifications.
I've also had the opportunity over the years to meet quite a few W201 owners-there are several of us floating around the Bay Area. Dolucasi and I used to meet up regularly at the pick and pull yard back when the W201 were always popping up. Like he said though, prices have gotten ridiculous and I only use it for stuff that's NLA.

 

i think i remember 355 from the rev wih a picture of the blue 201. i remember when i joined the rev and met members everyone was surprised that a youngster would care about these cars. time went on there were younger people than me but for the most part the members at the time i met were 40-50s+. i did not know 2phast, but remember he was one of the few that actually did writeups. the guys i thought were the gurus; cephallus and bobf. bob was sending me pdf info about his trials in setting up MS standalone on his 16v. then told me had to go in for knee surgery and would be back helping me shortly. didn't hear back a while and was told he went into a coma and passed away. I think i saw somewhere chrisfballs or something the sanfran guy with a yellow evo2 kit 201 post some videos, but a lot was left to be desired in regards to the specifics on his car.

besides them there were a small handful of w201 guys that i knew somewhat. most socal members lived 50+ miles south of me so it was rare to meetup. what made it cool was helping out wrenching, swapping parts, info, and tools. Majority of the 190rev guys were just into the mercedes scene thing and not so much into driving/wrenching like i was so i felt out of place. as far as i remember i only met one mechanical engineer who worked for boeing/raytheon at the time. he was a bmw guy that had a '85 euro 16v i did some work on at the facility. very mellow, humble, and knowledgeable guy. Another was a Jamaican computer network guy who lived in orange county then moved to palm beach FL who had an 16v evo2 kit 190 and a dinan M5. The younger crowd were always characters. good memories and decent people made the ups and downs of ownership worthwhile.

from a wrenching perspective for these cars age and wear made for some frustrating times. things that are straight forward would easily turn into an ordeal from seized/broken fastners breaking plastics/wiring, etc. i would think by now its got to be much of the same with whatever is left these days. my 16v i bought in the desert the guy said his nephew owned it before him who lived in a beach city, but the A and C pillar rust with a 90s-80s tint shop sticker from miami thinks its probably come from somewhere else. Maybe part of the pablo escobar interstate fleet... I never bothered to check out the vin, just been grateful to own a 16v and accept it for what it is with its faded vintage jewish racing gold paint and its reluctance to get fixed like it would rather be a soup can in the next life. its the type of car someone would buy to part out not fix to keep driving. with the change to stricter star station smog in ca and old contacts not being able to help i thought id have to retire it a while fingers crossed for smog exemption years being updated.

 

People use their cars in very unique, individual ways and I think that's great. MB ownership does involve understanding that the words "cheap" and MB never go in the same sentence. Despite my many years of ownership, I still have trouble understanding this reality. As fr finding parts, try both the MB Classic Center at www.classicparts.mbusa.com and Adsitco at www.adsitco.com. They both have better parts inventories than the MB dealerships. I know from personal experience.BTW, I agree with you about social media. I'm not on any of it either because there's too much misinformation.

 

Theonlyone-nice to see that you still recognize my car. I've still got the blue 2.6 all these years later and plan to never get rid of it. I remember all of those different members from the rev days and would spend hrs reading their posts. Chrisfball still has the yellow evo 2 replica, it appears at local bay area car events once in a while.
There's still a pretty big network of guys in SoCal that wrench on these cars and stock parts-they've been able to help Dolucasi and I out.
Btw w/ the strict smog stuff-the trick is to find a friendly smog guy that's willing to take the time to help you. Most of the shops these days don't want to touch pre 2000 cars becuase they take too long. Also registering a car w/ historical vehicle plates exempts you from all visual parts of the test.

 

Thank for the links 190efan. I am astonished at the amount of backorder, NLA, and whatever is available seems to be priced skyhigh. Yet for whatever reason steel body panels such as C pillar frames are reasonably priced as genuine OEM. Geez i really wonder what the future is going to be for these cars..? I was hoping for 3d print tech becoming cheap enough people will be selling/making some replacement plastics such as tail lamp lenses, odds and ends mouldings, and clips/retainers. Makes me regret tossing so many parts in the trash years ago. I would have sold them off, but thought even back then there was little to no demand (probably due to being 201s being common at junkyards) and now i am not even sure who would apparently since 201s are even less popular. years ago i needed a replacement bosch euro headlight lense and the only one i could find at the time in USA was on ebay it was supposed NOS but made in czech republic or something (not sure if it was counterfeit) but the quality was absolutely atrocious first glance looks like it but not even the beam pattern matched. So what do you guys do now aside from resorting to aftermarket or pay the crazy prices for some of these parts?

I forgot about the Mercedes-190.co.uk forum until recently sort of thought of it as the uk/europa equivalent of the 190rev in USA so i checked out to find much of the same. seems like lots of the previous threads, pictures, and links are all gone along with the daily active members engaging regularly. I remember in the early 00s it was called 190revolution and sometime around '07 the site went down and reemerged as 190rev, much of the site info disappeared, but there were a good number of regulars some who've been around it was okay. Is everything now strictly facebook? where do people go to buy/sell parts?

355- as for smog help the test only guys i knew told me 10+years ago that fines and jail time increased so many of them are super sketched out. I have not needed since then so i have no idea how it works now. way back when it was always to default to making friends with rotary people as those things barely passed when new so they would know where to go, but i have not seen a street driven rotary car in soo long including rx8s'. the more modern car kids with subarus and so forth i know use access port tuners so its a matter of changing parts back to stock and reflashing to pass for the most part. its crazy for me to think how any OBD1 or older non exempt cars that are not grandpa/grandma low milege car queens are still driving around. as of lately i haven't seen any random street smog sniffer checkpoints around me, but i am sure anything that isn't 2000s car sticks out like a sore thumb to the law. I guess the state figured after cash for clunkers it won't be long til they will force people into newer cars. I am glad atleast for now the anxiety associated with getting pulled over and threatened being reffed is a thing of the past.

 

[QUOTE=theonlyone;9101108]Thank for the links 190efan. I am astonished at the amount of backorder, NLA, and whatever is available seems to be priced skyhigh. Yet for whatever reason steel body panels such as C pillar frames are reasonably priced as genuine OEM. Geez i really wonder what the future is going to be for these cars..? I was hoping for 3d print tech becoming cheap enough people will be selling/making some replacement plastics such as tail lamp lenses, odds and ends mouldings, and clips/retainers. Makes me regret tossing so many parts in the trash years ago. I would have sold them off, but thought even back then there was little to no demand (probably due to being 201s being common at junkyards) and now i am not even sure who would apparently since 201s are even less popular. years ago i needed a replacement bosch euro headlight lense and the only one i could find at the time in USA was on ebay it was supposed NOS but made in czech republic or something (not sure if it was counterfeit) but the quality was absolutely atrocious first glance looks like it but not even the beam pattern matched. So what do you guys do now aside from resorting to aftermarket or pay the crazy prices for some of these parts?
I'd hoped that 3 D printing would save the day too. I've also hoped that the ever increasing value of EVO IIs would also help but even that doesn't seem to be helping I do know that the head of the MB Heritage division now reports directly to the MB CEO and that MB is also planning to have an other MB expert at every MB dealership. This leads me to hope that maybe the parts situation might improve. We'll see.

 

thanks 190efan- i sort of think the pricing for evo2's and so forth only make the problem worse. i think the allure for many is the aesthetics of those evo1-evo2s with pricing always being the highest on the ranking due to pedigree/rarity and always seem lesser than m3's. people end up thinking ill buy a pedestrian model and turn it into a bargain priced clone. over the years it seems like there were countless build threads about doing such a thing only for it to ubruptly become silent as if the project was scrapped. the more performance models not meeting the expectations of being quick; with little off the shelf parts to make them better (like a honda or bmw) bore the owners. along with hearing of people buying up all the low end 16vs and sportlines to part out or keep parts where did all this stuff go..? surely a handful of people can't have stockpiled all those parts or god forbid been tossed in a dumpster/ sent to scrappers.

the rarity of parts decades ago, parts nla now, and the pricing for spares seems like it has killed the community. along with the trend in recent years of buying up examples for "tax free investments" through automobiles it really breaks my heart not to hear of a community existing outside the realm of seeking flashy internet stardom. is there a push in any sense to start restoration/ mending of used parts to keep these things going? i think the 201 comes from the days of repairing failed components to an extent rather than the completely remove/replace style of mechanics we are accustomed to. 355, 190efan, and dolucasi cant be the only people who care.

 

So far, what I see is that the dealership carries most of the essential parts. This combined with aftermarket parts availability in the US plus Europe gets us to 100% coverage.
The only issue is interior parts are not 100% covered. Fortunately the interior is rather sturdy and lasts a long time.

The end will be near when one wants to replace the electronics under the hood and can no longer be sourced thru Ebay. Bu again most of the electronic parts have very rare long term life issues and do not break. Just to be on the safe side I have picked spares for all the electronics I can think off from junk yards when cars where available and tested them.

At this point since W124's are still available in the US, it is best to source these electronics parts in junk yards from a 124 that is the same model year as yours. For example an ECU of the same model year will work on a 2.6L car as well as a 3.0L car. Sorry no solution for M102 engines but those are plenty around the world. I have tested this and monitored and compared performance by swapping the ECU's to my car. I can safely say that I could not detect any difference between the 2.6L and the 3.0L ECU at any operating condition since I can am measuring the EHA current constantly, even though the part numbers are different. Same year model is the key though.

What will kill these cars in the end are running issues that the owners can not resolve and just swapping in random parts gets to be either too expensive or cumbersome or frustrating. And for that my solution is to install an EHA current meter in the car. I can see a problem in the horizon just observing the EHA current. But I seem to be one of the few daily drivers of these cars who do this.

Happy motoring!

 

We do have a few more members who do post to help others and to also get help for the issues that they're having with their W201s. BTW, the W201 16v outsold the E30 M3 by 4 to 1. The EVO II did beat the E30 M3 to win the DTM championship. My 2 cents on tall of his is that not everyone who owns a W201 posts online. In addition, most W201s were originally bought as status symbols with little attention paid to keeping them properly maintained. After umpteen owners, they became bargain basement beaters because of subsequent owners having ever more limited finances who then made questionable cheap parts choices. These realities dried up the supply of really good quality examples. Finding a low mileage high quality W201 these days is rare and is now way more expensive. I agree that the values and rarity of the EVOs have driven up W201 values in general. MBs in general have never really been built for the masses. The W201 did increase company sales but it was still a luxury car. Luxury cars are not inexpensive to own. They really don't fall into the same category as the more common and plentiful Hondas, Toyotas, Hyundais, VWs, US muscle cars, etc.
The lack of parts availability combined with the reality that MB will never make anything like the W201 again has led me to ridiculously pamper my W201 because I've now come to the conclusion that it's now pretty irreplaceable. As for parts, I rely on the MB Classic Center who has a much better parts selection that the MB dealserships and Adsitco. I still seem to be able to find what I need from them for now.
Great idea, dolucasi to stockpile W124 parts for your 2.6s. The W124 2.8 was a 4 cylinder. I'm not sure if that was an M102 or a detuned M103 engine.
I have some hope with the renewed emphasis by MB to their Heritage division. I hope this will mean better parts availability. Time will tell.

 

You guys are right owning an MB is not cheap but I was saying that solely in comparison to having a newer car. I think the general running costs of my 2.6 is comparable to an old Corolla or something similar. Brake job diy is under 100 and I think I recall replacing all 4 corner shocks and struts for about be 200. That is going to be much more expensive on most cars. And with these cars I have gotten by with mostly regular hand tools and maybe one or two specialty MB tools.

I drive my car much less now a days because like you guys said becoming more and more rare and other drivers becoming dumber and dumber. My car is not the best and has plenty of blemishes and always needs SOMETHING done to it but it’s never really anything that will stop it from moving.

As I said my car is far from the best example but in person I have not seen many 201s that looked better. And that’s not to say mine is all that…its just most examples I have randomly found parked behind buildings, left in ppls yards etc are just THAT bad. So what your saying makes total sense 190efan. I rarely ever see a nice 201 in person and when I go to car meets where I live I usually have the only one.

I have made a few friends IRL that drive 124s, and 126s and we occasionally cruise around town, help wrench and take photos but I am approaching my 30s and kind of caught in the middle of two enthusiast groups. The ppl I meet who care about these cars are either way older as in retired MB techs who rarely have time or energy to help me out but always happy to jump on a call or point to someone they know for parts or expertise or way younger 21 year olds who really like to beat on and daily their cars but we tend to exchange labor/help to keep our cars going.

For parts I tend to use AutohausAZ, FCP euro and the dealer if I need something more critical or immediately. I have even left notes trying to obtain 190s that seem abandoned so I can have a parts car but never get responses


some other cool quirks of the car is that it can maneuver out of dangerous situations that would be a issue for most cars. The turning radius is amazing when I’ve made a wrong turn and can just whip around with no need to reverse. Oh, there’s a big truck blocking the lane?! 190e can squeeze by on the side while everyone else is left behind waiting. Parked in a garage and forgot your wallet and no attendee present?! 190e sits low enough to go under the arm with no damage.

 

Parts availability situation must definitely be changing. In the last 3-4 weeks, just about any part I wanted to purchase at the dealership was available. Accept things like the under engine bell pan, floor matts etc. Costing me a pretty penny to restore this impala brown 5-speed. I wonder if it will ever ride like my red one but it is worth trying.

For example the dealership carries the AFM rubber boot, IACV hoses etc. I know the IACV hose was NLA a few years ago. Just an example.

And keeping a new car is way expensive. My son's 2018 BMW 230 needed one broken headlight replaced. The lens was broken which made the electronics go bad too. $3500 at the dealership just for the part. Even on eBay a used one was $1200.
The BMW parts person told me if a truck backs into these cars it is totaled. 2 broken headlights and a cracked front grill will set you back $10,000 in parts. Basically a totaled car.

A W201 is way cheaper to keep, that is for sure....

-Happy Motoring

 

You guys are right owning an MB is not cheap but I was saying that solely in comparison to having a newer car. I think the general running costs of my 2.6 is comparable to an old Corolla or something similar. Brake job diy is under 100 and I think I recall replacing all 4 corner shocks and struts for about be 200. That is going to be much more expensive on most cars. And with these cars I have gotten by with mostly regular hand tools and maybe one or two specialty MB tools.

I drive my car much less now a days because like you guys said becoming more and more rare and other drivers becoming dumber and dumber. My car is not the best and has plenty of blemishes and always needs SOMETHING done to it but it’s never really anything that will stop it from moving.

As I said my car is far from the best example but in person I have not seen many 201s that looked better. And that’s not to say mine is all that…its just most examples I have randomly found parked behind buildings, left in ppls yards etc are just THAT bad. So what your saying makes total sense 190efan. I rarely ever see a nice 201 in person and when I go to car meets where I live I usually have the only one.

I have made a few friends IRL that drive 124s, and 126s and we occasionally cruise around town, help wrench and take photos but I am approaching my 30s and kind of caught in the middle of two enthusiast groups. The ppl I meet who care about these cars are either way older as in retired MB techs who rarely have time or energy to help me out but always happy to jump on a call or point to someone they know for parts or expertise or way younger 21 year olds who really like to beat on and daily their cars but we tend to exchange labor/help to keep our cars going.

For parts I tend to use AutohausAZ, FCP euro and the dealer if I need something more critical or immediately. I have even left notes trying to obtain 190s that seem abandoned so I can have a parts car but never get responses


some other cool quirks of the car is that it can maneuver out of dangerous situations that would be a issue for most cars. The turning radius is amazing when I’ve made a wrong turn and can just whip around with no need to reverse. Oh, there’s a big truck blocking the lane?! 190e is thin enough to squeeze by on the side while everyone else is left behind waiting. Parked in a garage and forgot your wallet and no attendee present?! 190e sits low enough to go under the arm with no damage.

 

You guys are right owning an MB is not cheap but I was saying that solely in comparison to having a newer car. I think the general running costs of my 2.6 is comparable to an old Corolla or something similar. Brake job diy is under 100 and I think I recall replacing all 4 corner shocks and struts for about be 200. That is going to be much more expensive on most cars. And with these cars I have gotten by with mostly regular hand tools and maybe one or two specialty MB tools.

I drive my car much less now a days because like you guys said becoming more and more rare and other drivers becoming dumber and dumber. My car is not the best and has plenty of blemishes and always needs SOMETHING done to it but it’s never really anything that will stop it from moving.

As I said my car is far from the best example but in person I have not seen many 201s that looked better. And that’s not to say mine is all that…its just most examples I have randomly found parked behind buildings, left in ppls yards etc are just THAT bad. So what your saying makes total sense 190efan. I rarely ever see a nice 201 in person and when I go to car meets where I live I usually have the only one.

I have made a few friends IRL that drive 124s, and 126s and we occasionally cruise around town, help wrench and take photos but I am approaching my 30s and kind of caught in the middle of two enthusiast groups. The ppl I meet who care about these cars are either way older as in retired MB techs who rarely have time or energy to help me out but always happy to jump on a call or point to someone they know for parts or expertise or way younger 21 year olds who really like to beat on and daily their cars but we tend to exchange labor/help to keep our cars going.

For parts I tend to use AutohausAZ, FCP euro and the dealer if I need something more critical or immediately. I have even left notes trying to obtain 190s that seem abandoned so I can have a parts car but never get responses

some other cool quirks of the car is that it can maneuver out of dangerous situations that would be a issue for most cars. The turning radius is amazing when I’ve made a wrong turn and can just turn around with no need to reverse. Oh, there’s a big truck blocking the lane?! 190e can get by on the side while everyone else is left behind waiting. Parked in a garage and forgot your wallet and no attendee present?! 190e sits low enough to go under the arm with no damage.

 

That's certainly a hopeful sign on the W201 parts front. I've been told and from my own personal experience, the MB Classic Center has the best W201 parts selection. As for the newer cars, it's a whole new world. So much of the safety technology is being put into windshields, bumpers, headlights ,etc so what used to be a routine replacement part is now stratospherically expensive. A new windshield for a base model Nissan Versa sedan is now $600. I agree, I like my older cars too.

 

All of the money in the universe will never cover the cost of the sentimental value that your car has for you. Your car is a keeper no matter what. I still struggle the the words cheap and Mercedes-Benz never going in the same sentence and I've been doing this way long enough to know better. Sounds like you've got the best of all worlds for advise and help with your car. You've also always got this forum as well to give you advise and to let you know if you're taking a wrong turn with your car.

 

I believe how bad these newer cars are. pre-canbus cars to me are the last of the real to real-ish cars. i like cars not spaceships that monitor to idiot proof and collect data. i know that some of these modern car headlamps are hooked up to canbus and could error if using aftermarket or used oe housings. as someone who has worked on cars for a living at one point its been getting progressively worse for a while. we are all just at the mercy of whatever quality parts we can get.its really a shame since now the tech (i.e. metallurgy, closer tolerances, chemistry) is so far advanced manufacturers could easily go back to making more basic and have incredibly reliable parts/ more affordable vehicles... before covid i heard mazda has restarted their manufacturing of some rx7 and rotary parts. i hope that things are also going that direction for older mbz' and other quality makes.

i know some older guys into muscle car stuff since the 70-80s-early90s that i used to envy the parts availability, but apparently the quality can be absolute trash. first glance looks great all shiny/new, but lots of fitment and dead on arrival QC issues. so whats an average guy to do; hang onto OE parts and look out for an old timer who could show you how to refurbish worn/ broken parts? i know thats been the case for things like starters, alternators, a/c compressors, radiators, fuel tanks, etc. but even for that stuff lots of those businesses that refurb with oe supplier parts have been closing near me. id rather stay away from chinese no names, or vatozone rebuilt parts is there another place like ebay to try to look for NOS? i remember buying a whole ton of the last copper resistor type bosch plugs from autohausaz for something like $0.37 each. also found a guy closing down an old lube shop and bought up everything he had for 201 oil filters as lots of them were hengst or mann.

makes me a bit paranoid as to how to even preserve the stockpiles from dry rot, rust, or corrosion. i am the guy who would buy up yardsale or look for chemical consumables on the curb (oils, spray paint, solvents) and could tell you it could be a real hassle when you spent all that time to organize and store these things only to find they leaked out all over the place when you need it. these things are also getting pricey.

-betterdaze good to know you've got people. out here in socal i have seen some incredibly nice 16vs, amg sec/sel, 500e's etc. but those are fancy folk that most likely don't know about specifics in parts or wrenching. makes me self conscious as i do as much as i could afford and cant shell out the big bucks for shop time or unobtainable parts. so knowing people who can relate on that level is a huge plus. when i was in my twenties i did lots of thrashing cars, but always was mindful as i needed to use that same car to go to work or do anything else. i think the w201 is a great balance between comfortable/civilized enough to travel/commute and have fun (although the underpowered feeling makes it feel like a boat to me at lower speeds). can't say ive spent enough seat time with a m103 but i have spent time in e36s and thought it is similar driving feel to a w201 with better power and parts support. if a 2.6 feels anything like a 325is i'd say you guys got something better than a 16v just not sure of handling as more weight is infront of shock towers. i've got a soft spot for e36 m3 they are phenomenal machines. ive driven e30s including a m3 with a s52swap, and felt like i was more at home in a 201. had a friend from georgetown mass out here doing bmw diff rebuilds (also 185 and 210mm MBZ diffs a while back) who was at heart a MB guy who flipped out knowing i have a 16v. he drove a VR6 and porsche gearbox vanagon as his parts runner tell tell there was something different was a huge mercedes radiator upfront. at the time helped him work on a customer 2002tii with s14 itb/turbo megasquirt3 build. before he left was working on his personal w202 16v getrag+lsd om603 swap that he later had to abandon due to life when he moved back. great times with people like that. what part of the country are you in?

 

Sorry folks, I have no clue why the site decided to spam the same reply I posted…3 times