Hi all,

Brought home my eBay 190D 2.5 that I had been asking questions about earlier.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220072077774
Almost did not wind up completing the deal but all worked out in the end.

I took the train over to seller's town and he met me at the station. Initial visual impression was positive as he pulled up in the 190. However, the first thing he says to me is, "We have a problem. I just discovered it this morning, if you do not want the car I understand".

Turns out that as he got the records together he discovered the discrepancy between title and mileage. The original odometer was replaced way back when at aprox 35k miles. Thus, vehicle actually does have closer to 190k then 155k.

I considered just walking away at that point but since I had come that far I figured I might as well check it out. Like any old car, it has some good points and some bad.
The good stuff:
- Body is very solid, clearcoat on paint is poor but the only rust is indeed surface where paint has peeled at jack points (I probed with screwdriver).
- New tires and brakes all around.
- Runs out very well. Smooth & quiet except one moment where she seemed unusually loud (more on that later).
- I brought some fuses with me and thus fixed the defective fuel/oil/temp gauge cluster which seller had disclosed. The oil pressure and temps are in the sweet spot. Fuel was near full.
- Interior is overall very clean and in good shape.
- The glow plugs work fine. He had never noticed the existence of GP light until I showed it to him.

The bad stuff:
- Did notice some oil dripping but on further investigation found weeping fuel line dripping into belly pan. My hope is that most of the drips are caused by fuel mixing with pan crud, I tighthened clamps and will replace hose.
- The climate controls seem slow to respond but the functions do work (at least I think they do, MB controls have always baffled me).
- I presume the A/C power switch is bad as there is a hack whereby compressor clutch is direct wired to fuse box so that it is either always on or always off. (clearly not a dealer fix).
- Travel of the mono-wiper is correct but it parks itself about 6" too high. I assume there is a way to adjust.
- Discovered that the bolt on right side motor mount has vibrated loose (it was just sitting there). I will have to realign motor to mount to get it back in.
- Hood insulation (whats left of it) is shot.
- Crack in one headlight housing.

Anyway, the seller did seem genuinely remorseful that he had not known about (or disclosed) the odometer discrepancy. I tend to believe him as he is indeed a guy who owns a slew of nice cars and I think he bought this one on impulse from original owner but then never really used it himself. Seller said that if I do not want car he would refund my deposit or if I do decide to take it that he would let me have if for $2,000. I hope these words do not come back to bite me but I figured, "for $2k I really do not think I can go wrong". Besides, given what I have read about the failure rate of VDO odometers I suspect that this is probably not the only 190 off by a few miles!

Drove it home approximately 100 miles. It seemed to do very well. At one point, after stopping at a toll and resuming on highway (65 mph), it seemed that it was "too loud" and I wondered if there was an exhaust problem. But that was just temporary so maybe it was my imagination, maybe the rogue motor mount allowing too much vibration in. (Checked exhaust, it seems solid). The 190 is not as quiet or quick as my old BMW 524TD but that had a turbo and one extra cylinder. I am not sure yet if I smell diesel fumes in the cabin or if it is me who smells like diesel from poking around in engine compartment.

In any event, the next few days/weeks should quickly tell me if I got a sweet deal or a lemon. Will change oil, tranny fluid (it is pink), fuel lines, clean up the engine bay, etc. and go from there.

You got a screaming deal.

I considered buying that car too, but felt that I don't really need another project right now. It looked like you can't go wrong for that price, needs some detailing and paint work mostly.

The car is probably not running up to snuff, look it over, should be about 1second faster than the Bimmer 0-60. When running right it'll get sideways in anything other than dry pavement and run 125+ on level ground.

It'll grow on you.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Previous owner did the same on my car. I had to replace the CCU (just couldn't live with the switch). Easily found on ebay for about a hundred dollars. I paid twice what you paid for your 190D. I think you got a great deal.

Kevin
1979 240D manual
1984 190D manual

If the CCU is bad, check the aux. pump, between the valve cover and firewall. It will slip out of its mount and the hoses are long enough to hold it above the valve cover still wired/connected.

Remove the CCU by pulling off the fan speed knob, popping the blower-switch panel from the right side, remove blower switch, you'll see two clips with holes in them which clip the top of the CCU. Raise these two clips using the holes and slide the CCU out. About 1/4hour R&R.

Parts are cheap for 190s, there are so many early 190 gas cars in boneyards. The CCU is different from '86-on (might be '87 but I think it's '86) with the recirculate button on the main panel instead of up next to the blower switch. Ebay sales typically list the older ones for all years, same problem with the blower switch, look at the three buttons on the right side to get the right one. The '92/'93 have the temperature in F instead of C.

Blowers are also an easy fix, about 1/2hour to R&R the screen, wiper ass'y, inner firewall (loosen at top), and blower housing to get to it. If your mono-wiper is bad, that too can be had cheap at a boneyard.

One of the great things about the 190D cars is how available parts are, and how easy most systems in the car are to access.

Like I said, it'll grow on you, the 190D turbo was as good as the 201 got IMO.

BTW if you need photos of behind the dash, I replaced my dash this winter and took pictures during the process. The diesel dash has much heavier insulation than the gasser, if you find a good used dash in a gasser transfer the diesel insulation to the new dash.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Correct me if I am wrong, but this is not the turbo model, is it?

thanks,
Tom

__________________
1993 300TE
1984 300D
1984 300SD
1976 BMW R90S

Oops, my bad.

That makes about 4sec. difference 0-60, so your new 2.5 190 probably is slower than your 524td. Sorry for my confusion. Great driving cars though.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff