What do you guys think of this one?
 

Hey! I'm looking at a few cars, a vintage 220, (see my question in the vintage section). I am also looking at this 1991 190 E that has a "dead" cylinder. I spoke to the owner and the brakes and tires are all good with no rust on the car etc and he said hes never brought it to a mechanic for the cylinder problem. What could be causing this, worst case/best case. Ive been looking at some vintage cars and some near vintage cars. Here is the link of the ad http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1991-Mercedes-Benz-190-E-Series-Runs-but-needs-work_W0QQitemZ300030506583QQihZ020QQcategoryZ6783QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Let me know what you think. Thanks Chris

Best case: a disconnected spark plug wire. Cost $0, Time to fix: 8 seconds flat.
Worst case: A nice round hole in one of the pistons caused by a broken valve which also resulted in a bent connecting rod and a scored cylinder wall.
Cost : $$$Thousand to a new engine

This one looks like a real gamble, as stated above, you could either win big or lose big. They are not quite as safe or dependable as the 240D, and there is a nice one here for sale-below on "cars for sale" (see 1979 240D for sale - Airbus) by a forum member in Long Island, check that ad out, what do you think?

This car might be worth the gamble IF you could afford to replace or rebuild the motor, in the worst case scenario. At least the seller is being totally upfront about that, the car is a risk. I'd go look at it anyway, see what you think.

I did NOT know these cars could have had leather seats, I thought they were all the MB tex material:confused:

cfslevin, get a borescope so when you checkout the 190E you can remove the spark plug of the dead cylinder and inspect the piston head and cylinder wall. In fact, you may as well inspect all the cylinders.

190e
 

another poss is that one of the rocker assemblies may have pulled one or two bolts from the aluminum threads and will need to replace with longer or helicoil.4 bolts to remove valve cover and look.