1991 190e 2.3
 

Hello everybody, I just joined this site 'cause I'm seriously considering buying my neighbors Benz and I have a few concerns. The car looks sweet has 91K on her and sounds/runs sweet. The fan never moves very fast, even when hot, but the electric kicks in around 90c. Is the clutch fan a problem on these? Are there any major problems with the auto trans I should know about? Any other problem areas? I really like this car but he is asking $3500 and I'm a rookie with these cars but really want to join the ranks. Can someone ease my fears?

Is there any known problems with reverse? Shift through all gears ok? Slippage? Otherwise it should be ok. Give it a good once over. Don't go by "it looks sweet". Looks can be deceiving. Otherwise the 190E is a sweet ride with a manual (even if not). It's a gas saver too. Go for it if it checks out good. Consider a pre-purchase inspection by as well by an experienced MB tech with these cars.

That's a little steep for a 190E, especially the underpowered 4cyl model. $2,000 tops, if it checks out.

The transmission should have had at least 2 fluid/filter changes by now. Fluid should be clean. It should engage all gears quickly without hesitation, especially reverse. It should shift firmly.

The fan clutch is only supposed to engage around 95C. Otherwise its never supposed to match engine RPM. Temperature should never exceed 100C under normal driving conditions, 100C-105C is acceptable while stopped in traffic, drive thru's, etc.

Thanks for the info guys. I'll do another test ride and pay close attention to reverse, but it seemed to shift quick and solid, even when downshifting by itself. The tranny fluid looked/smelled clean, I'll ask if he had it changed since he said he got it at 48k. So $2k is about it??? He won't drop much more than $3500 since he started at $4k. I was thinking of saying $3k and tell him that is a standing offer, but no higher for me! Is that to much? The car is very clean inside an out, the only spot of rust I found was a 1/2" long 1/4" wide spot of surface rust near the rubber boot that goes between the door and body on the drivers side, everything else is solid. Always garage kept and it's never seen the snow. Even has a 75% set of Pirelllis and a matching wheel/tire spare. I'm still trying to decide... any more info and opinions is greatly appreciated.

I guess it depends on your location. I'm spoiled by the pricing out here in the west. If your out east (you mention snow), 3K is a reasonable price for a low mileage Mercedes.

Thanks JohnM. I'm in SW Pa.

Ask for all, if any, service papers. Or try to find out when the following was done:
Spark plugs/wires/ignition rotor/distributor cap
water pump
coolant change
brakes
transmission flush
fuel/air/oil filters
power steering
check for oil leaks around valve cover and timing cover
check for leaks around transmission pan and bell housing
check the condition of the serpentine belt, should be no cracks
check the suspension, you can press down on the hood and trunk, the car should not sink down very far and there should be minimal bouncing, when u press down, the car should go down and come back up and that's it.
check the strut mounts, usually you can see visible signs of cracking from under the hood.
make sure all windows roll up and down with all window switches.

That's pretty much what I can think of off the top of my head, anyone else want to add?
Oh, and if any of the major components fail, then you can definitely subtract the cost from the asking price I think unless the owner has it fixed.