G'day Folks,


I went and saw a clapped out W201 today. It was a bargain basement car – just looking at the advert it seem to be priced about 200 euros more than its market value in my opinion but with its 1100 euro asking price it is hardly worth bickering over the little difference in cash so long as the majority of the vehicle was OK so I went to see it.


It was a sunny day I was ready to get on with it and buy!


I'm always hopeful that people will describe the car faithfully in the advert – unfortunately that wasn't the case today. I have found that asking the bloke on the phone if it was all good makes little difference these days you just have to take the plunge and go and see it. I guess I should have known better 'cos it was fitted with gay boy go faster alloys which isn't usually the best sign...


...the car had obviously been ragged in its most recent life. The biggest problem was that the windscreen that had a hideous crack arching from a quarter of the way in from the lower corners. It was only about 5 cm from the bottom of the screen at its highest point. It looked like a stress crack – perhaps some rot under the seal? Not necessarily an easy fix. Seller felt I should get an all risk insurance policy and then claim for a new windscreen. I'm not doing fraudulent stuff like that. (Strike one!)


However the rest of the car was OK. Good panel fit although there was evidence of a dented passenger door – door card hanging off inside and loose trim outside. Random surface rust spots on stone chips and the edges of doors where they'd been knocked against other cars / walls etc. Not so bad – what do you expect for that asking price?


Inside the car - interior good but had been owned by a smoker. Didn't stink too bad – I don't like it though. Carpets were damp. I traced that to blocked drains in the bonnet / hood spring area – awash with water. Not good – made me more worried about weird windscreen crack. (Strike 1.75!)


Driving the car – it shifts – well I guess this one was used to it! Only a four speed manual gearbox. Massive amount of drive line shunt – probably was play in the gear box – but it kind of went into gear quite well considering Mercedes gearboxes are known for their notchiness. Probably been trained to do so by miss whiplash – it didn't dare not go into gear anymore...


...Wandered all over the road – about 20 degrees play in steering box – it would keep you awake; no need for computer controlled sleeping driver sensors on this car! But then front wheels showed signs of kerbing so tracking was probably out a bit.


On a cold engine a little bit of blow-by was evident – on a warm engine removing the oil filler coated the outer wing in engine oil! Crap! There I was in the middle of a nature reserve car park hastily wiping down the side of the car with snot rags! I reckoned on a clogged crank case breather valve somewhere but it could have been more terminal. A gamble – probably worth it – replacement head would probably fix it in a worst case scenario – fingers crossed for the lower parts of the engine. (Strike 2.86?)


Brake judder – new discs needed I guess – car had been sitting for too long and gay boy alloys allow too much rain access to the discs...


...all in all the car probably needs about 500 euros in parts spent on it. Exhaust leak at the manifold - flex discs - new discs pads etc.


Still I thought for the sake of just getting on with it – give them the asking price so long as the windscreen gets fixed.


Went back to do the deal. This is when it got weird. I offered to pay a deposit that would cover the material costs of the windscreen. And then said I'll come back and get the car when done and pay for the rest then. Seller then produced this purchase contract – wanted me to sign in triplicate and probably provide a sperm sample in his left eye... Considering he had written no guarantee, no come back, no hope, no money back all over the contract I couldn't see any benefit for myself. So I said I wouldn't sign anything. He got pedantic – so did I – and that was that! I went home. Bizarre. (Strike 3!)



Still all in all I'm quite impressed with petrol engined W201s – I'll consider looking for another one. To be continued...

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!