Dear Mercedes Pros.,
I am a college student looking for my first Mercedes Diesel. I am very familiar with Mercedes and Volkswagen diesels after wanting to burn Veggie Oil for a number of years. I owned a Volkswagen Golf Diesel, but had to see it go. I am looking again and have found a 1987 190D with 146K. I am very familiar with the W123 300's (TD/D/SDL) and the W123 220D/240D but was unaware that the 190 came in a diesel. To my understanding it is the same in-line five cyl with a smaller displacement (2.5L vs. 3.0L). My question is: "Is the 190D as good a car as it's famous 300 big brother?"

It is common knowledge that the W123 are some of the (if not the) most well engineered and longest lasting passenger cars on earth, but does the same go for the 'Baby Benz'? I became very interested in the 190D's and did a bit of research. I was surprised to find that they seem to be going for a lot less on eBay and my first thought was: "Great, they are clearly not as good as the 300 if they are not commanding as much." However, is the situation not that they are any worse, but simply that they are slower (76hp vs. 100+hp?) or also that they are quite a bit smaller?

If it was the ladder two, I think that would fit my bill wonderfully. You see, I am a small car milage hound. After being spoiled by my Golf, I have made milage a priority (even before comfort). However my Civic is getting a bit long in the tooth, and I want the comfort/reliability of a Mercedes with good milage and in a compact size. I seem to be going against the grain in not wanting the traditional 'boat' that is the TD/SDL class. (Sorry guys, there just HUGE to me). It is to my understanding that the 190D is the most fuel efficent of all the Mercedes due to lower displacement and lower weight. Is this the case?

I am trying to justify to myself that as a college student I can ignore the traditional path of buying a cheap to fix, cheap to run, always start, no frills, petro based Japanese import and opt for a classic Mercedes that I can unschakle myself from the bonds of petro addition by burning veggie oil (made by www.capefearbiofuels.com) without worring about being stranded or paying tuition-level repair costs for a twenty-year-old German sedan. Is my justification valid or a fallacy?

If anyone would be willing to offer me advice, guidance, and even a bit of encouagement to get me out of my Honda and into the MB Diesel of my dreams, please do so! I thank you for your time, and advice.

-Bill

 

ForcedInduction,
Thanks for taking the time to respond to my thread. I will certainly consider the ramifications of burning vegetable oil to a greater extent before doing so.

To all others,
Vegetable oil aside, if anyone would be willing to comment on the 190D in terms of reliability, cost to repair, build quality, etc. it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and I look foward to your responses.

-Bill

 

AMG should respond to this, since he has a 190D.

As far as I know, they are very good cars, but I have not owned one and cannot say from first hand knowledge.

 

bump.

I have the same question as Bill. How reliable is the 190D and how easy/difficult are the repairs?

 

The 190D is a great, solid car if you take care of it properly and don't let things go. When they do go, expect to pay a fortune unless you're doing the repairs yourself. Part prices are reasonable, it's labor costs that kill.

Interior parts are very durable. The headliner is one of the best I've seen on any vehicle, no sag after 24 years. The MB tex seats have held up great compared to cloth or leather. Only a few things inside will start to fail eventually, the dash may start to crack, the vents will become brittle and break, and the odometer could stop working. None of which will not permit driving. You may get the occasional switch that needs replaced, but that's easy.

Mechanically wise I haven't had the best of luck because the previous owner scammed me. Generally these vehicles range from having 250k to 300k miles on them, requiring an engine rebuild at about 500k if maintained properly. I on the otherhand suffered engine failure at 93k caused by previous long-term overheating. When I bought the car, the owner never disclosed that the car overheated and shortly after I found out. I did the majority of fixing the overheating problem myself. $110 for a radiator installed (compared to the $800 what the mechanic wanted for install), $15 for a thermostat, $80 for a fan clutch, $25 for an engine temp sensor and $1000 for an engine that had 10k more miles than my car. I don't have the knowledge or experience to remove and replace an engine, so the labor costs involved to do so were roughly $2300. Engine power from the 2.2L is very sluggish from what I think is 0-60 in like ~12 seconds on 75hp, even for an A to B car. It takes a while to get used to it, but the 35mpg does not dissapoint. Repairs to the car are simple though. If you know what needs to be done, it's as simply as replacing or checking online to find the location. Transmissions can last to 200k with an automatic before rebuild.

Anything else just ask

 

Thanks for the info. A friend informed the labor costs on these vehicles is up there. The info regarding auto trans is good to hear. The one I am looking at just had it rebuilt at 120k.

 

Most people are frightened by the term rebuild, but it's good that the work was done when it was needed. Hopefully while they were repairing the tranny that they installed new drivetrain flex disks and rear subframe bushings. You would notice thefront or rearjerking when changing gears if they weren't replaced.