I just inherited a 88 190 E. I love it. It was owned by a mechanic, well his wife, and Its in really great shape. It runs like a dream. LOVE IT. The only concern I have is the front end, drivers side only. When I hit a pothole,even the slightest, uneven differance in the road, the wheel knocks, more like bumps, but it has a metal hitting metal sound, almost feels like the wheel is going to fall off. cv joint? I dont know. Im a little mechanically inclined, but the mercedes emblem on the hood intimidates me. But once Im on the freeway, she runs like a dream.
Heres a list of small problems
Are there child safty locks for the window? They wont work from the back, and the rear passenger wont work at all (at least its stuck up, not down) fuses?
When I turn the heater on the pump rattles like hell. Grease the squirllcage? acess from where. I dont want to rip the dash out.
the 3rd brakelight needs a cover and When I hit the break I blind myself at night. solution. cardboard and electrical tape.
any help, anyting that this model had problems with? anything to look for?
Thanks for your help in advance.

 

The good old 190E. My friend has one of those. Great car and don't let the star intimidate ya. Alot of shops are intimidated by the star already.

As far as the bump, I can't think of the exact name of it right off the top of my head but if I was able to take a look at it I could easily point it out. But get that checked out.

If I'm not mistaken, the 1988 190 E was equipped with child safety locks. What could be going on with your windows is a bad switch. The easy way to make sure it's not a fuse is lift up the gear stick console that contains the window switches. Find a window, such as a front window switch, unplug it and replace it with the plug for the rear window in question switch. If the rear window works using a good window switch, then that means the switch is bad. Or if the window still don't work, it might be a bad motor. And it might be a fuse but I'm not too familiar with the fuse layout of the 190E but the diagram should be and hopefully should be under the fuse box top. That will specifically tell you what goes where and what works what. But if it is a fuse usually there are other electronics that are not working that is connected to that fuse.( i.e. In my 89 560SEL my A/C blower fuse went out, which caused the reverse lights to stop working, the auxilery fan stopped working too.

Third brake light. Cardboard and electrical tape until you find the cover.

Check the suspension, check for major leaks especially transmission fluid leaks and transmission slips. check which type of refrigerant it uses. May or may not have to be converted. Most dealerships seem to always leave that bit out.