Opinions about Mercedes 2.3-16 valve

[chameleonleather]

190E 2.3-16 valve 5 spd. I am thinking about buying one. They look like a great ride for a family of 4. I did research about them, but I'm curious as to what some personal opinions are about them also. Feel free to voice anything.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/car/774140495.html

[Jon325i]

I have no personal experience with these cars, but they are Mercedes answer to the BMW E30 M3. Back in the day the were fierce adversaries on the track in Touring Car racing. Do a google search about them - I know there's a couple of very helpful forums which focus on these cars with lots of good info.

Cool car indeed

Jon

[BeirBrennerE30]

they dont handle or ride as well as an e30. No where near as fast. and the interior looks very dated. personally i hate them and yes I have driven several including an evo.


not to mention that all old mercedes smell like crayons inside. I dont know why...

[Stu]

Jump on it; the metallic black cars with matching panels and not too high of mileage are worth a lot.

They're a blast to drive, awesome rear suspension design (5-link vs. E30's trailing arms), can be driven VERY fast even with stock components. They do have some finicky fuel-injection problems, for which parts are not cheap--plus 16v specific parts are not cheap.

E320 24v swaps are easy and bolt to the dogleg gearbox, if that's your cup of tea.

[wagonizzle]

Actually, the M3 was created as an answer to this car. I revived a 190e for my brother last year, so I did a bunch of homework on w201's. The 2.3-16 is a cool car indeed, but you are talking big money to take care of it, likely more than an e30 M3 when it needs things. Has a self leveling rear suspension, Cosworth cylinder head, and other 16 valve specific parts. Not quite as fast or nimble as an e30 M3.

All that being said, the 190 is a very solid car, with good handling and a nice ride. The 16 valvers are rare and collectible, and at that price it is a good investment. The seats are awesome and there are enough parts out there to wax a lot of street cars if you have the money. But they probably follow something like the M3's $15k rule. Very cool car IMO, and it would be nice to see someone do one right, as we have this car to thank for the invention of a 3 series that went to the Motorsport division for tweaking...

http://community.190revolution.net

... if you didn't already know. Should have all the info you need.

[Farbin Kaiber]

not to mention that all old mercedes smell like crayons inside. I dont know why...

I thought I was the only one that thought that. It's so much worse in the SoCal summer sun. The heat bakes the smell out into the cabin.

[TDE30]

They sound like very cool cars, like wagonizzle mentioned 190revolution.net is a great place to gain some knowledge on the cars. Does anyone know if they have the typical Mercedes costly vacuum components? I know that the W202's did, wasn't sure if that was something that these cars utilized.

[wagonizzle]

Haha yeah, I know what you mean. I think it's that MBTex they wrap everything in. It is indestructible. Look at the interiors of a lot of old Benz's. That stuff wears better than all others.

[wagonizzle]

Does anyone know if they have the typical Mercedes costly vacuum components? I know that the W202's did, wasn't sure if that was something that these cars utilized.

Good point, TDE30. My brother's car has a vacuum lock setup that has so many components it's scary. The driver's side lock doesn't work anymore to trigger the others; he has to go to the pass door. I'd imagine the 2.3-16 is the same.

[CorvallisBMW]

Wow that price is a steal, I say go for it!

[bimmer_E30]

go for it.

[Farbin Kaiber]

At that price, snag it. Someone here had one in the FS for ~10k IIRC.

[Farbin Kaiber]

http://r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=99160&highlight=2.3+16v

It pains me to do this but I can't afford both the M3 project and the nice Benz anymore. The car has 112,xxx on it. It has recently had the major work done to the timing chain and I had the head gasket done as well. The bottom end is in good shape. No oiling or driveline problems whatsoever. I Replaced the thermostat with a new one and a metal housing and I put in a brand new radiator. The car runs excellent, even in 110 degree weather it still doesn't overheat in traffic. I recently finished installing a beautiful stereo in the car that consists of a touchscreen head unit, Alpine IVA-D310, a 4 channel amp, Alpine PDX-4.150, 2 way 5" components up front, comparable to Dynaudio quality, with custom suede covered speaker boxes, and 2 8" subwoofers in the rear hat tray that are incredibly detailed. The car also sports 17" Carllson wheels with newer tires with good tread depth. The suspension is stock and the sls functions fine. The interior is in nice shape, no cracks or tears on the seats and perfect door panels. Outside the car has nice paint. The passenger side door has a slight indentation from a shopping cart incident that happened many years ago. The car has euro lights, euro corners, and an OMP steering wheel in suede with the momo hub adapter. This car is extremely nice to drive and is faster then a 325i stock for stock. The motor is a work of art and it sounds amazing. I removed the resonator because it had a hole and replaced it with a straight pipe and the car sounds mean. I was going to replace the muffler with something more sporty like a magnaflow but I now don't have the money to do so. The car will come with lots of maintenance records from me and previous owners. I am the 3rd or 4th owner. I have loved this car greatly. I wash her every week and wax her once a month. I also warm her up for 4 minutes off idle before I take off in the morning to ensure full water temp and some oil temperature. Pictures of the car are below, they were taken today. This car is a beautiful and rare collectible car that is both rewarding and fun to drive. I wish I was rich and I could have all the cars that I love but I made my choice a long time ago, E30 M3 or nothing at all, so this baby needs a new home. I want $10000 for the car with everything and all the extra parts that I have which include all the stock parts. Serious only, no lowballers. I will trade for an E30 M3 that is driveable or a regular E30 or ...?

The car is scheduled to be washed on Sunday and it is a little ashy at my house from the fires that was up the street, so please excuse that in the pictures.

[FLUTE007]

jump on it; the metallic black cars with matching panels and not too high of mileage are worth a lot.

They're a blast to drive, awesome rear suspension design (5-link vs. E30's trailing arms), can be driven very fast even with stock components. they do have some finicky fuel-injection problems, for which parts are not cheap--plus 16v specific parts are not cheap.

e320 24v swaps are easy and bolt to the dogleg gearbox, if that's your cup of tea.

+112284573829

[VacMan]

Alex, I know of one sitting in a junkyard, so you could scavenge it for parts if you purchased the one on CL. The head and factory headers, trans and rear diff are all still on the car, or were 2 weeks ago when I was there.

Tim