・Rare AMG body kit

・Wonderful cruiser

・Leisurely restored engine over last 5 years

The 190E was the first move Mercedes made to rival the BMW 3-Series. Produced from 1982 to 1993, the W201, or Baby Benz as it was known, was the result of £600 million of research and development spend and has only been slow to reach recognition as a classic simply because so many were produced. Don’t be fooled. There weren’t many with a 2.6 litre engine made and that’s what we have here. In response to BMW’s release of the 2.5 litre 3-Series in 1985, Mercedes felt they needed something to compete with and took the engine from the new E-class and shoehorned it into the E190. Being a big 6-cylinder engine, they had to tweak a few things up front, but it provided a smoothness (and sound) which its other four-cylinder siblings lacked.

The vehicle is right hand drive and was a special export order in 1988. It originally went out to Cyprus for the first two years of its life before returning to the UK when it was first registered in 1990.

This one comes with the rare AMG body kit and an impressive set of factory fitted options including alloy wheels, electric seats /headrests/ windows/ sliding sunroof, cruise control, aircon and heat-insulating glass.

The current owner acquired the vehicle in 2016 when he decided he wanted something a little more powerful than his 1.9 litre E190. It has been used as his everyday car and has clocked up approximately 35k miles in the last 5 years. Although very little is known as to the history of the car prior to his ownership, a quick look online at the MOT history shows it had done 69k miles in 2005 and given its mileage today, indicates the car has only done about 4-5k miles a year, which is well below average for a car of this stature. 

 

There is paperwork relating to all work carried out over the last 5 years but nothing going back any further and sadly no service book. There is one key and a handbook. 

The V5 is present, and the current MOT expires in March 2022.

The cream leather interior compliments the dark blue nicely and overall is a pretty decent shape with no tears or holes in the leather or steering wheel.  The carpets are also in good condition as additional darker Mercedes carpet mats were installed to protect the originals. The owner advises that the air conditioning would benefit from a gas top up as this has not been done for a few years.

The walnut veneered dash doesn’t appear to be original and has cracked in several places and the plastic lacquer appears to have gone brittle and broken away in a few places, namely the centre console and some of the door trim. The original radio has long since gone but the aftermarket CD player works well as do all other electrics in the car.

The car comes complete with spare wheel jack, locking wheel nut and a small tool kit.

Overall, this Mercedes E190 is in good shape when viewed from a distance but as you inspect it a little closer you notice the bodywork could definitely do with some care and attention. 

There are two small dents to the nearside front wing, but each is no bigger than a 5p piece. The wheel arches appear to have significant rust bubbles and the same appears to be true of some of the doors and around the rear lights and boot lock. There is also a rather large scratch to the offside rear wing about 4 inches long next to a small and shallow dent approximately one inch wide. 

Jacking points were replaced last year at a cost of £600 together with some minor welding to the sills.

During his ownership he has stripped and rebuilt the engines top end and replaced the gaskets and radiator in 2017 at a cost of £3600 and fitted a brand-new exhaust system from the manifold to the stainless steel backbox. 

New front and rear brake pads, discs and sensors were replaced in May 2019 along with rear brake callipers and pads. Spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter, oil filter along with fuel pump relay were replaced in October 2018.

The car starts and runs smoothly, and the engine purrs beautifully. If you do need to put your foot down the car responds accordingly.

The steering, brakes and suspension are all good.

There is no doubt that the 190E, although very popular over the years, is a timeless classic and the 2.6 engine is the most sought after. There is of course the Cosworth 2.3 16v around but a quick glance at the classifieds reveals one can expect to pay considerably more for that. The straight-six engine is an absolute peach and arguably this is the one to go for if you don’t have bottomless pockets.

You may find similar cars in the UK today, but you will struggle to find one with the AMG body kit, full leather seats and subject to recent restoration. 

With a little attention around the bodywork this could well be a sound investment and one that could certainly provide many more years of happy and very comfortable motoring. 

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