I'm thinking of getting an older car that's, reliable, comfortable/fast to drive and a cut above the norm. The models that stand out are the Mercedes 190E 2.6i and the BMW 325i E30. Which would others recommend or is there an alternative?
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I had an E30 320i. Space in severely restricted in the rear. Nice car. and easy to diy maintain. Most have been thrashed to death . especially the 325i.
The Mercedes in good condition would imo be more comfortable. I drove one and was impressed but engine spares may not be cheap and iirc head gaskets do go...
madf
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I'm thinking of getting an older car that's, reliable, comfortable/fast to drive and a cut above the norm.
So, not an E30 then.
Somebody I know has an absolutely gorgeous, pristine, 325i Sport. It's a nice classic but it costs proper money to keep it going. They are very old now.
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what about an audi coupe?
cheap to buy, reasonable to maintain. available with 5 cylinder engines which are a reasonable performance/economy balance, or the 2.8 or S2 for silly economy.
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A nice late 190 2.6 could be a future classic.
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Personally id go for the Merc 190. I drove a mint 2.6 a year ago and it was just a superb motor and as thinsg go, quite rare compared to the other models, so you wont look like ataxi driver in one!
As someone mentioned the Audi, how about an Audi 80 2.8E? Really ncie cars and perhaps a shade cheaper, but very well built still. Its a direct rival to the other two.
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Thanks for all the replies. I was leaning towards the Merc myself. I'll take a look at older Audis (hadn't prev considered those). Ta
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190 is a great car. They look quite compact now compared to the big Mondeo and Vectra. Should be future classic, they are the last of the solid MB before costs were cut. The same age E class is also a cool motor, the CE coupe especially. I like the blue/black colour which is a nice metallic black style shade. Automatic one also worth aiming for as the manuals are a bit crude and foot operated handbrake difficult in combination with manual box.
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Its a no-brainer, has to be the 190E. Manuals are not too bad IF you use the correct oil in the gearbox. The ONLY correct oil for these is AFT 'Type A Suffix A' - use Elf Trans-O-Matic or Castrol Agri-ATF or (I think) Mobil ATF200. Don't use Dexron II/III - it makes them baulky. Handbrake is hand-operated on these.
Very sound car - just get it checked really thoroughly for any signs of head-gasket trouble.
Spares availability for old Mercs is much better than for old BMW's.
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P.S. Yes, do look out for head-gasket trouble, but if you find it you can then knock £750 off the asking price if the car is otherwise good.
It needn't cost that much to fix, but if you do get one that needs fixing then don't skimp on the job and do check whether the head needs skimming. Opinions differ about the need to skim; for what it's worth, my mechanic has yet to see an MB head that didn't need skimming. The gasket kit will cost about £60, skimming about £80, and the job time is around 7 hours, so £600 all up should do it with an independent MB specialist garage or individual mechanic; I have seen reports of it being done for less.
Once done, it should be good for at least 100k.
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P.P.S. Online service manuals:
mb.braingears.com/
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