Today, the 190 is finding favour in the world of classic cars – thanks to its huge array of engines, tank-like build quality and unquestionable dependability. It survived the worst of the 1970s and is now worthy of dream car status – you'd be lying if you claimed never to have dreamt of a Mercedes Saloon…
Dream Car Friday: Mercedes-Benz 190
In the late 1970’s the stock market was a mess. Over an 18-month period, the market lost 40% of its value. Unemployment figures reached double-digit percentages. The American Banks ‘easy money policies’ were causing dangerous worldwide inflation to such a degree that people were being priced out of purchasing a car and owning their home. Highly ironic, as these policies were designed to help create full employment.
The car market was in serious trouble too; British Leyland were spiralling into bankruptcy, Fords cost cutting procedures in America resulted in millions of Dollars worth of lawsuits as the Ford Pinto became known as a mass murderer, while new safety regulations were strangling profits so severely that the world lost the likes of the classic design Ferrari, Jaguar and Delorean. Although the stock market wasn’t solely responsible for the latter…
It was during this dark and scary period that Mercedes-Benz decided it was time to add a third model range to its line of luxury, petrol guzzling automobiles. This sounds like the plan of someone sensibly unbalanced - not long after the Suez Oil Crisis had almost brought Europe to a standstill - but it was in fact a stroke of genius. The company from deepest Stuttgart decided that the new model should sit below the insanely popular W123 range – knowing that if the state of the world economy should fall into a dire situation then they would have a model waiting in the wings to keep the company afloat.
Luckily, the recession was in no way as nasty as it could have been. This left Mercedes free to develop the new model, dubbed the 190, to take on its rivals; the biggest target being the BMW 3-series. In a production run that lasted well over a decade from 1973, two million vehicles were built as its popularity hit fever pitch. The build quality was solid, Mercedes Design Chief Bruno Sacco orchestrated the looks himself and it was as reliable as the day is long.
So, it’s a fairy tale story that leaves these fantastic vehicles for us to savor and enjoy for bargain prices? Well, not entirely. As much as old Mercedes are renowned for being Land Rover like in their indestructibility, time and harsh treatment has led to serious mechanical problems…and not everything was perfect as they rolled out of the factory over 30 years ago.
Depending on what options the original owner requested, the hard and flat seats are not exactly comfortable for everyone, while the manual gearbox was clumsy compared to the likes of the Audi or the BMW. Owners complained of the boot lid being ‘tinny’ and the single arm wiper mechanism frequently refusing to wipe the windscreen, the necessary greasing of the wiper mechanism not covered in the usual Mercedes service. Timing chains on pre-facelift models liked to snap completely, while the first run of face lifted vehicles were used to get rid of faulty ‘simplex’ engines.
These issues are hardly worth writing home about however, as the benefits of the car are incredible. Besides the high build quality, the automatic gearboxes are still held in regard as the best of the decade while the interiors are hard wearing and the mechanics run as smooth as Elizabeth Taylor’s vocals.
The team here at CCFS have numerous cars parked in the oil-stained car park. Ranging from Porsches, Volkswagens, Land Rovers, Fiats and Audis to Austin Allegros, Triumph 2000s, Rover P6s and Jaguar E-Types. We are a bunch of petrol heads – and we heartily recommend the Mercedes 190. To point out how significant this revelation is, we never all agree on any car. Ever.
Except this one.
So, what to look for when buying one? Tempted by numerous examples for just over £1k, we’ve found that, if looking at an ‘F’ or ‘G’ registration 190 or 190E, its wise to open the oil filler cap and check the timing chain underneath. The system for recognizing what chain type is used is simply:
‘Simplex’ – Single Link. The Simplex chain needs changed every 70,000 miles.
‘Duplex’ – Double Link. These are almost indestructible.
Cars more than 20 years old can hide huge amounts of rust under the paintwork, they can also house clonking autoboxes and spew noise from rear axles. Check the power steering as it can leak and many have suffered kerb damage to the front suspension – the prime way to detect this is through uneven front tyre ware. Uneven tyre ware is also a sign that it may have been crashed and botched back together – leaving you to drive a timely death trap.
If one has caught your eye and is high mileage, check the records to ensure oil changes at least every 5,000 miles. Unfortunately, clocking of the Mercedes 190 is extremely common and therefore we recommend that you examine any documents the car may come with. If it comes with none at all, walk away. It’s probably had a body in the boot, too.
Wiper arms are a common problem, lube with graphite oil under the flap based at the bottom of the arm. Seats can collapse with age and the usual issues of an old car are very much apparent. But, hey, any car of any age can have issues.
And there we have it. For a car pushing 30 years old, nothing much gets to them except owner misuse. We heartily endorse the Mercedes 190 – not only is it fun to drive, classy, fast, robust, reliable, fairly economical and spacious but also cheap to buy and not necessarily expensive to run.
Above all, it’s a Mercedes, a cheap Mercedes – one that’s aging much slower than it’s rivals from the time.
Buy one? Hell yes. The only reason none of us have is because we don’t have any space left to keep one. As soon as one of our cars move on, we know exactly what we’ll be getting…