190E durability
I bought an '86 190E 2.3 a month ago for 2 grand for my wife, whose 318i had seen its last patch of asphalt. I had 2 grand in the bank and I had to have a car right away and I had just looked at this E a few days prior. It was being driven by a wholesaler as a daily driver and had 133k miles and a few dents and the silver metallic paint was shot. The A/C worked and all the interior buttons worked. Tranny was tight and the engine was dry. My wife is very hard on machines. Example: Someone managed to dent the left rear panel nicely. My wife informed me that she had driven the car with the parking brake on! Then I find out that she's been shifting from Reverse to Drive while accelerating! Then she drives it off a parking lot ledge, resting it on the underside of the motor, wheels hanging. (If this ever happens to you have a professional towing company come and 'tow' it out.) Well, after all that the car seems to be fine. The shifter is a bit loose but the transmission works great - I've given it a healthy workout to check for slippage and it shifts great. The little beast still has some pep, though it's 2.3 pep, but not bad for my wife. Smooth engine, can barely hear or feel it at a rest. I'm with you guys -- these are great cars: fun, classy, and almost outrageously comfortable.
[8D]
I bought an '86 190E 2.3 a month ago for 2 grand for my wife, whose 318i had seen its last patch of asphalt. I had 2 grand in the bank and I had to have a car right away and I had just looked at this E a few days prior. It was being driven by a wholesaler as a daily driver and had 133k miles and a few dents and the silver metallic paint was shot. The A/C worked and all the interior buttons worked. Tranny was tight and the engine was dry. My wife is very hard on machines. Example: Someone managed to dent the left rear panel nicely. My wife informed me that she had driven the car with the parking brake on! Then I find out that she's been shifting from Reverse to Drive while accelerating! Then she drives it off a parking lot ledge, resting it on the underside of the motor, wheels hanging. (If this ever happens to you have a professional towing company come and 'tow' it out.) Well, after all that the car seems to be fine. The shifter is a bit loose but the transmission works great - I've given it a healthy workout to check for slippage and it shifts great. The little beast still has some pep, though it's 2.3 pep, but not bad for my wife. Smooth engine, can barely hear or feel it at a rest. I'm with you guys -- these are great cars: fun, classy, and almost outrageously comfortable.
[8D]
