Good Move or Bad Move

[AC_S]

May have the opportunity to swap my 1990 Brilliant Red Sport
for a 1986 190 2.3 16 which can be viewed in the link below.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cf ... rID=685815

No Pics of my car, sorry, but I consider it be one of the better ones and by
comparing with the classifieds on here would value at around £3750 sterling. (full leather, strut brace, 60/40 H&R, 15"BBS, clean arches, dry footwells, 1inch square of rust above back light, small bubble on passenger side front wing/arch)

Both mileages are similar (120,000)

2 things that are holding me back:

- Will be selling whatever I'm driving in 4 months and think the Sport will be easier to offload.

- Is the 190 a car for a 26yr old?

Opinions Please

[whipsey]

theres one on ebay for about 300 quid mate amg

[kieran325]

I had a Merc 190 a few years back as a runabout, it was heavy and rolled all over....i never had one so i bought one, never again is my advice.

Keep the sport, its a far better car

Oh yes its an old mans car too

[ed325i]

I like the look of the 190 but would never swap a bmw with one.
They are not worth that much over here.

[AC_S]

Cheers for the views.

190's are pretty rare over here so not much to compare them with pricewise.
Had a quick spin in a 2.5 2 years back really enjoyed it and was impressed. However i have been
told the later 2.5-16 tweaked the same formula with a more useable and less peaky power delivery.

Gonna have a look at it tomorrow, Guy seems like a vey sound bloke and turns out he was interested
in my Sport when i bought it before Christmas so will be no harm to meet up and have a chat.

190's are a car that have always been on my "must own before I die list" so all will be revealed 2morrow

[d6dph]

Pm Nelly, He has owned both E30's ad 190e's so can give you a good indication of pro's and con's.

He is a top fella, and I'm confident he will be more than happy to help.

[oakey]

That looks like a nice cosworth. They are more powerful than a 325i aswell. I'd keep the e30 though. equally as valuable if in the same condition i think.

[harry_p]

go for it.

theyre great cars, very nearly up there with the e30 m3, with a similar very revvy 4pot.

a mate had a lovely last of the non evo 2.5 -16s a couple of years back and has regretted letting it go ever since.

a 'normal' 190e is not a car for a 26 yearold. however the 2.3-16 is to a normal 190 what a 316i is to an m3.

[oakey]

They have self levelling rear suspension and usually very high spec. Probably far more costly to maintane than a e30.

[harry_p]

more than a standard e30, maybe. more than an e30 m3? not so sure.

i think the self leveling rear suspension was either an option, or only standard on later cars? another friend had an early 2.3-16 and that didnt have it. whether it had been removed to use normal rear suspension or nevr had the self leveling i don't know.

[oakey]

^ its a common thing to go wrong so could have been replaced with standard parts or parhaps it wasnt working.
Not as good a car as the m3 full stop.IMO

[JohnnyRob]

The Merc Cosworths are nice cars, but I gather can be expensive to put right.

I'd consider one. ;)

[harry_p]

compared very well with eachother back in the day, ad also in recent head to head tests.

the 'birth of an icon' section in this months evo is about the 190 cosworth too. although it's in a sealed bag this moth so people will have to buy it rather than having a read in whsmiths

an article in januarys autocar compared the 3door sierra cosworth, merc 190 2.5-16 and e30 m3. their final reckoning...

All three of our old-school racers will blow your socks off. All 3 can be found for less than #10,000, albeit in differing condition. And all three will repay your TLC with a healthy rise in value over the coming decades. The question is, where to spend your money?

The cosworth is hardly the last word in engineering excelence. It was parts-bin built to a budget. But no matter. Because the end result is a hugely likeable car, and one which will never fall out of demand.

the 2.5-16 offers a refined image, potent performance and steer-from-the-rear driving experience. The fact that it's practical, rare and unbeatable value for money makes it the smart-thinking buy.

But if you crave the ultimate driving experience and have the budget to satisfy your needs, then the M3 is the one. More than any other car of it's era, its reputation lives on to this day. Rightly so.

I personally wouldnt choose a 2.3/ 2.5-16 over an e30 m3, but i would choose one over any other normal e30.

[fuzzy]

i would have said go for the swap but if your planning on selling your car in a couple of months anyway then i probably wouldnt bother as i think your right with your idea of your sport being easier to sell on

[Greeny]

Difficult choice that one. I'd love a 190 merc like that, but would I give up my E30 for one............ No.
Stick with the E30, better build quality and will be worth more in the future IMO.

[harry_p]

the 190 is from an era when mercedes actually knew how to build cars. theyre better built than e30 bmws from what i've seen and suffer far less from rust and other niggles.

mercedes sold 1.9 millions 190s, and only 26,234 2.3/2.5-16s which probably makes them as rare as e30 m3s, and has a motorsport herratidge the normal e30 can only dream of.

a decent 190 cosworth is already worth more than a decent 325i, and i can only see the gap widening (for all bar the most mint, most original 325i sports anyway which seem to go for silly inflated prices)

i still want an evo2 at somepoint

[mrLEE30]

nice car, as said bult when merc build to last not to make money, engines are bullet proof but do a compression check to be sure, if you are really interested i will get the psi/lbft figures for what is good and bad.

but you will be annoyed by the interior they last forever but.... ugly switches and you slide off the seats every time you go round a corner, they are made with the slipperyest of slippery leather!!

[Rosc0PColtrane]

If you're going to sell anyway, why not do it, subject to checking it over and have a blast for 4 months. The old rattle 4 bangers used to compete with m3's in touring car IIRC. No one will straight swap an m3 for your sport but a swap into the M3's competitor?

I hate mercs from about 1993ish onwards. Calssic badge priced snobbery. But I'd go for a cossie. Proper weapon.

[oakey]

My tech1 wipes the floor with my mates cossie on the road in every way

[bazman]

That merc does look well clean....id be tempted, but id prolly keep the E30

[Simon13]

the 190 is from an era when mercedes actually knew how to build cars. theyre better built than e30 bmws from what i've seen and suffer far less from rust and other niggles.

mercedes sold 1.9 millions 190s, and only 26,234 2.3/2.5-16s which probably makes them as rare as e30 m3s, and has a motorsport herratidge the normal e30 can only dream of.

a decent 190 cosworth is already worth more than a decent 325i, and i can only see the gap widening (for all bar the most mint, most original 325i sports anyway which seem to go for silly inflated prices)

i still want an evo2 at somepoint

Rubbish the E30 M3 was the most successful touring car ever? how can you beat that

[maxfield]

There was only about 15k E30 M3s.

And Si it says normal E30s