Description
Mercedes W201 190E 1991. 2. 0 Litre. Auto. Reg. No. H857 RUA.
Chassis No. WDB2010242F778886. Price: £ 3485 (offers accepted).
Registered new in April 1991 to first owner in Harrogate, W. Yorks. Supplied by Cragside, main Mercedes-Benz dealer. This gentleman kept the car until 2009, owning it for eighteen years, while maintaining it to a very high standard. The full Mercedes-Benz service history is all recorded in the stamped Service Maintenance booklet. Ownership history (next two owners continues overleaf).
Description and specs of vehicle.
1991 Mercedes-Benz (W201) 2. 0 Auto. Registration: H857 RUA
Current mileage: 134, 777 miles, documented.
Paintwork: Pearl Blue metallic (348U), with preservation treatment. Navy blue (062) checked upholstery with dark blue carpets complete with matching MB over mats. Dash also features dark blue highlight sections.
Supplied new by Mercedes Cragside, Harrogate, W. Yorkshire. 19th April 1991
M. B. Service History. Stamped original Service booklet covering 1991-2010. Service history continued subsequently (with MB specialists where possible.) File containing all servicing and MOT records included. Recent Service by Lymington Mtrs. - M. B. specialist, NW2.
MOT Expiry 22. 11. 04 (One advisory, minor oil leak)
No. of Previous Owners listed on V5 doc: 3
Original Keys (Four in total), 2 sets supplied.
‘Piranha Alarm’ fitted when car new. Two orig. remotes supplied.
Blaupunkt Cambridge Radio Cassette, installed as orig. equipment. Coded security key (code supplied). Radio works perfectly. Cassette may work but would need servicing due to age.
All original MB loudspeaker system.
Optional Air-Con. system. A rare, expensive extra. This has been converted to R134 gas. I will have it re-gassed & checked before sale. * Please note: The blower motor/ fan for system is not the original double part fan, as it was replaced during my friends’ ownership. The double fan’s really needs to be reinstalled, as the current fan is too weak for the system. The drier and associated parts have also been replaced. Invoices provided.
In addition:
Original owners’ manual, Service booklet, Sale invoices for car sales to subsequent owners.
Tool Roll and tools in boot, Jack, warning triangle mounted in boot lid.
Original unused First Aid kit.
Other features:
Factory Tinted glass; heat insulating with gradient band windscreen.
Front and Rear armrests, folding.
Electric windows x 4
Electric Sunroof; Tilt or slide control
Electric mirrors with automatic climate heating
Rear demist heated screen
Load adjustable headlamps
Front and rear Fog lamps
Original spare wheel and tyre
Hirschman Electric Ariel
High quality exhaust system with Catalyst as orig. in good condition.
Original Steel wheels & MB hubcaps: 6J x15 H ET 4 with Michelin 185/ 65R15 Tyres with good tread.
Original fitment MB Mud flaps.
Cost of Years Road Tax. pre-March 2001, flat rate of £ 325 p. a.
Overall condition:
Above average. Completely original. (Air-Con. system has been modified due to age and Ref. gas reg.). Engine, gearbox, final drive, brakes and suspension and steering, all in good working order and original. Interior condition; well above average. Seats and carpets exhibit minimum wear for age.
Under-body, chassis are very good overall.
Body work and paint: Overall very good, some paint chips and marks commiserate with age. One can (and sealed jar) of coloured matched Auto-colour Pearl Blue paint is supplied to rectify these, which was arranged by the previous owner (friend in Weybridge).
Areas requiring some attention: N/ S front wing has a small area of corrosion (paint bubbling) just ahead of the front wheel arch. There is also some bubbling on the driver’s side edge of the wheel arch though this is less severe. These areas of slight corrosion were just beginning when I took over the car. Due to the car being dry stored during most of 2023 I have not had an opportunity to address these. The rear wheel arches & wings doors, bonnet, boot, and roof are all well above average. Some paint chips here and there due to age & use.
A small section of very rear of D/ S floor in front of the rear wheel has some surface corrosion, around the area of drain hose. This was worked on by friends’ dealers in Sussex in 2018, but it appears could have been better. These are the only areas of corrosion I am aware of on the car.
Windscreen: Top passenger corner has a circular crack, which mysteriously appeared after a cold New Year’s Eve. It has not stopped the car getting its MOT each year.
Blower Motor for Cabin ventilation/ air con. & heating system ideally needs a ‘double sided blower motor’ reinstated, as the replacement fitted during my friends ownership is a single and is too weak. This will improve the system. Further ownership history/ background:
The first owner part exchanged it for a new Mercedes in 2009 and it was sent all the way down to another Main dealer on the south coast; in Poole and then bought by second owner. He kept the car for a relatively short time; under four years. Various bills from Mercedes and other suppliers for usual maintenance items like brake pads and cooling system ancillaries are with the history for this period. He obviously also looked after the car well. Perhaps as the 190E was beginning to be established as a Classic through these years; when he decided to sell, he placed in with Historics Auctions, at Brooklands, Weybridge. This is where the local 3rd owner (we since became friends) bought the car in the summer of 2013. I subsequently got to meet Brian (an inimitable London Cab driver), as I had expressed interest in the car to the chief Auctioneer, who helpfully put us in touch after the Auction. (I had an earlier 190E at the time). Brian lavished great care on the car during his tenure, and it was kept in a car port at his home in Weybridge. Again, all the history for his ownership covering 2013-18, is retained in a well organised folder with everything kept, including Emission tests on MOT’s. Always recording impressive figures on the C. O. readings for a 1991 car. So much for ULEZ. I believe it is CAT fitted model. I bought the car in late summer 2018, almost exactly five years after Brian had taken it over. As I had seen the car and knew how much he’d taken care of it (he always reported on its reliability). I was then reassured as to its condition and provenance. I actually bought if from a dealer who he knew in Sussex as he rather hastily part-exchanged it for a mint Triumph Vitesse with them (a car he had regretted selling) just before he told me he wanted to sell it.. They then offered it a very reasonable price, so it was a good deal for a special car. It was a great step up from my previous F Reg. model, namely as the thorough maintenance it had through the years ensured it ran exactly a W201 should, EG. Refined, quiet, comfortable & sure footed, with lots of clever design features to make living with it a pleasure. Not forgetting a build quality that means 20-30 years later, it still feels and looks much younger than it is.
Anyway, that’s the blurb. Service records is all available with the Car up to my ownership. As mentioned, the Years up to 2009-10 are all with Merc-Benz main dealer.
Further notes on recent history:
When not in use, it has been kept in a garage, well covered over last year. It has been MOT’d throughout and Taxed when out of the garage in fact. Part of the reason I stored the car from end of ’22 to Sept.’23 is because I was misinformed about a running issue that came up approaching winter 2022 (sudden misfire). I was told this was ‘probably’ due to a fuel supply or injection issue - by a small garage who serviced the car for me. They made a mistake due to guessing, and as it turned out the misfire was simply caused by a single dead HT lead on cylinder 4, basically due to cheap aftermarket leads being fitted to the car by said garage (they replaced the Dist. Cap at first). There was no issue with the Fuel system whatsoever and I have never had any trouble with this either. I had the car checked over by an established M. B. specialist, who I would thoroughly recommend, called Lymington Motors in NW2, by the owner Scott, who diagnosed the problem in 30 mins. He replaced all HT leads with Bosch leads. Also resetting the C. O. mixture which had been disturbed, in the correct way and additionally replaced the Thermostat housing and washers. Lymington had been recommended to me by a specialist for the Bosch Fuel injections systems (an expert in this field) who knows Scott over many years.
Thanks for reading. The price is negotiable to a point, realising it has some quite rare extra features.
James.
* Also available, if of interest are a complete set of low-profile spoked Alloy wheels and Tyres (15”) - which came with another early 190E 2. 6 I had previously and had not been fitted to the car at the time. The 2. 6 had been ordered from M. B. Works in Stuttgart and driven over there initially, where they have two sets of tyres for winter and summer. These are the summer tyres. A nice design too. Photographs and specs. can be forwarded.
* I have now added some Photos of the Alloy wheels and Tyres mentioned above, which can be included in the sale of the car if of interest. Original 1987 Alloy wheels sold with a 2. 6 190E In Stuttgart.
Happy Euro Cup !
** Please also note; this 190 does not have ABS in fact. Probably due to the owner ordering Air-Con. at time of purchase, making it a more simple braking system.
