1984 Mercedes 190e 2.3 (W201)

Description for Mercedes-Benz 190-Series 1984

This Mercedes Benz 190e 2.3 (W201) has been our summer driver since 2011. We purchased it in Illinois, and owned it there until 2016, when it moved north with us to SE Wisconsin. I'm proud to say it performed flawlessly during the five hour trip from downstate Illinois on one of 2016's hottest summer days, around Chicago, and north to SE Wisconsin. It has not been driven in salt/snow under our ownership.
Please note that this a stick shift (manual) car! You will need to be an experienced stick-shift driver to drive it home, because although the clutch and shifter are working fine, they are old and crotchety.
Also note that this is the 8-valve non-Cosworth W201.
Since purchase we have done some minor repairs on it and kept up with basic maintenance, but we haven't gotten deep into fully restoring it (although that was always our intention!) We have put approximately 3,000 miles a year on it. Some of the larger items we have addressed are as follows:
2011 Clutch slave and master cylinder changed & hydraulic fluid refreshed, rear differential oil changed. New thermostat.
3/2014 (188,175 miles) New Bosch plugs, wires, cap, and rotor.
2014 (188,600 miles) lower front ball joints, front struts (Bilstein) bump stops & upper mounts done by Peter B's in Urbana, IL.
6/2014 Odometer froze at 188,601 miles leaving Peter B's. Car was driven approx. 3,000 miles (our average yearly mileage on the car) before the speedo cable was replaced in Sept of 2015.
Just within the past month, we have replaced all the brake pads and put on a new exhaust (Walker Quiet-Flow) from the catalytic converter to the back.
In 2012 we bought 15" wheels off of a 91 Mercedes 300E and installed them with the tires that were already mounted, the ones off of the 300E. Please note that the shoulder wear you see on the tires was extant from the other car and is not due to the alignment on this car! The car DOES need new tires. Tires are adequate for local surface streets but if the car is to be driven on the highway, it will need new tires. Or you'll want to trailer it home.
Some other things of note:
The body is remarkably rust free with the exception of the jacking points on the rocker panels and a ding at one of the wheel arches. (see photos)
There is some "stone chipping" type damage on the hood due to a minor hail storm the car unfortunately sat out in (But no dents from that.)
Clearcoat is in good shape with the exception of one quarter sized spot on the roof, in front of the moonroof (See photos.)
The pinstripe is hand-painted, and signed below the "2.3" designation on the trunk.
Rear passenger side window regulator is brand new, just installed. All windows and moonroof work. Vacuum operated central lockingworks. Original radio is present, but non-functional. The interior is in excellent shape and very clean, save for loose vinyl at the B-pillars, fading on the rear deck, and missing fasteners at the bottom of the rear passenger door card. The C-pillars have been re-upholstered. The seats are MB-Tex.
The A/C system, which was converted to R134a at some point prior to our ownership, holds pressure, however the compressor has suffered "black death" and will not run. Therefore, the a/c does not work. The automatic HVAC works in every other respect, though.
Known issues/concerns:
Car could probably use rear shocks, and refreshing of bushings in rear suspension.
Clutch age is unknown. Works fine, but is definitely approaching end of service life.
Engine does use some oil, and there are several slow oil leaks.
One rear passenger door is sticky; the other jammed badly last summer and has had the stop removed, so it opens freely but will swing wide due to missing stop (removed part is included.)
As noted above, the engine is rather tired. Everything runs, but there are definite signs that the engine would love a rebuild. Or an engine swap.
There is a surge/lag in engine speed when the engine is cold. It goes away when engine is warmed up. No trouble starting, though.
PLEASE NOTE: When the Illinois dealer we bought the car from registered the car, they did so with the incorrect VIN. We only discovered this *after* we registered the car in WI last summer. (The state of WI copied the incorrect VIN from the IL title when we titled it in WI.)The car will be sold with a correct, clean, and corrected Wisconsin title! But if you happen to pull a CarFax on the VIN, you'll see that records stop in 2011, and that is why.
I have tried to be exhaustive in describing the car and its condition, but please feel free to ask questions if you have any. Thank you.