Beautifully preserved 1989 Mercedes 190E W201 with genuine Cosworth body kit

 I am selling my beautifully preserved 1989 Mercedes 190E 2.0 8v in Arctic White (047U) with black cloth trim (061) which comes dealer fitted with a genuine Cosworth body kit, 17” 7.5J AMG Monoblock replica wheels and Highline suspension.

A quick trip down memory lane: I bought the car from an older gentleman that had owned the car for 15 years before passing it to his son, whom then kept it in a heated garage for 6 years without ever driving it. He never thought he'd get round to making it roadworthy again so finally decided to sell. As luck would have it, I'd seen the car many times during summer walks in my area, as it sat there unhappy in a garage. I mentioned to my partner that I'd love to buy that at the time, skip forward to this winter and I decided to make him an offer and ended up buying it!

Since then, I've spent a great deal of time and money bringing it back to its former glory. It's now for sale but in a half-hearted kind of way. The ONLY reason is that I have my eye on a classic Mini project and only have space for one project car. It really is a split decision as I love this 190E hugely.

Built during the golden years for Mercedes, the W201 (190E) is an ultra-reliable bruiser that's evidently built to last. This particular car came from the factory with a 2.0 8v engine rated at 122bhp and mated to an automatic 4 speed gearbox. It starts every time on the button, idles and drives perfectly – happily cruising at 80mph without breaking a sweat.

This is the ABS model and has power assisted steering, along with electronic fuel injection.

The car has had a major service this month at 67,420 miles. This included a new Exide 670cca battery, an oil and filter change, new air filter, replacement brake reservoir caps, coolant flush and replacement, new expansion tank cap, rebuilt rear calipers and serviced front brake calipers and new pads all round.

Mechanically, the Mercedes is in tip top condition with all preventative measures taken where necessary. The car starts every time and has no issues mechanically and no hidden gremlins.

Bodywork/CosmeticsThe bodywork is in good condition, the paintwork­ still gleams and looks fantastic when clean and polished. It has some age related marks as you would expect of a car of this age, but no dents or sustained damage.

This car is fitted from dealer with a genuine Cosworth body kit, complete with the rear spoiler. This is in fantastic condition, for those who have looked for one for their own 190E, they are sold for over £4000.00 just for the unpainted kit IF you can find one!

The car also benefits from Mercedes 190E Highline suspension and uprated dampers. The look is purposeful and aggressive but not to the point of being impractical. The AMG 17” 7.5J Monoblock replica alloy wheels were bought recently and come with four identical tyres with 6mm of tread all round. The alloy wheels have some lacquer peel on the lips, a wet and dry polish will cure this though as it's just a reaction.

The interior is in very good condition; one repair has been made to the driver's seat bolster where it had torn with age, it's not obvious and if I were to replace it, the entire interior would be swapped out for a Cosworth seat set.

The car has a period stereo with CD changer mounted in the boot, all working! The electric windows and electric sunroof work smoothly, as does the central locking which is interestingly vacuum operated.

In fact, everything works at the time of writing this advert!

Dealer optionsHIGHLINE SUSPENSIONCOSWORTH BODYKIT

Factory codes061 CLOTH SEATS238 CITY DRIVE LIGHT FOR GREAT BRITAIN 286 LUGGAGE NETS ON DRIVER RESTS L AND R 341 ADDITIONAL BLINKER LAMPS 362 RHD VEHICLES AS PER EC REGULATIONS (CONTROL CODE) 400 FOLDING ARMREST IN THE REAR 412 ELECTRIC SLIDING ROOF WITH TILTING DEVICE 420 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 4-GEAR 467 CENTRAL LOCKING MECHANISM AND INSTRUMENTS WITH ENGLISH LETTERING 470 ANTI-LOCK BRAKING SYSTEM (ABS) 524 PAINTWORK - PRESERVATION 570 FOLDING ARMREST, FRONT 584 ELECTRIC WINDOW LIFTERS (FRONT AND REAR DOORS) 593 HEAT-INSULATING GLASS, ALL-AROUND, HEATED REAR WINDOW PANE (SINGLE-SHEET SAFETY GLASS), BAND FILTER 613 HEADLAMP LEFT-HAND TRAFFIC 876 REAR DOOR CONTACTS AND LAMP ABOVE REAR WINDOW

SummaryOverall, the car is in remarkable condition, it gets a lot of admiration and nice comments from fellow motorists. Filling at the petrol station is always nice as you will get someone say something positive about the car. I do have a progress diary of the car, please see the below link for the Mercedes 190E owner's forum:

https://mercedes-190.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=760978#p760978

Issues wise; for a classic car you'll be amazed to know that there are very few. The front valance has some cracks in the paint from age; the front wings have some surface oxidation. (See photo with arrow) but these are available for £40 posted on eBay. For me, it would be a job for next summer and I'd get the front bumper re-sprayed at the same time. There is also some oxidation around the aerial; again this is minor and very treatable. I have used cure-rust and Hammerite to stop further issues arising here.

Car comes with 3 keys, the V5 in my name and loads of history, receipts.The car has a full year's MOT and runs out on 5th November 2022. I have no doubt that the car will fly through the next MOT without issue. Please HPI to see its awesome history.

First to see will no doubt buy. The car is located in Ringwood, Hampshire

Also published at eBay.co.uk

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