230TE Workhorse or MoneyPit Need advice please

[Audzatstods]

Im looking at a 91 230TE estate, which has 154000mls and is pretty rough both inside and out. Im not bothered about the dirt as im looking for a general runaround for carting bits and bobs and also for ferrying the rottweiler to various walk areas.
When i say rough, the bodywork has rust patches on the bumper and wing areas, plus along the estate part window frames. As the car was well boxed in i couldnt get round it all, but when he started it up there was no belching smoke, but the tappets were slightly noisy, left it running for a few minutes and gave it a couple of revs, no smoke then neither, but as there was next to no fuel in it i couldnt let it warm up to see if there was any overheating problems.

The engine did have a bit of oil around the top part and when i checked the oil level it was halfway between the two marks. The guy had no service book for it, but was hoping the previous owner still had it. Not sure if it has A/C, but it is an automatic which i believe cost a fortune to repair.

I will probably go for a run in it this weekend, so any advice on what i should look for or even if i should buy it will be greatly appreciated. The car is advertised quite cheap and has a years test and six months tax, plus if it lasts me a year i shall be quite happy.

What do y'all think.

 

[Keith]

230TE

you're expectations are quite low if you only need it to last 12 months Mercs are famed for longevity so chances are you will make it to 12 months. Is it being sold with an MOT?

Only thing I would say is that the 4 cyls are underpowered and estates often have a tough life so I would expect the engine/gearbox to be pretty hammered by this stage. If you only need it to survive 1 year then its less of a gamble, personally I would only consider a 6 cyl estate.

good luck
Keith

 

[DavidBlake]

I agree that the 4 cylinder models only have disadvantages compared to a 300TE. They use just as much fuel. The rust on the wings means previous accident damage. No doubt repaired by an "Insurance approved bodyshop". ie cheap. The rust around the rear window is normal.
Judging by your description, a gearbox failure would write the car off, so check it out well. All depends on the price does'nt it. sounds like it should be very cheap.

 

[Audzatstods]

My expectations are low as i have never owned a Merc before, and the only advice i seem to get is "when it goes wrong it will go wrong big time" but i see numerous taxi drivers using them as well as the odd farmer, which makes me think they are a good workhorse.

The car im looking at is a 1991 H reg estate, with one years MOT and six months tax and is being offered with ones months warranty for £500, as i said previously the car is very dirty inside and there is a fair bit of rust outside, but im willing to rectify all this if i decide to buy it. The gearbox and head gasket are my only concerns as these ive been told are very costly if they do go.

You mention that the car is underpowered, does this mean its not a good towing vehicle and should i look for one with a bigger engine. Not that i tow very often, but i dont want to stress an engine that already has over 15000mls on it.

Any comments are greatly appreciated.

 

[230TErry]

I've owned a 230TE for just over 2 years and have had minimal trouble. They are not underpowered against most vehicles in their class. I've had mine fully loaded(7 adults) and although it lost acceleration it still went well. Anew head gasket cost me £290 last month.

Apart from general body rust check the fuel tank neck. This is exposed behind the drivers side rear wheel and can rust. Replacement tank needed! I caught mine just in time and was able to "fill" the rust pinholes with plastic metal.

Mine has 155K on the clock and is going fine at the minute anyway. If you are just after something to carry loads and drive into the ground at that kind of money with mot and tax I'd go for it.

 

[Audzatstods]

Just wanted to say thanks to everybody for the advice, im still undecided although will probably buy it later this week, once it has been MOTed, it failed on a ball joint and a cracked lens.

I shall keep you informed as to what happens.