A Sad Day.....

[Matt Crooke]

Well, im sorry to announce that the 190 has been sold..sniff :cry:

An offer of a rather nice ...dare i say it....mint condition 3.0 24v Senator was thrown my way, and after having the car for a day and driving it almost 100 miles i couldnt refuse.

Ill be out in the street around 8 tonight so you can throw eggs and rotten veg at me whilst hurling abuse.

Ill get my coat....!!!

 

[Shude]

Matt you are a disgrace to the community, never post here again! :wink:

You didn't fancy another 190e or maybe a w124 e-class? I was under the impression that "once you go 'Benz, you don't go back", I certainly intend to drive mercs for as long as I am able, there is a model for everyone these days...

Good luck with the Senator, the Plod used thousands of them and they don't usually buy rubbish, a good indicator that it's a sound purchase! I always fancied a Carlton, esp after I saw a Fiesta drive into the back of a stationary Carlton, the Fiesta was destroyed and it hadn't even knocked the dirt off the Carlton, they are built like tanks!

 

[kid-jensen]

190 to Senator

Matt,

I used to own a Senator, for 8 years, changed it recently for a 320 CE. I'm certainly not going back.........

The Senator was quite endearing in that it handled well, was quiet, performed well and was reasonably well built.

The 320CE in comparison handles better, is quieter, performs a lot better and is MUCH better built.

Added to this the Senator was seriously rusty and WENT WRONG ALL THE TIME. The spares prices are about the same or more than equivalent Mercedes parts, and you need them more often.

The clincher for me was that a J or K reg Senator is worth bugger-all (+VAT) on the secondhand market, whereas the 320CE is worth at least 6 grand, and depreciation from now on is very slow.

Enjoy the Senator (I can see why you bought it) but watch out for the following:

1. Timing chains break at 100K+ miles, lunching the engine
2. Heads warp at all mileages, nearly writing-off the engine
3. Heater matries inexplicably stop giving heat at about 70K, replacement is 14hour job.
4. All cooling system components are self-destructive.
5. Fan thermostats refuse to close, lunching the engine.
6. Front and rear chassis u-sections rust through and are not available as spares.
7. Rear wheel arches, if not full of filler, will be soon...........

There's more obviously, and I'm sure someone could come up with a similar list about a Mercedes, but I'd be surprised.

So I guess it's not goodbye, more au revior............

 

[Shude]

Re: 190 to Senator

3. Heater matries inexplicably stop giving heat at about 70K, replacement is 14hour job.

Paul, if your w124 coupé heater matrix dies, it's also a massive job, here's one I saw while in NL:

I think they started with the heater and built the car around it! Replacing or fixing it is NOT pleasant at all!

 

[Matt Crooke]

Hi all

Thanks for the quick responses!

Unfortunatly, mine has got the token rusty rear arches, howver apart from that there is no other rust on the car at all, as i went over the thing with a fine tooth comb (and a magnet!)

What drew me to it was how smooth the whole affair was, accelration, gear change (you cant really feel it at all to be honest, even from cold) and the power under the bonnet is quite breathtaking....but then any big engined car will be the same i suppose.

One handy thing, the last owner is the current secratary of the Kent division of the Vauxhall owners club!! (naturally a high flying post) however ive got the full service history from new (always the same Vauxhall dealer, whether thats a good thing or not i dont know!!) and he must have known about the timing chain, as on looking through the receipts it was changed at 97k, some 17k ago...so it should last a fair while i hope.

Shude, to be honest i had no intention of even looking at another car at the moment as i was more than happy with the 190, but after driving the Senator, there was no comparison really. Ive no doubt at all though, if i were to drive a bigger merc, E class or higher, then the Merc would come out top of he list every time, unfortunatly the ****** bank account wont stretch to one at the moment!!!!

All in good time! :wink: