Hi Folks,
Someone just wrote off my old Saab, while it was innocently parked at the side of the road. Luckily they were very honest, left their details, and admitted liability, so very soon I'm hoping to have a £750 insurance settlement to play with.
I do very few miles -- 4000 a year at most -- and I don't need my car for work, so I tend to go for old, cheap cars, but I do like them to be interesting in some way (the Saab was a 1988 T16S Aero, so pretty unusual. And 170+bhp ;-) )
So. I like the idea of owning a Mercedes. My option for the money seems to be a few old 190s going for between £750 and £1000 around here.
Bearing in mind that fuel economy doesn't mean much to me, but I like reliability, and something that's different/enjoyable/unusual, would the 190 be a good choice?
I like the look of them -- are they reliable? Good to drive? And does anyone know of a good indie garage in Bristol -- obviously, for the mileage I do, I don't want to spend the earth on servicing or repairs.
I've checked a few old posts out here, so I'm vaguely aware of things to look for when buying -- people have mentioned leaky steering racks, oil in the water reservoir, checking the oil pressure on start/driving, rust under rear windows, and some more minor points. Is there anything else major I should be aware of?
Thanks for any info you can give me!
Matt
Someone just wrote off my old Saab, while it was innocently parked at the side of the road. Luckily they were very honest, left their details, and admitted liability, so very soon I'm hoping to have a £750 insurance settlement to play with.
I do very few miles -- 4000 a year at most -- and I don't need my car for work, so I tend to go for old, cheap cars, but I do like them to be interesting in some way (the Saab was a 1988 T16S Aero, so pretty unusual. And 170+bhp ;-) )
So. I like the idea of owning a Mercedes. My option for the money seems to be a few old 190s going for between £750 and £1000 around here.
Bearing in mind that fuel economy doesn't mean much to me, but I like reliability, and something that's different/enjoyable/unusual, would the 190 be a good choice?
I like the look of them -- are they reliable? Good to drive? And does anyone know of a good indie garage in Bristol -- obviously, for the mileage I do, I don't want to spend the earth on servicing or repairs.
I've checked a few old posts out here, so I'm vaguely aware of things to look for when buying -- people have mentioned leaky steering racks, oil in the water reservoir, checking the oil pressure on start/driving, rust under rear windows, and some more minor points. Is there anything else major I should be aware of?
Thanks for any info you can give me!
Matt
