1995 Civic or 1984 Mercedes 190 Diesel ??
 

Ecomodder gurus please help!!!
I'm a newbe here so please go easy on me. I commute 50 miles round trip to work and my girlfriend lives 40miles away too. So something with awesome MPG will really help. (my current motor pool: 1981 BMW R100RT motorcycle but not a daily rider, 1997 Ford F150 V6 14mpg, 1999 Caddy Deville 25mpg, & 1986 Mercedes 300SDL aprox 30mpg the cherry garage kept car cover queen)
Reading this site has sparked an interest in getting something to "Ecomod"(unless you think one of the ones I own already would be a better choice?).
I have come across two interesting but very different cars.
1995 Honda Civic DX is a base model 2 door coupe 5speed 150k miles
1984 Mercedes 190D 160k miles somewhat rare diesel 4 door 5speed.
I can get both for almost the same $$. I have a mechanic friend so the labor rate to repair/maintain either is same (No expensive Steeler....eeeerrrrrr I mean Dealer repair cost). Mercedes may be more maintenance intensive I'm not sure.

My question is subjective to some extent but wondering:
1) Which has the best potential for high mpg?? Both cars starting pretty even at 35ish mpg.
2) Also what mods would you recommend to get more mpg?
3) niether. maybe buy a 1979 Punch moped. install a hydrogen booster and enjoy 150mpg at 35mph with a tailwind going down hill!

Thank you for taking the time to reply and offering any advice to a newbe like me is always appreciated!!!!
Hip

No help or opinions from any of ya? is it too early in the day?
Does this question belong in a different topic?

Well you did say to go easy on you... ;)

Wow, a benz with a stick, now that is rare.

If they both get the same mileage then you'd need to know a) the total cost of ownership and you've got a start on that already, b) how much of a gain in mpg each one could get (and at what cost), and c) cost of the different fuels.

My gut feeling is slightly favoring the Civic, but the benz is probably bigger if that matters to you.

Good point Silveredwings.
1) cost of ownership: Benz gonna cost more to maintain would be my guess but the insurance may be cheaper due to it's age.
2) how much gain?? Hope someone here can help me answer this.
3) aprox 10 cents more a gallon down here. but I just found out the benz should get 40's mpg so think this could offset the fuel cost difference.

I think the civic has a slight edge as far as appeal and being 11 years newer. The Benz kinda still appeals to me because of it being rare, a lil bigger, and has a sunroof.

Ask your mechanic friend about how willing he is to work on a diesel engine.

Test Drive,
Are you implying that the Diesel will need more work?

He already works on my other diesel (Mercedes 300SDL). He don't mind either way but does seem to cus more working on the Benz!

thos mecedes diesels are known to run half a million miles. I almost bought one with 360,000 miles it started, and ran like it was brand new.

Some a hole tried to steal my car while I was looking at it, so naturally I handled business and had to leave town before I got to pay the guy.

you can run them on SVO with very little work, saving you from burning gasoline at all. (straight vegetable oil.)


just something to think about

you can run them on SVO with very little work, saving you from burning gasoline at all. (straight vegetable oil.)


The SVO is a consideration too. This was the original reason I bought the SDL. but decided to keep it original. I will surely look into SVO if the 190d is selected keeping in mind that there are some cars better suited for SVO. A good friend has been running his F250 for 1yr now on SVO.

Not at all, I think MB has a good reputation for reliability.
It's just that some mechanics will refuse to work on a diesel motor - especially anything tuneup related. If your mechanic works on them its not much of an issue.

i found a video you might find interesting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEX1YFXYTdI

What video is that?
I do not see a link on the screen here on the work computer.

I think the choice between a Civic and Daimler is more about how you want to drive. The Civic will be nimbler, lighter and more responsive. It would probably respond better to mods because it is lightweight.

The Mercedes is a tank but a smooth cruising machine.

What do you want to drive? Which car fits best your driving conditions?

I would take the Civic just for fun but I would love a diesel Mercedes too.

I'm partial to smaller, lightweight cars. Also to Hondas. I would go with the Civic.

Too bad it's not a 96; the SG II would be an absolute no-brainer for it if it were OBD-2 capable. Maybe look a little longer for a 96+ one? Driving style gets you the biggest MPG gains, and the SG II helps you work on that.

A buddy of mine had a 240D which cracked a cylinder after about 6 months. (Not sure how many miles he had on it when he bought it.) Evidently those motors are throw-aways once that happens. He couldn't/wouldn't drive slower than the ~75-80 MPH "typical speed" on Highway 280, so his Benz only got in the low-20s MPG, instead of the 30+ it was capable of at more sane speeds.

(Oh, and he loves the Beetle TDI that he got to replace the Benz. But it was a lot more money.)

More food for thought.

-soD

soD, you raise a good point: instrumentation is key. While the Honda is too old for a ScanGauge, it can be fitted with an MPGuino.

Doing the same on a diesel is more complicated - I'm not sure it's quite as plug-n-play as a fuel injected gasoline car.

For an older diesel, it definitely isn't easy! The mechanical fuel injection they use does not lend itself well to being monitored with cheap and easy electronics.

I'm looking forward to installing my MPGuino Real Soon Now... :)

-soD

I know this is an old thread, but thought I'd comment. I used to drive an 1987 CRX si, and I now drive a 1984 Mercedes 190D. Though not as light as the CRX, the 190's are pretty light weight. And the ride with worn-out struts/shocks on the 190D is definitely much softer. I drive too fast and with the CRX (260K miles) I was getting 35mpg, very peppy and a blast to drive. With the 190D, acceleration is dismal, but same speeds MPG is 35-39. I plan on new struts/shocks to improve handling, and I'm now running bio-diesel and will replace the oil with thinner/better synthetic any day now. I am amazed by the handling of the Mercedes on twisty roads even with dead struts/shocks.

A gasoline benz with EFI is a better option IMHO. I looked at the diesels and I coudn't commit myself to driving something that sounds like a tractor and isn't much faster. 60 something HP? Please. 190e + Megasquirt is where its at.
www.MSruns.com • View topic - 93 190e 2.3 with MS1 V2.2 and MSextraHR code

I almost forgot about this topic.
I did not buy the 190d. I did buy a 93 civic for the GF. I bought a 01 Jetta 1.8 turbo and sold it. I bought a 2000 VW TDI Beetle 5spd as a play car and maybe for my daughters 1st car. It consistantly is getting 42mpg bone stock. But I purchased a 1984 Mercedes 300D, 306k miles, which i'm running SVO in at 10 gal SVO/5 gal diesel I'm getting getting about 60mpg on paid for fuel. I get the SVO free from a local restaurant. Yes there is some processing labor time but at a 75-90% fuel cost savings it seems well worth it!! I've got almost 10,000 miles on SVO in this car with no problems to date.
note: i had multi fuel filter clogging issues on my other mercedes after running Bio-Diesel. I have NOT run any bio in this car and there has been ZERO filter issues!