Hold on for another three years
You have or had old Mercedes in roughly two categories: somewhat tired diesels with a lot of experience, or beautiful petrol ones with a low mileage. This 1985 190D combines both groups in one car: it is an original Dutch diesel that has hardly driven!
Mercedes cars like this 190D were the argument for changing the ‘tax-free limit’ for old-timers to stretch that limit from 25 to 40 years. The reasoning was that driving an old, smoking and extremely solid sedan or station wagon all the way up has little to do with the hobby for which that tax exemption is intended. Anyone who has an old diesel now has to wait until the car is 40 years old to get rid of the sky-high mrb rate.
It is precisely that motor vehicle tax – roughly double what you pay for a comparable petrol car – that ensures that diesels in the Netherlands are really cars for frequent drivers. That is exactly what makes this brown-red 190D so special, or even unique. The NS-84-LK is in fact an original Dutchman, who received his first set of yellow plates in October 1985. It did not change ownership until 2013 and since that year it has been registered in the name of the car company from Markelo that now offers it. For a hefty amount, we may say, because €16,350 is quite a lot for a 190.
On the other hand: just find a second one. The Mercedes could undoubtedly do all that standing still inside, because the carriage looks really spotless and the interior seems to be in new condition. Add to that the fact that the car is on original 15-inch light metal and has a wonderful – for its time – color scheme, and there is a Mercedes to enjoy. After another three years of perseverance, the car will also be completely tax-free. Quite rightly so, in this case.
.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl