Unusual Euro Sedans: 1982 Peugeot 604 vs 1991 Mercedes-Benz 190E

Welcome back to Shitbox Showdown! Today we have a pair of European sedans that you don’t see very often. Both are five-speed manuals, you’ll be happy to know, and both of them run, although one needs a little help in that department.

Often, I have a suspicion that one vehicle might run away with the votes, and yesterday was one of those days. And as it turns out, I was absolutely correct – a lot of folks thought the idea of the fire truck was cool, but the reality of it was less so, and the 300ZX cruised to a comfortable win.

I mentioned yesterday that I wanted to know what cassette was in the 300ZX’s player, and a few of you offered guesses: No Jacket Required by Phil Collins, Under Lock And Key by Dokken, and Ministry’s Twelve Inch Singles were mentioned. All solid choices, in my book, and all definitely fit with the vibe of the car.

Today, we’ve got the cars that I was planning to post tomorrow. However, as occasionally happens, one of today’s cars sold before I could start writing about it. Those of you who hate it when I do project cars dodged a bullet, I suppose – this was the car that sold:

Yep. Most of a 1972 Alfa GTV. It sold for four grand, after being posted for only a couple of days. The classic car market has well and truly lost its collective mind.

So instead, we’re going to check out two old Euro sedans. One is a rare spec, and the other is just plain rare. Let’s see what you think of them.

1982 Peugeot 604 TD – $6,000

Engine/drivetrain: Turbodiesel 2.3 liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, RWD

Location: Minnetonka, MN

Odometer reading: 78,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives, but stalls – suspected fuel starvation

Peugeot left the US market after 1991, due to poor sales, but in other parts of the world, its cars are legendary. Peugeot diesels last forever, in some incredibly harsh environments. But the French brand never really caught on in America, despite making cars that were sturdy, comfortable, and good-handling. The smaller 504 and 505 sedans and wagons aren’t common, but you do see them once in a while. This 604 sedan, however, is a rarity, especially with the combination of a turbodiesel engine and a manual transmission.

This 604 hasn’t seen much use, and the shores of Lake Minnetonka are certainly not as hard on cars as sub-Saharan Africa. Its 2.3 liter turbodiesel engine has only propelled this big square sedan 78,000 miles – barely broken-in by some standards. It runs and drives well, the seller says, but it has a fuel leak from the fuel filter housing, which causes fuel starvation after a few minutes. I don’t know how difficult a repair that is, but again, African farmers keep these things going for decades with baling wire and ingenuity.

It looks quite nice and clean for a 41-year-old car, which is to be expected with the low miles. All of the electrical accessories work, including the very cool Blaupunkt radio with tape deck. For this one, I suppose the appropriate cassette would be Serge Gainsbourg?

Some European designs of the 1970s and 80s were able to weather the onslaught of safety regulations for the US market with some dignity and style. Sadly, the Peugeot 604 is not one of them. This Pininfarina-designed sedan is handsome with trim European bumpers and glass composite headlights, but the American-required 5 mph bumpers and rectangular sealed-beam headlights give it a face only a mother could love, and a rear end that looks for all the world like a swim platform on the back of a boat.

1991 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6 – $3,900

Engine/drivetrain: 2.6 liter overhead cam inline 6, five-speed manual, RWD

Location: Wakefield, MA

Odometer reading: 108,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

There are six words that I imagine everyone here has uttered when looking at a car saddled with an automatic transmission: “If only it had a manual.” We all have found cars that would be perfect, except for the lack of a clutch pedal, and we all dream of finding the parts to swap in a manual gearbox. But how many of us have done it? Well, whoever owned this 190E before the seller did. This car left Bremen with a four-speed automatic, like nearly all of the models bound for the US did, but it now sports a five-speed stick.

Honestly, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a 190E 2.6 with a manual. The four-cylinder models with sticks were rare enough. There’s no way of knowing how carefully the conversion was done, of course, but it’s not like swapping in a gearbox that doesn’t belong; manual 190Es are only rare here. The seller says it runs and drives great, so apparently the transplant was a success.

The “2.6” in this car’s name refers, of course, to the single overhead cam M103 straight-six engine under the hood. There is nothing wrong with the 2.3 liter four in most 190Es, but German sedans and inline sixes go together like peanut butter and chocolate. This is a smooth, strong, durable engine that really suits the “baby Benz” well.

You know there has to be a catch, though, and in this case it’s the old European car Achilles heel: rust. Most of the car is fine, but there are some worrying photos in the ad of the jack points underneath. It looks like it’s rusting from the inside out, which is bad. This car’s days are numbered. It won’t crack apart tomorrow, but it won’t last forever either.

I know a lot of you shy away from European cars altogether, but I think they get an unfairly bad reputation. Yes, they’re higher-maintenance than Japanese or American cars, but keep them up, and they can last a long time. And the road feel is something that has to be experienced to be believed. So which will it be: a rare French executive sedan with a legendary diesel engine, or a compact German six-cylinder converted to the proper transmission?

(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)