1986 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 AMG rebuilt to perfection

Most of the 2.3-16s I see are surprisingly dirty. It seems like they’re taken care of like any other 190E, left to get rained on and crapped on by birds, bleached by the sun with the self-leveling suspension sagging. This owner apparently took exception with that frame of mind and approached his Benz as if it were already the 40 year-old classic it will surely become. A top-to-bottom rebuild has left no stone unturned, and the results are impressive.

The seller’s description in all caps so you can read it better:

I START MY RE-BUILD BACK ON 2006 DECEMBER TILL 2008 JULY, IN A SHOP CALL BERGAN IMPORTS IN NEW JERSEY ( PALISADE PARK), THEY ONLY WORK ON GERMANY CARS ONLY. MY TOTAL COST WITH INVOICE OF PAYMENT IS ABOUT US$28000.00 AND WITH OUT INVOICE LIKE THE 17″ OEM AMG MONO BLOCK, ALARM, CENTRE CONSOLE AND MANY EXTRA PART IS ABOUT USD$8000.00 OR MORE WHICH DOES NOT INCLUDE THE BUYING PRICE OF THE VEHICLE OF USD$6500.00 WITH THE TOTAL OF ABOUT US$ 42500 OR MORE.

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO THE ENGINE: (COST ABOUT USD$10000.00)
IF NEEDED I CAN SEND YOU A COPY OF IT , BECAUSE IS TOO LONG TO LIST EVENTHING, BUT NOT ONLY THE ENGINE, LIKE THE CLIMATE BLOWER MOTOR, TIMING CHAIN, ALL 16 VALVE , TIMING CHAIN GUIDE AND RAIL , WATER PUMP, ALL RUBBER HOSE AND ALL SEAL, AND THE AIR IS UPGRADE TO R134, AND THE TEMP SENSOR IS BEEN UPGRADE ( NORMAL TEMP IS 110c FOR A 190E AND THE NEW SENSOR ONLY RUN IN BETWEEN 85c ~95c ONLY) AND THE TRAN HAS BEEN RE-BUILD TOO, CHANGE GEAR IS VERY SMOOTH.

EXTERIOR : ( COST ABOUT USD$12000.00)
ALL THE OLD PAINT GET SAND OFF AND RE-PRIME, THE REAR QUART L+ R + CENTRE PANEL IS BRAND NEW DUE TO THE RUST ON THE L+R CONER OF THE REAR WINDOW AND THIS IS NORMAL TO A 190E, ALL OF THEM ARE LIKE THIS, BUT I DON’T LIKE TO SAND OFF THE RUST AS I KNOW IT WILL COME BACK AFTER A YEAR OR TWO, SO I JUST REPLACE IT AND THE CAR ALSO GET A NEW UNDER COATING ON ALL FENDER TO MAKE SURE IT WILL PROTECT AGAIN THE RAINING. AND THERE ARE A LIST OF NEW PART WHEN THE TIME I DID THE BODY WORK.

1/ BRAND NEW EURO HEADLIGHT WITH 8000K HID KIT, SIDE MARKER, SMOKE TAILLIGHT.
2/ BRAND NEW FRONT GRILL + BLUE LOGO + STAR ON THE GRILL
3/ FRONT & REAR BUMPER RUBBER
4/ ALL DOOR RUBBER SEAL+ KNOB ON THE DOOR ARM.
5/ REAR TRUNK SEAL
6/ FRONT WINDOW + REAR WINDOW SEAL.
7/ ALL DOOR HANDLE SEAL.
8/ A PAIR OF OEM SPORTLINE BADGE ( VERY HARD TO FIND COST US$ 250.00)
9/ ALL THE TRIM LIKE THE DOOR HANDLE, WINDOW TRIM , WIPER ARM IS PAINTED TO MAT BLACK.

ABOUT THE CHASSIS: (COST ABOUT USD$ 5700.00)
1/ ALL CONTROL ARM, TIE-ROD, SWAR BAR BRUSH ARE NEW.
2/ ALL SHOCK ARE NEW, AND THE REAR IS THE OEM SELF LEVELING SYSTEM SHOCK COST ME USD$ 1500.00 A PAIR.
3/ ABOUT THE SPRING IS OEM EURO SPEC VERSION, IT LOWER ABOUT 1.5″ BUT THE CAR DRIVER LIKE A STOCK FEEL.
4/ 17″ OEM AMG MONO BLOCK F: 7.5″ R: 8.5″.
5/ THE CENTREL & REAR MUFFLER IS BRAND NEW OEM .
6/ NEW 4 ROTOR, PADS, AND BRAKE LINE.
( THE CAR DRIVE LIKE IT IS A BRAND NEW CAR, NO FUNNY NOISE AT ALL )

INTERIOR: (COST ME ABOUT USD$8000.00)
1/ ALL 4 DOOR PANEL IS BRAND NEW OEM, NO RE-COVER AT ALL.
2/ ALL 4 HEADREST AND SEAT ARE BRAND NEW OEM LEATHER ONLY.
3/ ALPINE CD PLAYER WITH ALL NEW SPEAKER + 400 WATT AMP
4/ OEM BRAND NEW CENTRE CONSOLE.
5/ OEM AMG STEERING WHEEL.(HARD TO FIND COST USD$550.00)
6/ BRAND NEW STOP WATCH ( LOCAL ON THE CENTRE CONSOLE)
7/ BRAND NEW OEM SHIFT KNOB( VERY HARD TO FIND)
8/ CLIFFORD ALARM WITH PAGER.

Earlier in his ad he explains why he chose the 2.3-16 to rebuild as opposed to an E30 M3, and while his reasoning is thin (fewer made), it brings up some pretty interesting value judgments that enthusiasts are going to start facing as these cars continue to get older, gain popularity, and become more rare. The bidding is starting at about $12k, though from his description it seems like he’s looking for upwards of 3 or 4 times that amount. While it’s only covered 2k miles since the rebuild and is a beautiful car (especially on those monoblocks!), if he really expects to recoup his approximation of $42.5k, I think he might be a little optimistic. The seller should either wait a decade or be ready to accept about half of what he put into this attractive rebuild.

-NR