1986 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 with 56k miles

Every now and then a fairly unmolested 190E 2.3-16 crops up, and here we have one for sale in Arkansas on eBay this week. While the car is low mileage, it has been in storage for the past 13 years, it appears to be in well preserved condition.

The seller states:

Up for auction is a 1986 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth. This car was a one owner car until about 2 months ago. The Car was bought new off the showroom floor by a doctor who had owned the car until we got it from his wife. The wife had it titled to her name after a divorce. When she titled the car she didn’t know what the mileage was on because it was in storage so it appears the DMV guessed the mileage at 111,111. If you look at the car you can tell that what the odometer is showing is the correct mileage. The Car has been in storage for the most of the last 13 years.

The car was inherited and we have to many cars already so she is being let go.

The 2.3-16 was sold in the US market for model years 1985-86 and a total of only 2,229 were produced for this market. The car presented here is the 201st “16 valve” brought into the US. The car currently shows 56,800 miles.

Paint: DB 702- Smoke Silver Metallic
Interior: Code 271- Black Leather

Right front seat, electrically adjustable
Outside temperature indicator
left front seat electrically adjustable with memory feature
Heated Front Seats
Fog Lights
3rd Brake Light
electric sliding roof
tempo-mat cruise control and airbag
central locking system and instruments with english lettering
outside rear view mirror, left and right (electrically adjusted on the right)
automatic antenna
sun visor with vanity mirror, illuminated, left and right
anti-theft warning system
Behr air conditioning system and electric window lifters (front and rear doors)
first aid kit and warning triangle
rear door contacts and lamp above rear

As you can see this car was fully loaded directly from the factory. Only option other options that were available for the 2.3-16 was rear head restraints and an automatic transmission. According to someone who knows…this car was approx. $39,000 new in 1986 making it a very expensive model.

Current condition:

This car has been very well maintained over the last 24 years. And when I say very well maintained, I mean the car looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor. I was told that the car was only serviced at the Mercedes dealership and according to the service stickers it was last at the dealership at 54,000 miles. Here is a list of the work that has been done since we got the car.

Replaced:
All four tires replaced 11/16/10
Distributor cap and rotor
Clutch slave cylinder

Needs fixed still:
Electric antenna motor
AC Blower (it was working when we got it, but the blower just stopped, the AC compressor is still working)
Rear window switch (the window motor works, the switch just needs replaced.

Overall the condition of the car is excellent. There is a scratch on the drivers door, a scuff on the bottom of the front bumper and a scuff inside the passenger front wheel well. The leather is in excellent condition with no rips or tears. Carpets are clean, dash isn’t cracked, door panels are excellent. Under the hood is clean with no oil leaks and unmodified. The underside of the car is very nice with no rust issues of any kind and no signs of corrosion or salt. The car runs and drives great! Everything works except what I mentioned above. The ride is super smooth with no pulling in any direction. It always starts and shifts out real smooth. This car was someones baby for 24 years.

Please keep in mind you are buying a nearly 25 year old. There is no warranty of any kind and you are buying the car as is, where is. I have the car for sale locally and reserve the right to end the auction early if need be.

There’s no telling what the reserve price may be, however, for it’s mileage and condition, my best guess for value would be in the $7,000 to $9,000 range, possibly bringing over $10,000 given the right level of interest from bidders. It will be interesting to see if this meets its reserve and where it goes from there, because cars like this tend to give a good picture of the current market.

-Paul