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High mile 1986 Mercedes 190E 2.3 16v

Up for sale, with no reserve and low open price, this 170,145 mile Cosworth engined Benz looks like a nice deal.

The car comes with all the great features of the original high strung sport compact, dog leg shifter, LSD, and mild aero package. This car also has some upgrades like genuine MB Evo II rims, smoked taillights, Euro headlights, brakes from a 500E and an aftermarket exhaust.

With the high mileage the car has seen its share of duty and it wears a number of battle scars. The seller is honest enough to disclose a number of minor issues with the vehicle. It has some paint issues, several blemishes from break in attempts, a few interior components that aren’t functioning.

Despite the extensive list of cosmetic and interior problems, nothing is mentioned about the engine, clutch, transmission. Perhaps that means they are all fine or maybe this is a purposeful oversight. There also is no mention of service records.

This car is not a good candidate to try to make perfect. It can be an entry point for someone who is dead set on enjoying the Cossie power of these special cars. A new owner could fix a few things that bugged them most and then just enjoy the car.

Bidding is up to almost $4,000. While there is a premium on this with the 5 speed, if the engine needs a rebuild in a few thousand miles it could cost about several thousand. I wouldn’t expect this to bring much over $4,000. If it has good service records that’s a decent amount of engineering for the dollar.

High mile 1986 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16v on eBay

~Evan

5 Comments

  1. Harrison
    Harrison October 3, 2011

    The Dogleg shifter means unless you have a good memory you’ll back into cars at lights like James May did on Top Gear.

  2. The Tourer
    The Tourer October 4, 2011

    SO tempted to snatch this up and gut the interior. Who needs four poor-condition seats when you could have one Recaro with a harness?

  3. Evan
    Evan October 4, 2011

    @Tourer Interesting that you say that. Despite the mileage my very first thought on this was strip the interior and make it suitable for autocross, though a standard 190E chassis might be better suited for the strip down. If you aren’t going to just use this a daily driver, some weight reduction and $$ spent on lightweight Recaros wouldn’t be a bad way to spend money rather than try and fix things with pricey OEM parts.

  4. The Tourer
    The Tourer October 4, 2011

    @Evan, exactly. From purchase on, all I’d do would for replacement parts would be aftermarket. For instance, as much as I love those wheels, I’d go lighter. I’d end up spending as much on this car as I would a clean, low-mileage version, but I’d end up with a track beast. Ah, someday I’ll do this. I really want a Cossie though.

  5. Evan
    Evan October 10, 2011

    Pretty much right on in the analysis on this one, sold at $3,950.

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