1988 Mercedes-Benz 190 2.3 16 Valve Cosworth

First registered on 7 April 1988 and sold by the Sunningdale Carriage Company of Ascot, this Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16V is fitted with the less-favoured but more reliable automatic transmission.

The first owner kept the car serviced by main-dealer Sunningdale; fully in accordance with Mercedes-Benz recommended intervals until 1997. Then the second owner from the Weybridge area continued its diligent maintenance with a local MB specialist until August 2000 by which time the car had been driven 84,000 miles.

Since then, the car has been owned in Oxfordshire, being bought by our vendor - a retired mechanic and occasional motor dealer - around 14 years ago. In 2008, he sold it to the son of a friend who had fallen in love with the car - but it turned out to be an impractical option for his family’s needs - so our vendor bought it back just two months later.

The car then went into dry storage for a couple of years (at 135k miles) and was returned to a roadworthy condition in 2012. Since then, it has typically just come out for its annual MOT, been used for a few weeks and then gone back into storage. - it has therefore only covered a few thousand more miles to now show 141,240 miles.

With advancing years, the vendor thinks he should probably have sold the car long ago but has enjoyed owning and driving it - even just occasionally.

The 190E 2.3-16 was only available in two colours - Blue-Black Metallic and Smoke Silver Metallic. No prizes for guessing that this one is the latter, although we think the colour leans slightly more toward gold than silver.

One of the options specified when new was a paint coat preservation, which has clearly gone some way toward ensuring that this 34 year old paint appears in a strong condition for its age. There are inevitably a few scratches, chips and blemishes here and there but very few given the mileage. There’s also a small dent under the offside tail-lamp cluster.

Grille aside, there is little in the way of brightwork - most of the exterior trim items being body-coloured or satin black - and these appear in good order too. Another nice feature of this particular car are the original dealer number plates - although there is an impact crack in the front plate.

The car sits on its original lightweight 15-inch forged alloy wheels which are rather scruffy with lacquer peeling, particularly on the nearside but otherwise appear undamaged. All are fitted with Deestone Vincente tyres which appear to be just a few years old so won’t have covered many miles.

The interior is a similar story to the outside - being in a remarkably good condition given the use it has had. The Cosworth cars had more sculpted sports seats than the standard 190E with a combination of black leather and a black and grey checked fabric on the facings which matches the door cards. This special treatment of individually contoured seats also extended to the rear seats - unique to the 16V. There is slight creasing and shine, particularly on the leather of the front seat outer bolsters, and some shoe-scuffing on the driver’s door card, but no apparent damage.

Up front, the black vinyl dash top, instrument panel and steering wheel look in good order, with no apparent sun damage - although the liquid crystal display on the temperature gauge is starting to fail. The stereo fitted is not the original but a later Ripspeed CD/Radio/MP3 player.

Another extra for the Cosworth were the gauges in the centre console below the stereo - an ammeter, digital stop watch and oil temperature gauge. Around the gear shift is a Zebrano wooden insert, which looks in good condition with no cracks.

The carpets look clean and intact throughout and have fitted Mercedes-Benz floor mats for additional protection. Up above the headlining appears clean and taut. The factory electric tilt and slide sunroof works as it should and we understand that all other electrical equipment - aside from the rear offside electric window and the interior heater fan - is fully functional.

Under the bonnet, the engine and ancillaries look honest and in good order with evidence of recent renewal to a few hoses on the inlet side, suggesting that the car has been looked after of late. There’s a little bit of surface rust on some of the pipework and fittings and the odd spot around the engine bay but nothing of any concern and the bonnet itself appears to be in good, rust free, condition.

The undersides of the car have a good coating of underseal across most of the subframes and floor pans and so there doesn’t appear to be any issue with rust - certainly nothing that the most recent MOT inspector was concerned about. There is a light bloom of surface rust on some of the suspension components - as is typical - and there appears to be a small blow hole in the exhaust at the entrance to the back box, which would best be repaired or replaced.

In the boot the carpet and linings are tidy and intact and underneath the floorboard the floor and wheel well looks in good order. There is a full-size spare alloy with a barely used but older Pirelli P6000 fitted, a jack and tool roll and an old damper that was replaced with a new Sachs unit earlier this year.

The Cossie has a current MOT certificate valid until December 2022, which it passed with no advisories.

The history file contains a fair amount of paperwork including what appears to be almost all of the car’s MOT reports plus garage invoices for maintenance and parts up to around 2007 (135k miles) and then in more recent ownership from 2016.

The service booklet shows a full stamped history up to 84,000 miles as follows:

Apr 1988 - PDI - Sunningdale Carriage Co Ltd, Ascot

May 1988 - 845 - a/a

Feb 1989 - 5,039 - a/a

Sep 1989 - 13,043 - a/a

Mar 1990 - 20,266 - a/a

Sep 1990 - 23,469 - a/a

Jan 1992 - 30,427 - a/a

Dec 1992 - 36,256 - a/a (date entered incorrectly as 1990)

Feb 1994 - 42,413 - a/a

Feb 1995 - 48,610 - a/a

Jan 1996 - 54,762 - a/a

Dec 1996 - 60,578 - a/a

Nov 1997 - 66,717 - Q Motors Mercedes Specialist, Weybridge

Aug 1998 - 72,748 - a/a

May 1999 - 77,575 - a/a

Aug 2000 - 84,208 - a/a

The Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16V - aka Cosworth - is a desirable modern classic and asking prices for sorted examples, even high milers, are very strong compared to the standard 8V cars. Mercedes of all vintages are a popular choice on The Market, but those from the late 20th Century - especially those with Cosworth engines and stylish body kits - offer a great mix of classic feel and modern comfort with amazingly solid engineering.

We estimate that this example, which has a decent history and runs and drives well with the less desirable but perhaps less troublesome automatic gearbox - will sell for somewhere between £10,000 and £13,000.

As well as ongoing maintenance, there is still scope for a new owner to make a few improvements but otherwise it appears to be a ready-to-go car.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.