The Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 is a vehicle near and dear to my heart for obvious reasons, but I’ve liked these cars well before I bought one out of a junkyard in Pennsylvania. While mine seemed to justify taking a chance on since it’s one of the very desirable dogleg manual transmission cars, many were sold with an automatic – like this example recently listed here on craigslist in New Hampshire for a cool $20,000.

Now, $20K is top-of-the-market pricing for one of these, but I feel most owners are asking that number and happy to settle somewhere south of that ask. This is especially true for the automatic cars, which seem to pop up for sale far more often than the manual transmission examples. This car has over 115,000 miles and is said to be a one-owner car in excellent condition.

It seems to be factory-correct, as it relates to the equipment that makes a 190E 2.3-16 a special car in the first place. It still wears the factory body kit, Recaro interior, and Smoke Silver paint. Impressively, the rear end of this car is not slumped down, which would indicate its hydraulic suspension is still working as intended. Still, more details about its mechanical history are needed to justify the price.

If you want to buy one of these, the time is now as they become harder to find and the E30 M3 becomes cost-prohibitive for most enthusiasts to justify as a second or third-car purchase. If you want to find out what it’s like to buy one out of a junkyard, check out my most recent post and Barn Finds video by clicking the YouTube link here. I’ll drive mine, someday – once it can move under its own power.

This rare Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth is said to be in excellent condition, but with only two pedals, is it worth the $20K asking price?