The other day, I patted myself on the back by noting that a fairly tatty Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 like my recent junkyard rescue of the same car was listed for over $8K on eBay. Well, today we look at the opposite end of the spectrum, where a 1986 model wearing the rarer of the two colors offered, Pearl Black, is listed for a cool $25,000 thanks to a deep history file and low mileage of just over 100K. While this is still top-tier pricing that’s sometimes hard to get, there’s little doubt the best models are now trading reliably for over $20K. Find it here on eBay and located in California.

This is my favorite view of the Cosworth, I’ve decided: you can get the fullness of its profile, thanks to the fender flares and angular spoiler, while still drinking in the bodykit front and rear thanks to the generous overhangs. Mercedes offered U.S.-spec cars in two colors, the Pearl Black seen here and Smoke Silver like mine. While Smoke Silver was a popular Mercedes car across the range, far fewer 16V’s came to the U.S. wearing the darker shade. This alone factors into the perceived value of a car of which less than 2,000 were imported.

The interior of this one is better than many I’ve seen, some even with lower mileage. The leather looks outstanding and the backseat appears unused. These Recaro buckets are somewhat hard-wearing, but can still burst at the seems if left exposed to the elements without any leather care. The smaller-diameter Cosworth steering wheel is boring but correct, and the impossible to find gear shift knob and boot appears to be in excellent condition.

One aspect of this listing that gives me heartburn is the long list of recent service items, and that’s on a car that has clearly been loved! This includes the rear suspension accumulators, tie rods/center link, sway bar links, AC compressor, and more. Now, fortunately, suspension items are still pretty cheap on these cars, and that’s the next big parts order I have to make. The upside is, as long as these rare 2.3-16’s still sell for this kind of money, I feel secure in my decision to buy this heap out of a junkyard.