Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.
This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.
I think sometimes we need to be reminded that old cars are in fact, old. As much as we romanticize them, at the end of the day they are just a bunch of parts pieced together inside a metal shell. We like to think that the older construction is somehow different, and that is the case for some cars, but a lot of times we experience Paris syndrome when it actually comes to driving them. These old cars often feel slow, sloppy, and can be a pain to live with just for basic creature comforts. Hello, Porsche 912.
The 912 has all the exterior looks of the big brother 911 with its long-hood design before the days of impact bumpers and can surely lure us in with its timelessness. However, you are soon reminded that it is powered by a flat-four that pumped out a little over 100 horsepower when it was new. Inside? Well, it has a radio. Maybe the heat works, if you’re lucky.
After Friday’s wallet-busting Rabbit Pickup, we have a sweet little diesel model that doesn’t have quite the top-to-bottom shine as the low beige caddy but is looking to pack quite the value. Pretty much everything under the hood has been redone with top-notch parts from OEM supplier The Parts Place, so you can bet this little pickup is going to run for many decades to come. The value comes in because there’s still work to be done on the interior and running gear, but those are things you can do over time, improve, and customize in much simpler ways than the motor. The reserve is still on the auction and bidding is hot, but it’s looking like this is going to be a right-priced economy truck with tons of potential.
The E92 is a fairly innocuous-looking car in most cases, with even the almighty V8-powered M3 failing to turn many heads at the stoplight. This 335i has the looks and modifications to attract a bit more attention, most glaringly of which is the 3M Intense Blue wrap, a color not far off the E46 M3’s desirable Laguna Seca Blue. Under the hood a new intercooler and access port from Cobb Tuning, along with some serious breathing improvements including Dinan mufflers behind catless downpipes. A few carbon bits here, some ///M stripes there, and M5 wheels complete the package for a 335i that has both show and go.
I’d love to be the buyer for this New Jersey outfit which is clearly wandering around Europe, finding great 25+ year-old Volkswagens that were previously forbidden fruit, and bringing them to the US to turn a profit. Thus far, it’s seemed like low-mileage all-originals were the examples of choice, but this DoKa takes it to the next level. The cowcatcher front spoiler could challenge Alpina or Zender, and full-body ground effects and black-center aftermarket wheels help it strike a completely different pose. Sure, it’s a diesel, just like many of the showcar VWs in this country are “2.slows,” but that doesn’t make it undesirable. The interior is painted in the same bright blue hue, and updated front seats and steering wheel follow the few-parts-big-effects style of the exterior.
Instead of Friday Fail, today we’ve got Sunday Smokers. I’m not sure what kind of dust is floating around the Dusty Old Cars warehouse, but I think it might be crack. I love Rabbit Pickups – not only was my first car one, but they’re precisely the kind of European oddity that we rarely get in the US but, for some magical reason, were blessed with for a few years in the early 80s. Practical and putting a heavy dose of fun in funky, they even came with a diesel! Today’s example is one of those oil-burners, wears a fresh coat of baby blue paint, and – despite 187k miles – the engine bay looks a great. However, a little closer look reveals some big question marks (like any description at all?) and possible rust spots that were just painted over. Even if it is just cosmetic and the truck were perfect, their asking price of $14,950 (down from $17,899, lucky you!) is top dollar for perfectly restored, low-mile, and modified Caddys. I realize New Hampshire is all about Live Free or Die, but with the amount of drugs these guys are doing, it doesn’t sound like they’ll be living free much longer.
