Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
There’s something about Alpine White on a BMW that looks just right. This M3 Coupe for sale in California sent to us from a reader of ours, Jeff, is super clean and has covered just over 63,000 miles. Short of the ultra-rare lightweight, this one is close to E36 M3 perfection.
I’ve recently been on a bit of a kick enjoying the looks of the BBS Mahle wheels. I’m not entirely sure why they appeal more to me today than they did last week, or last year, or even when my father had a set on his 1982 BMW 633CSi two decades ago. Then, I felt they looked outdated and undersized and really preferred the looks of the RS wheels he later placed on the CSi; but there’s a certain purity about the original design that I really like. Generally associated with the E9 and E24 models, the BBS Mahle wheels also made an appearance on the E21 320is. Today’s example is stunning in Henna Red with claimed original condition and lower mileage; but does that support the high asking price?
I’ve been trying to find VW vans that provide more affordable alternatives to the Westfalia, which has become the E30 M3 of camper vans. Well, today’s Ivory example shows that these German mini-RVs are as treasured as the color’s namesake with a very serious asking price complementing low-mileage and some choice upgrades. While the South African lights are great and the exterior condition shows the garaged life, the interior is not the nicest we’ve seen. You could buy a brand-new, fully-loaded GTI for $10k less, making some shake their heads and walk away. Some will see this as a low-mileage gem, however, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the seller get something not too far off the asking price.
As I head up to Sonoma for a weekend of NASCAR, I get to indulge in another incongruous-but-fun journey, loading M5 up with camping gear and parking it next to trucks, campers, and RVs. It even gets a few nods and smiles among this very different type of car enthusiast, but staying in a tent surrounded by generators leaves a little to be desired. This is a long way of saying yet again that I very much want a campervan to increase the efficiency and comfort of my roadtrips. Today we have an earlier but very nice Vanagon, in the exact color as my brother’s non-Westy van. It’s only adventured 84k miles in its 3+ decades and has had some recent maintenance that indicates it could go as many years and a lot more miles. It has a few needs but the cleanliness in undeniable and with no reserve, it could be a good deal relative to most clean Westies.
I’ve been on a bit of a van kick recently (forever?), and today we have a gorgeous VW that is, in fact, NOT a Westy, Transporter, or Vanagon at all. It’s one of VW’s commercial vehicles from Europe that has spent time as a fire van, but has covered just 13k miles in its 24-year life. Apparently the seller couldn’t register it in California due to the intense EPA rules, which is hugely disappointing as it means I can’t buy it. If you live in any other state, though, this van is impeccably clean, with the normally-dull firetruck’s paint still shining. The interior is an enticing proposition as well; while I’m usually musing about how I would discard the original equipment and turn a van into a camper, this one is all set to become whatever you want as it’s just extremely clean metal with some useful mounting points in the side. And, as always, I fricking love jump seats. This is a very cool and very unique VW van that has a Buy-It-Now lower than just about every nice US-market VW Van sale.
