Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
I’ve been scanning the ads lately for good examples of the car many of us began our love affair with German vehicles, the Volkswagen Beetle. We saw a nice 1962 Beetle Cabriolet last week that was lightly modified. This week we have come across a 1963 Beetle in Virginia that is all original. Purchased new in Florida, this car had but one owner until recently and comes with lots of documentation to add to its provenance.
Sellers of automobiles – specifically, most second hand dealers – always interest me. It seems that seldom they do the research to properly sell a vehicle. Perhaps when it comes to a brand new Kia, research just isn’t really necessary – but a 30 year old classic German car? Is some description better than no description? Sure, I guess at least there was an attempt made. But, if very little to none of the information actually applies to the model, I guess I’d err on the side of maybe it would just be better off with no description and just some pretty photos. At least in that case, I’d be annoyed that no effort was made to explain what I was looking at, but an effort made that misrepresents the product or just shows a lack of attention to detail? Now, that I find even more annoying. It’s much like plagiarism; I’d rather receive a poor quality essay on the right topic than an award winning lifted essay on the wrong topic. So, let’s look at this strangely portrayed E24:
Every time I see a Porsche 968, I sit there and contemplate that this is a sports coupe that would not look out of place in the current lineup. Like the 928, the 968 was ahead of its time in the styling department. A rather minimalist design, there is little clutter that we tend to see on vehicles today, such as excess styling creases, front fascia openings or spoilers. I’ve longed to own one of these coupes for quite some time, and this low mileage 1994 example is pushing all the right buttons. Guards Red over black is a classic look, and the all-important 6-speed manual and Cup 2 alloys finish off the package.
Turn the clock back one year and nearly every classic 911 we featured seemed caught up in a whirlwind of ever-escalating value. Cars that had long been the standard for value-conscious buyers were now being snapped up almost immediately once they were put up for sale. It was clearly a seller’s market for cars that probably had been undervalued for a long time and we were seeing the market correct itself. Much of this craze affected the 3.2 Carrera, but values of its predecessor, the 911SC, also increased quite a bit, especially for excellent low-mileage examples. Sitting here now, the market has stabilized for all but the absolute best cars, which gives those searching for a good driver-quality example reasonable benchmarks for evaluating their options. Prices are higher than they once were, but at least in relative terms the 911SC still represents a nice value for those looking to own a classic 911. The example we see here is a 1982 Porsche 911SC Coupe, located in Virginia, with 106,000 miles on it.
Okay, so maybe the Renault 5 isn’t your thing. I get it, it’s not mine either. I like the ideal and audacity of the Turbo models with their mid-engined lunacy, but pricing on good examples is pretty outrageous and if the videos of them driving are to be believed, they’re not the best hatch dynamically. No, I’ve pretty much always been a Golf fan, having owned a few of them now. But I must admit I had a soft spot when the E35/5 hatch popped up for sale. To me, it combined some luxury looks with practical performance. And when I say performance, honestly there wasn’t much available. The M44 engine that was fit to the 318ti was a decent performer, but it had only 138 horsepower, and at the price point you were much better off getting a GTi VR6, which oddly was more luxury oriented than most of the 318tis and offered more performance. However, the base of the 318ti was a good idea; a smart looking, light and nimble hatchback with a manual transmission and rear drive. And, of course, being an E36 platform, it was ripe for engine transplants. Today’s example is one of the more rare M-Sport equipped models, but this one has yanked the M44 in favor of an odd choice – the M52B25:
