I like older cars that are loved, maintained, and well-used in the manner they were built for. This means that high mileage is, to me, a badge of honor, and replaced and upgrades parts are more a sign of perseverance and attention than decay. Like my old cars, this ’91 Westy appears to me as a shining example of just how good 200k+ miles can look. Sure, there are some stone chips and patina, and the engine and transmission have had to be replaced, but from the wheels to the tent and all through the inside it looks a great, functional adventure van. Instead of the 2.1-liter gas engine, it now has a 1.9-liter TDI conversion that was truly done right, with some nice engine mods along with a re-geared transmission and a Peloquin differential to resist those annoying one-wheel spins in traction-deficient situations. The condition and upgrades more than offset the high odometer reading, so the auction is starting at a strong $29k.
Month: May 2015
I believe in every C4 post I remark that it’s pretty rare to find good example. That’s especially true of the Avants, since even though they enjoy a coveted status amongst Audi fanatics there were only around 300 examples imported originally. Considering that the newest (and the oldest) examples are some 20 years of ski trips old, the likelyhood that you’ll come across a good example is extremely low. Of course, I say that, and last month a remarkably excellent Avant popped up. A one owner silver example with lower miles turned up, and immediately I contacted my family member who has been on the lookout for one. “This is your one chance” I effectively said, since it was the only near perfect silver model I’d seen for sale post-2000. While it didn’t work out in that case, here we are less than a month later; with an even better example of an incredibly rare car:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Audi S6 Avant on eBay
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Who doesn’t love a hot hatch? The combination of a nimble chassis, lively performance, and versatile practicality has been a winning package for decades now and though they still are less beloved here in the States than they are in Europe we now at least have a few nice options from which we can choose the one that suits our needs. VW, of course, produced one of the most iconic hot hatches of all time and while their current options have departed quite a bit from the excellent lightness of the original GTi, they remain a leader in hot-hatch execution. For 2012 Volkswagen brought us their top performance version, the Golf R. As the replacement for the R32 the Golf R utilized a 2.0 liter turbocharged inline-4 to direct 256 hp to all four wheels through a 6-speed manual. These pack a serious punch when added to the dynamic chassis and all-wheel drive helps smooth out the various problems associated with asking the front wheels to steer and deliver all that power at the same time. With both a 2-door and 4-door as options there’s also plenty of versatility available to those who need it. The example we see here appears to be a lightly used 2-door Rising Blue Metallic 2012 Volkswagen Golf R, located in Dallas.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2012 Volkswagen Golf R on eBay
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Edit 8/24/2017: A little over two years later, this RS has resurfaced on eBay with 70 more miles and about the same $400,000 asking price.
Another week, another wonderful 964 Carrera RS. This time, however, we’ve gone a little more aggressive in the color department with a Rubystone Red (Sternrubin) 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera RS with contrasting interior and just 19,919 miles on it. I recall that we featured a Rubystone 964 Turbo a while back and that 911 had a Grey interior that, frankly, was entirely unbefitting of the dynamism of the exterior. We have no such problem here as the black interior with purple and violet seat inserts provides the right balance of flash and subdued character that highlights, but doesn’t overshadow, that exterior. Inside or out, there should be no mistaking what this car is.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera RS on eBay
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The E12 5-series is kind of like the E21 3-series, being the first of its name but not quite as cool as the Bavaria/2002s before them, nor as desired as the E28/E30s that succeeded them. This is a pretty sweet example though that has been subtly updated over time so that after nearly 35 years and over 200k miles, it still looks and runs great. The original 2.8-liter inline-6 has been replaced with a stronger 3.2, the wheels are from an E28, and both the interior and exterior have been tastefully redone. It’s old and has a few issues that will keep it a project, but odometer gears and door handles are easy items to start with. There’s definite interest but bidding is very low, making this a nice opportunity to get in a rareish classic BMW for cheap.