I’ve featured some nice examples of the 325is recently, ranging from an extremely low-mile ’87 to a subtly modified M-Tech ’87, to a slammed ’89 ready for a feature in European Car. All of those cars were severely lacking in one important category: Brown. The 71k-mile ’87 was beige, which is close but no cigar. This ’90 325is was originally silver, but a previous owner made the outstanding choice to make it a nice, chocolatey brown. It’s the highest mileage we’ve seen in a while, with something like 206k miles on the chassis but being blessed with a rebuild and plenty of other new parts. It comes with absolutely classic Ronal Turbos and other nice bits like a Z3 steering rack (2.7 turns lock to lock instead of 3.5 should surprise your E30-driving buds) and a reupholstered interior. As you might expect of a double-century car, it could use a little love, but small things like fixing a cracked bumper, touching up some rock chips, and putting center caps in the Turbos would make a world of difference. Bidding is low for this high-mileage E30, but potential is high.
Month: March 2016
Certain cars have a few known issues or subjective desires when considering their value. Talk about a 500E and the wiring harness comes up. Mention a 996 non-turbo and instantly people start shouting “IMS” even if they don’t know what it means or what it does. And every time I mention anything about an E46 M3 the first question is instantly SMG related. Those are certainly all important and relevant factors in determining the value of their respective models. But when it comes to the S6 Avant, for me the first question when determining value is “Does it run?”. And the answer, which is almost invariably yes, almost certainly affirms the value. As with their 200 20V quattro grandfather I looked at last night, the S6 Avant has a cult following and of the few hundred that were imported most are well used by this point. But they were well built cars that shrug off improbably high mileage such that the expectation when looking at one is that the odometer probably reads north of 200,000. Properly maintained and modified, they are a package without peer:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995.5 Audi S6 Avant on eBay
9 Comments
Seeing a clean C3 or D11 Audi these days is always cause for celebration, and draws and interesting comparison to the contemporary M5 I featured yesterday. While if you want to get into one of the BMWs you need to look at a lesser example or one with quite high miles (and the potential for accompanying big-ticket repairs) to get it affordable, when it comes to the Audis the same budget buys you one of the best examples on the market. The early 1990s was, for many, the height of Audi’s build quality and design language, though admittedly part of that mystique is surrounded by their near disappearance from the market. Those that were sold are notoriously long lived, and while 250,000 miles on a S38 is enough to make any wallet shudder at the thought of future repair bills, for the 3B and later AAN motor – indeed, for any of Audi’s offbeat inline-5s – that amount of mileage is almost expected. The result, when you look at a nicely preserved example like today’s 1991 200, is almost to feel like the 162,000 miles covered are low. With some tasteful upgrades and in far above average condition, this 200 – one of only around 1,000 sold here – is a great reminder of why these older Audis have gained such a cult following:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 Audi 200 quattro on eBay
2 Comments
Since its debut the 918 Spyder has made frequent appearances in the classifieds, a not uncommon occurrence with these limited edition cars. I’ve bookmarked a few that caught my attention, but never really got around to posting them. This one I could not let pass by. Riviera Blue became one of the iconic Porsche colors with the introduction of the 993 and though the color was only officially made available for a short time we still see it pop up as a paint-to-sample option now and again. Porsche has long been known for its pastel colors and Riviera Blue fits well within that sphere. On the 918 it is stunning. There is something about the length of the car that seems to exaggerate the brightness of this color. While it could be a function of lighting and photography these pictures really jump off the page in a way that other Riveria Blue Porsches have failed to do. The owner of the Aranacio Borealis Carrera GT we featured on Sunday suggested that a potential buyer might consider pairing that audacious machine with a 918 Spyder as the showcases of a Porsche collection. Well, here you go. I can think of no better partner to that Carrera GT than this Riviera Blue 918.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder on eBay
2 Comments
Calling Baur a tuner isn’t really very fair, but since we don’t have a separate category for semi-aftermarket carriage works, it will fit in. Baur worked in conjunction with a few manufacturers – most notably BMW, though a few Audi fans will remember that they were responsible for construction of the Sport Quattros too and they assisted in the assembly of the Porsche 959 as well. Much like Porsche originally started as, they were linked to the factory efforts due to their high level of unique production capability. That manifested itself in limited run models that required special construction – such as the Sport Quattro and 959 – but what most enthusiasts will remember are the multiple 3-series Cabriolet models produced through Baur. These were offered through dealers as an expensive option and to this day remain a very unique expression of Munich motoring: