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The BMW M3 was a massively successful car in terms of sales for the most recent chassis iterations. For the U.S. specification E46 Coupe, that meant some 26,202 were sold. Yet, when I was searching for a nice one to buy, finding a lower mileage, great condition and fully original car was extraordinarily hard. It wasn’t that they weren’t out there – pop on to EAG’s site, for example, and all you need to do is pony up. Pony way up, that is, as most of their E46 inventory is priced above $30,000. However, the delta between really exceptional examples and really poor examples of the model is substantial. Even when not in stock form, such as the 2001 I looked at a few weeks ago, the asking price can be quite strong. However, drop the miles way down and present the car in a rare color, such as this Topaz Blue Metallic example, and sprinkle with some top-dollar modifications, and you’ve got an asking price that’ll get you the much more powerful E92 replacement:
The E30 market is undoubtedly a little overheated. But it’s not hard to see why these cars are so beloved, especially in the configuration seen here. With a tight, sorted chassis, willing six-cylinder motor that sends power to the back wheels, and a snick-snick manual gearbox, it has all the vital ingredients of an 80s German sporting coupe. Simple, fun, unadulterated. The Ultimate Driving Machine. And with high miles, this one may even be relatively affordable.
Here we have another Porsche 930 Coupe, in certain ways similar to the Guards Red 930 we featured earlier in the week in that it’s from around the time when Porsche returned the model to the US market and appears to me to be a pretty reasonable value. However, this one brings with it one serious distinction: it’s paint-to-sample Garnet Red Metallic over a really nicely contrasting Cashmere Beige and Burgundy interior. The mileage is quite reasonable at 40,700 as well! This one could be a good example of a 930 that strikes the right balance between collector and driver. Meaning: it’s low enough miles and interesting enough that collectors should take notice, but has enough miles that it can be used (at least sparingly) without harming its value. Not bad at all.
There used to be an R107 parked near where I live. It was green, in mint condition and it sparkled in the sun like it was new. I once saw the driver, a smartly dressed young woman in her mid twenties. An unusual car for a young person to own, I thought, especially in buttoned-up DC. Did she have impeccable taste in cars? A love for classic Benzes? Rich parents who’d gifted her their old roadster? All of the above? It’s no longer there, so I cannot ask her. But I do notice these cars more and more these days, as I realize the R107 might well be the definitive classic Mercedes. Timelessly styled, precision engineered and still exuding that ineffable sense of old money, they will soon be collectible, if they are not already. A friend from graduate school recently bought one. When I see the pictures of him on Facebook sitting in it, I can’t help but admire it. And feel a hint of jealousy.
Black, white, silver or gray. Google search ‘CL63 AMG’ then click the images tab and that’s all you’ll see on these cars. (Ignore that red one. What was that guy even thinking?) I mean I get it, those are the colors that sell. I’m guilty of it. My AMG is silver because 97% of my cars produced were either black, white or silver. German cars are serious, and the buyers of their cars are too. The German models that aren’t so serious (Porsche 911) has every color in the rainbow and people go wild for that (but still usually still buy black, silver, white or gray).
But just because these are serious cars doesn’t mean we can’t venture off into other colors that aren’t on the scale between between black and white. Navy blue is a wonderful color that isn’t in your face. How about a nice darker green? Specifically, how about Jade Green Metallic? We are in luck because that’s exactly what the 2008 CL63 AMG for sale on Long Island, New York is.
