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Month: July 2018

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2012 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS

Rare color or undesirable color? It is a question that presents itself pretty much any time I come across a Porsche in one of the many less common colors Porsche has produced. Of course, in some cases a color may be undesirable during its period of production and then become more desirable years later as preferences shift. Yellows and greens kind of come in and out of favor in this way, likewise the many variants of brown from the late-70s and early-80s suffer under a reversal in popularity.

In the case of the car here, an Ipanema Blue Metallic 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS, located in Washington, we may have one of those situations. Available in the final years of 997 production, we see very few 911s painted in this color. Anecdotally it isn’t difficult to find stories of buyers getting nice discounts to take them off of a dealer’s hands after sitting on the lot for too long. Though a standard color offering its rarity does seem related to its desirability, or lack thereof. We haven’t moved far from its original production date so I’m not sure enough time will have passed for preferences to have changed. However, Ipanema Blue isn’t too far removed from a variety of lighter blues Porsche produced in the ’80s and those cars don’t seem to elicit much derision. So is it a color that might become more desirable or one that, like quite a few colors over the years, will fade away to be forgotten?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS on eBay

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Quit Clowning Around: No Reserve 1999 BMW M Coupe 6-speed

The M Coupe has moved from cult legend into one of the most desirable M products produced. Late production S54 equipped models can top up to $60,000 asking prices. Add in a rare color and great combination, and they’re all the more desirable. While not quite a 1:1, the M Coupe is like the Porsche 964, and the S54 models are the RS America of the lineup.

For most of us, that means if you want a ‘Clownshoe’ you’ll need to look towards early production when they were equipped with the venerable S52. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as lower running costs and higher production numbers mean much lower asking prices. Still, it’s not unusual to see atmospheric asks, such as this 2000 M Coupe in Estoril with Estoril leather. With only 56,000 miles on the clock, the seller wants $39,900. While it’s not likely that number will be even close to realized, good luck convincing them of that.

Yet occasionally a nice one pops up in a no reserve auction format to give us plebeians a chance to own a legend. So here we go, with this ’99. It’s the same Estoril/Estoril combination as above, which is fairly desirable – one of just 313 imported in this pallet. Condition looks very good and there are some high quality modifications, but is there a catch?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1999 BMW M Coupe on eBay

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1987 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe

Back to basics for me here. This isn’t a special model, nor is it a special color or equipped with unique options. It’s not even terribly modern. In that regard it’s a relatively basic ’80s 911, but that does not mean it isn’t an exceptional example of what it is. This is a Guards Red 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, located in Pennsylvania, with what I believe is a Linen leather interior. The condition looks excellent, the mileage, which comes in at just 45,085, is quite low and it appears to be almost entirely original. The only obvious non-original equipment is the aftermarket radio, but the original unit is said to come with the car. We aren’t shown the option sticker nor the CoA so we can’t say for certain that the equipment we see is its original specification, but it is purported to be and we can hope that a little more thorough perusal will lead us to one of those items. Overall, this appears to be a very nice example of one of my favorite air-cooled 911s.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe on eBay

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2002 Mercedes-Benz E430 with 46,000 miles

A little over a month ago I checked out a 2002 Mercedes-Benz E320 with an amazing 18,200 miles on it. I personally wasn’t so amazed by it because it was an average as a car gets. Yes, it was clean, but it didn’t have many options at all and actually had a few issues. Today, I have another W210 E-Class with low miles, but this one is the V8 E430. This E-Class with a little under 48,000 miles checks in from Costa Mesa, California but again, I’m not blown away with it for some reason. Maybe it’s just the terrible color again?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 Mercedes-Benz E430 on eBay

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Roll the Dice: 1985 Porsche 928S

We’ve been running with the “Roll the Dice” posts for a little while now, but this will be the first time I have taken a foray into that segment. While all of the marques featured in such posts pose inherent financial risk, Porsche may represent the riskiest of all since the price of entry is in many cases already rather high. This is especially the case with my most favored car, the 911. But I really want to like this car and given its current state, a roll of the dice may be just want you’re looking at.

This is a 1985 Porsche 928S in the very rare combination of Prussian Blue Metallic over a Can-can Red interior. It’s a very striking combination and one that I absolutely love. Prussian Blue makes for a very pretty exterior color, but without being flashy. Can-can Red is…well it’s all flash. The juxtaposition of the two colors works great and you’re certain to attract plenty of attention. It’s also not something we see on the 928 too often. And that’s why I like this 928 quite a bit. It helps that both the exterior and interior look in nice shape. It’s mechanical condition…that’s where the roll of the dice comes in because the seller seems to have a decent sense of what the problems are, but not necessarily the cause of those problems.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985 Porsche 928S on eBay

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