Press "Enter" to skip to content

Author: Carter

This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.

1987 Audi 4000CS quattro

1987 Audi 4000CS quattro

Published December 27, 2018 by Carter

Update 1/2/19: Relisted on Craigslist at $7,800.

Okay, I did my due diligence and covered a BMW 325ix. But as I said, I can’t help but love my first car, the Audi 4000CS quattro, even if the BMW soundly out-performed it in most measures. While performance typically comes to mind, the 325ix also outpaces the quattro in pricing in the used car market.

For quite some time, the 4000CS quattro was a $2,500 car in good shape. I paid exactly that amount in 1995 when I bought mine. When I sold in 2003, it moved along for $2,500. And a further eight years after that, barring that it wasn’t destroyed, I’d have estimated its value at $2,500.

But with Coupe GTs and especially the Quattro heading into collector territory, it certainly follows that the 4000S/CS quattro will be there soon too. So how does that affect this one?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 4000CS quattro on eBay

Read Our Post1987 Audi 4000CS quattro
5 Comments
2013 BMW 335is Convertible

2013 BMW 335is Convertible

Published December 22, 2018 by Carter

The natural comparison point to the 135is Convertible I just looked at is, of course, the same year 335is. Indeed, since the two share a fair amount of architecture and a similar recipe, on paper it’s a bit strange that they were offered at the same time. But though the 335is and 135is looked similar, there were actually quite a few differences between the two packages.

For starters, though they were both turbocharged and rated at 320 horsepower, the 335is package retained the N54 motor to do so. I’ve never quite understood BMW’s logic on this one, but clearly there was something about the N54’s power delivery that they felt was superior to the N55 single-turbo. The reserved the higher-output N54s in late production for the 1M (335 horsepower), the Z4 sDrive3.5is (335 horsepower) and the 335is (320 horsepower). The N54B30TO also got a 7 second overboost of 40 lb.ft of torque on top of the 332 that was rated in this car as stock. As I described in the 135i post, the easiest identifier for these cars was the wheels, and on the 335is you got massive yet delicate Style 313 M Double Spoke wheels, 8″ in front and 9″ in rear, with more aggressive offsets than the E8x got. Hunkered down on M-Sport suspension, the 335is also got a unique M aerodynamic body kit, and the transmission was borrowed from the M3, along with additional cooling for the engine. They carried a less restrictive exhaust system. Coupes went so hardcore that, like the 135i, they dropped the foglight option. The convertible variant was apparently judged to be a little less track-ready, as so like today’s Le Mans Blue Metallic example, you could retain the foglights:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2013 BMW 335is Convertible at Carmax

Read Our Post2013 BMW 335is Convertible
4 Comments
1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S

1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S

Published December 21, 2018 by Carter

Update 1/17/19: This ’88 944 Turbo S has been relisted at $27,000, down $2,000 from December.

Here’s an interesting one. At first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this was one of the very special and very limited ‘Silver Rose’ 944 Turbo S models. All painted in unique Silver Rose Metallic (F1) with multi-tone maroon studio cloth, and ushered in a long list of revisions to the standard Turbo. The new option M758 “Turbo S” included a new turbocharger with redesigned vanes and a remapped DME which increased boost to a max of 1.82 bar. The resulting M44/52 had 30 more horsepower and 15 lb.ft torque to a max of 247 and 258, respectively. But the “S” package was far more than just more boost, as the cooling system was revised, the clutch and transmission were beefed up with hardened first and second gears.

Brakes were borrowed from the 928 S4 and now measured 12″ in front with four piston aluminum calipers. Wheels were Club Sport 16″ forged, polished and anodized units measuring 7 inches in front and 9 in the rear. Suspension was also beefed up with the M030 package; this included adjustable rebound Koni shocks and adjustable-perch coilovers in front. Limited slip differentials (Code 220) were not standard, but a must-select option. So too was a beefed up radio.

But the interesting thing about this particular car is that it’s not a Silver Rose. The original purchaser of this car ticked the $5,510 option box for the Turbo S M758 options, then paid a further $685 to have it painted Stone Gray Metallic:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo on eBay

Read Our Post1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S

3 Comments
2013 BMW 135is Convertible

2013 BMW 135is Convertible

Published December 20, 2018 by Carter

Recently, I’ve looked at two BMW 135i M-Sports. It’s a bit easy to be confused by the monikers of various models over 135i production. All 135i models came with most of the sport features that you’d associate with what BMW traditionally had labeled “M-Sport” models, but in the case of the 135i the actual M-Sport name was only given to models with option code P337A, which gave you Style 261 wheels and an anthracite headliner. Making it even more confusing is that when you decode VINs on non-M-Sport models, the term M-Sport pops up in S704A – the suspension – of all 135is.

Ready to be more confused? For its last model year, the M-Sport was dropped and replaced by this model – the 135is denoted by code P7MFA. The 135is had few changes from previous models; outwardly, they are virtually identical to the prior year’s M-Sport. Or, for that matter, they’re basically identical to any other 135i. There are two ways to identify the 2013 outwardly; one is the single “s” added to the back, and the other is the wheels. Like the M-Sport, one main difference was the new S2NFA M Double Spoke Style 313 wheels shared with the 335is. While they were 19″ on the E9x, they were 18″ on the 1 and carried the same size 215/245 tires as the prior years. Dynamically, there was a small change. Still carrying the N55 single-turbo inline-6, the last model year got the bump in power that was optional on 2012s. The remapped ECU gave you 20 more horsepower and 17 lb.ft of torque – not a big gain, but a gain nonetheless.

So here’s a 135is to consider, and since we’ve looked at Coupe 6-speeds the last few rounds, I went for a E88 Convertible equipped with the 7-speed DCT this time:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2013 BMW 135is Convertible on eBay

Read Our Post2013 BMW 135is Convertible
Comments closed
2003 Audi RS6

2003 Audi RS6

Published December 18, 2018 by Carter

Although the lower-output, less frills A6 4.2 is the sedan model I prefer (for some strange reason) from the C5 lineup, I was left disenchanted by the last one we looked at. Suggesting that by the time you corrected only the known faults your bank account would be empty, I headed out into the RS6 territory to prove myself right and that you could get a better car for the same money. And what to my wondering eyes did appear in the sea of gray, but a shining white RS6.

Now, on the surface, Polar White doesn’t seem either like the most exciting color nor the most rare thing out there. However, Audi claims that out of the 1,436 RS6s it sold here in 2003, only 5 were ordered in this color. That makes this particular RS6 quite special, as if the RS6 wasn’t special enough to begin with. But if you need a reminder about what’s what in the RS6, I went into further detail back in October:

2003 Audi RS6

If the color wasn’t special enough, this particular RS6 is was also being offered in a no reserve auction and the price is so far on target to prove my supposition regarding the A6 4.2 right:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2003 Audi RS6 on eBay

Read Our Post2003 Audi RS6
10 Comments