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Author: Carter

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“Beginning and End” Drop Top Double Take – BMW M3 Duo

Published February 7, 2015 by Carter

Could the M3 market get hotter? I bet it can, because there are a massive amount of enthusiasts who follow and lust after the cars, this author included. But in my general searches for cars this week popped up one of the more strange ads that I’ve seen in some time; it was an advertisement celebrating the beginning and end of M3 production, but in convertible form. And it was for not one, but two M3s – an E30 and a E93. Now, frankly right now it doesn’t really matter what type of E30 you come up with, there’s someone who wants it. But the convertibles, though more limited production than the coupes, are a bit of a different market. In short, they’re desirable, but for a different reason than the motorsport heritage that started the M brand. 2013 saw the death of what we associated with M3; a naturally aspirated 2-door overachiever that in many ways defined the market for small performance sedans. Is this listing a fitting tribute to the legend or just an attempt to capitalize on M3-mania?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 and 2013 BMW M3 Convertibles on eBay

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10K Friday Practical Performance Edition: R32 v. S4 v. 330xi v. E500 Estate v. Cayenne Turbo

Published February 6, 2015 by Carter

Edit: Thanks to several readers for pointing out several details that prove this Cayenne is a Turbo, but not a Turbo S. Only 450 horsepower, then!

It’s been a few weeks since my last 10K Friday entry, and I wanted to get something together for the impending snow New England is once again expecting. To remind us of the terms of the comparison, I’m looking for themed cars around $10,000 (give or take, we’ll see later). I try to generally find the newest cars possible, figuring that for many these will be a daily driver. In this case, I was looking for performance all-wheel drive cars that offered year round practicality with a touch of sport. So lining up the best I could find from Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche gives us an interesting amount of diversity for your hard-earned dollars. Today we have two sedans, a hatchback, a wagon and a S.U.V. to contemplated; which is the winner?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2008 Volkswagen R32 on eBay

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1992 Audi S4

Published February 6, 2015 by Carter

It goes without saying that we’re one of many sites that looks towards online auctions for what’s for sale daily. Indeed, prior to coming on board at GCFSB I pursued many of them every day and night to see what was out there. However, one of the things that drew me in to being a follower of this particular site was that the cars were cars that I could afford. Sure, from time to time the other sites run a bargain car or an affordable project, but largely it seems that the featured cars are firmly out of the grasp of someone with modest means. That’s not to take anything away from their concentration; I’m sure that amongst the devoted fans of other sites are plenty of well-heeled individuals, and similarly I’m sure that we’ve got some followers with much, much deeper pockets than I’ll ever have. Nevertheless, there is something that’s appealing about a quality car that can be had at a bargain, and looking at 1980s and early 1990s German cars affords us that opportunity, both literally and figuratively. The other aspect that I love is that coming of age, these cars were the cutting edge of technology – the cars that I read about in magazines but never dreamed I could possibly buy. One of my favorites then was the seeming underdog; the Audi S4. True, out of the box it was down on power to the M5 and 500E, but it was the most modern of the trio, and being the only turbocharged option there was a world of potential in the motor. It was, after all, the monster motor that had powered the legendary Group B cars in the 1980s and the IMSA cars into the 1990s. Couple that potential with a stout all-wheel drive system and a refined interior along with a sedate but handsome exterior, and you have one of the truly great sleepers:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1992 Audi S4 on eBay

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Double Take: 1978 and 1987 Volkswagen Sciroccos – REVISIT

Published February 5, 2015 by Carter

A few alumni from these pages popped up on eBay again, giving us the rare opportunity to compare two generations of Volkswagen Sciroccos for about the same money. The first is the original Scirocco; a 1978 example which has been thoroughly gone through and restored with some light modifications. The second is a second generation Scirocco in what appears to be all-original condition, but with total mileage unknown and a less desirable automatic. The last time the ’78 popped up, the auction ended at just over $7,000; strong money for an unoriginal car, but a witness to the large amount of work performed. The second was a no-sale, not surprising given the high opening bid price at $5,500. The recent sale of a first generation Scirocco with desirable modifications for over $22,000 has given some weight to these sporty coupes; will that sale help pull this ’78 up to a higher price than before? And the ’87 has been lowered to a “Buy It Now” of $4,500 – is that the right price?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1978 Volkswagen Scirocco on eBay

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 Volkswagen Scirocco on eBay

The below posts originally appeared on our site October 29, 2013 and November 14, 2014:

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Tuner Tuesday Groceries Gotten: 2014 Mercedes-Benz E63S AMG 4Matic Estate Brabus 850

Published February 3, 2015 by Carter

We’re pretty much all big fans of fast wagons at German Cars For Sale Blog, but over the past few years the number of offerings has steadily dried up. We’ve never received the hot versions of the M5 Touring or RS6 Avant, for example, and steadily even the quick versions of the Audi and Volkswagen wagons have left these shores too. That leaves fast wagon fans to look towards only two places in the last few years; Cadillac, oddly, with the CTS-V wagon and the last German holdout, Mercedes-Benz. It’s somewhat odd that Mercedes-Benz has upped the nuttiness in its large E-class wagon too, since it never really took part in the original Wagon Wars between its countrymen. True, there were some limited number AMG conversions done in the late 80s/early 90s, but for the most part Mercedes-Benz had stayed away until recently. Then, a few years ago, it started offering AMG-enhanced versions of the E-Class Estate; first in 55, then later 63 form. If you can get by the strange numbering system that doesn’t correspond to the actual engine under the hood, that leaves you with one of the fastest wagons made out of the box. Walk down to your local Mercedes-Benz dealer and you can order up one of these W212 Estates with a staggering 577 horsepower in “S” form. That was a true supercar number not very long ago, but it comes wrapped in the guise of a sensible wagon with all-wheel drive and a slick 7-speed automatic transmission. Of course, it’s heavy…so it only does 0-60 runs in 3.6 seconds. That means you won’t be able to keep up with your neighbor’s new BMW M6 Gran Coupe, which does the run in 3.1 seconds. Time to hit the Brabus gym, then…

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2014 Brabus 850 on Brabus.com

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