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Author: Carter

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2000 BMW M Roadster with 38,000 Miles

Published May 4, 2014 by Carter

We’ve been sitting here at GCFSB in half wonder and half horror, watching the E30 market explode. It probably shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise; the E30 has always enjoyed a loyal following, it’s a smart looking design with an enthusiastic aftermarket, sourcing replacement parts is easy and the performance is quite good. But the days of owning the best of the bunch – the E30 M3 – have slipped through the fingers of most who didn’t jump on the bandwagon early. So what’s an enthusiast to do? Well, truth be told there are plenty of desirable options, some with some real long-term potential as collectable. One of the most affordable right now is the first generation M Roadster; offering the stellar S52 engine in a fun to drive platform, a good example can be had for well under $20,000, such as today’s low mile Dakar Yellow example:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2000 BMW M Roadster on eBay

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1989 Audi 100 Avant

Published May 3, 2014 by Carter

In yesterday’s post on a 1978 Porsche 930, Rob asked “What happened to Guards Red“? Well, I have a similar question – what happened to all of the front wheel drive Audi 5000s and 100s? Occasionally we see some turbocharged front-wheel drive 200 models come up for sale, but even they’re a rarity; yet, in the 1980s it was those front-wheel drive models that provided the revenue stream for Audi, who struggled to sell vehicles increasingly towards 1990. The 5000 and 100 were actually pretty popular, too – competent, quiet highway cars that looked much more updated than the rivals from Munich when they launched. Sure, they weren’t the best performing cars in their day, but they were a reasonable alternative to the Mercedes wagon, which was the only other big German wagon at the time. Despite that, there just aren’t many left – especially not in this condition:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 Audi 100 Avant on eBay

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Jiffy-Top: 1981 Porsche 928 Carelli C928

Published May 2, 2014 by Carter

When I’m not writing for GCFSB, I’m a history teacher at the local Community College. As a history teacher, it’s my job to help to explain to students different points in history – nearly all of which I haven’t lived through, obviously. Now, in a course like “Western Civilization” you’ll be lucky to get to the present times, or even break through the Vietnam War – but while most time periods and historical trends I can explain, I have a very hard time explaining the 1980s. This is semi-ironic, since it’s the one I grew up with, the formative one in my personal history; yet, I often find myself baffled by some of the trends. Were they really the result of counter-culture, a reaction to the equally bad taste of the 1970s? Was it the proliferation of the music video, electronic gear, new gaming experiences, and the ever present threat of nuclear holocaust at the hands of the Russians? We got personal computers, cellular phones and digital everything – heck, even the dashboard on my Audi is digital! Yet the one trend I have the most trouble explain is why everyone insisted on chopping the roof off otherwise perfectly good cars:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1981 Porsche 928 Carelli C928 on eBay

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10K Friday: 1994 Audi S4 v. 2000 Audi S4

Published May 2, 2014 by Carter

Okay, so this isn’t the first time I’ve written up a S4 face-off, but it’s an interesting question to me. That’s because right now, clean examples of the C4 S4 are on their way up, while prices of the B5 S4 have come down and stabilized at levels that seem to be very reasonable. Compared to their equivelants from both Mercedes-Benz and BMW, both are priced very reasonably and you get a lot of performance value for your money. You also get all-wheel drive capability, a luxurious and quiet highway cruiser, a car capable of carrying 4 adults, and both a near limitless tuning potential; both are certainly capable of 600 to 1,000 horsepower, if you’re willing to foot the bills. So which would you rather have? The two in question today are quite different; a turned up C4 S4 versus a 1 owner, all original B5 – let’s start with the C4:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1994 Audi S4 on Craigslist

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Double Take: 1991 BMW M5 – Time to Buy?

Published May 1, 2014 by Carter

We’ve been on an M5 kick lately, and for good reason – the M5 is truly one of the best cars that can do virtually anything an enthusiast asks; it can be a luxury car, a sports car, carry 4 comfortably or 5 in a pinch, and has enough menacing look to make you proud of your carefully purchased pride and joy. But while the E34 has remained a performance bargain over the past few years, like most of the M-crowd from the late 1980s these cars are quickly appreciating; Hagerty calculates the average value of E34 M5s have increased 30 to 40 percent over the past few months. That’s a huge jump, and could be the start of a trend amongst these third generation super-sedans from BMW; so, is now the time to buy the last of the good, affordable examples? We have two to contemplate today, the first of which isn’t a stranger to these pages – I wrote this car up back in April:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 BMW M5 on Ebay

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