Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
A few weeks back, I wrote up a restored Scirocco 16V. With a lot of work completed, I guessed that the reserve was set high at around $10,000 considering some of the better Sciroccos we had seen and what they brought. Well, I was wrong; that car is back up for sale with a “Buy It Now” set below the high bid when I wrote the article at $5,000. Does that mean the world isn’t ready for $10,000 Sciroccos? Well, this seller apparently thinks we’re very close:
If Nate’s story of E28 M5 ownership inspired you, but you missed days the cheap E28 M5s in reasonable shape, what are you to do? Well, the E34 is still fairly affordable if you want most of the same experience as the E28 with some updates and refinement (and, more weight); but the smart money right now is the E39 M5. With 400 horsepower, a 6-speed manual and a great looking shape, the E39 was an instant classic and raised the sports-sedan bar to a whole new level. For the first time, the U.S. got the full-fat M5, too – a nice change from the semi-diluted E28 and E34 models. Prices on these sedans have been hovering around the $20,000 mark for good examples but are continuing to slide; if you’re not looking for the best example, though, you can score some serious deals – such as today’s $5 short of $11,000 2000 example:
The BMW 2002 Baur is a rare car indeed, but more common are the Baur-built E21 versions of the Targa vision, though they’re also rare and unusual. In all, about 5,000 of these Baur conversions were produced – not necessarily the most rare car that we’ve seen by any measure. But when you toss into the equation the somewhat rare already 323i with a 5-speed manual box, you’ve got a quite rare ride indeed:
You never have to go very far to find an 500E or renamed E500 on these pages; in fact, last Friday we had an interesting comparison between an E28 M5 and E124 500E. People came down on both sides of the fence there, and I think it’s reasonable to like either for various reasons. The E28 M5 is a very special car, with many less made than the W124 super sedan. But numbers alone don’t tell the whole story, of course, and the W124 has many fans for good reason. It may not have been the first super sedan or even the first super Mercedes-Benz, but it was an exclamation point on a legendary period of some of the best sedans the world has yet seen. Pick the one that you like – they’re all legends now; Audi V8 quattro, 200 20V or S4/S6, BMW E28 M5 and E34 M5, the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 and 2.5 Cosworth and, of course, the 500E/E500:
I’m torn. I’ve made no excuses that I absolutely have an unnatural love and attraction to the D2 S8, and while part of that was framed by Ronin it can’t all be to blame. I want one of these cars. I’ve owned a 1993 V8 4.2 quattro, and that was both good and bad, but really only heightened my desire for a S8. So what am I torn over? Well, which color I want, of course. I originally fell in love with silver S8s when they launched in the U.S.; it was to me closest to the awesome ASF polished aluminum show car from 1993. But then I saw a Irish Green one with tan leather, and that was awesome. And then I saw a Ming Blue on, like the 2002 S8 I recently wrote up. To top it off, then there’s the really rare Avus Silver Pearl from 2003 only, replete with burgundy leather. Yeah, I want that one, too. But then I’m torn; should I hold out for the color I want or just take the plunge on a much more common silver example?