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Author: Nate

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2002 BMW M Coupe

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After seeing the sweet deal on the Canadian BMW M Roadster, I got all S54-loopy and started looking at clownshoes. This is a dangerous hole for me, as it’s still one of the few cars (the E39 M5 being the other) that I pass on the street and think “hmm… that’s almost cool enough to supplant the E28 M5…” While the roadster was a steal for roughly $20k with just over 30k miles, this seller is capitalizing on the double-rare hot stuff that is the final-year, S54-powered ///M shooting brake. 50k miles is still quite low, but they’re asking almost twice the price of the Canuck. What do you think… down payment on a future classic, or speculative lunacy?

Click for details: 2002 BMW M Coupe on eBay

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2001 BMW M Roadster

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The BMW S54 engine is right up there in a long line of wonderful inline sixes from BMW, marking a large step forward from its predecessor, the S52. While the S52 provided great sound and smoothness, it lacked the brute force that other great BMW engines have shared. The S54 brought an extra 75 (!!!) horsepower to table, an increase of over 30%, for the last two years of the E36/7 and E36/8’s lives. This one comes claims to come with an extra 30, matching the power of the E46 M3 – not bad when you’re carrying several hundred fewer pounds. The clownshoe may be the funkier of the pair, but the M Coupe keeps all the drop-top fun of the Z3 while losing most of the hit to the self-esteem via some swollen fenders, quad pipes, and serious power. Like an 18 year-old jumping the border to drink, you can hop to Canada for some cheap thrills with this classic silver example, coming with fewer miles and priced a good $5k less than the nicest US examples. And according to the ad, it’s the ONLY example sold in Canada with headlight washers! That’s gotta do something for the rarity-resale value down the road, right?!

Click for details: 2001 BMW M Roadster on Kijiji.ca

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Friday Fail? 1989 Volkswagen Jetta Coupe VR6

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In the past, I’ve used the Friday Fail to examine some pretty awful ads and terrible aesthetic choices. With today’s column, however, I’d like to put it to our readers to decide if this is a full-on fail, or if there is some merit to this Jetta. I happen to really dig the 2-door Jettas as both Mk1s and Mk2s, cutting a similar cropped 3-box style to the E30 coupes (compare these to their four-door brethren and then try to wrap your field of vision around a 4-series… who’s failing now?) This one has some choice Dublover retrofits like a VR6, outstanding Porsche D90 wheels, and a clean Trophy interior. The body modifications, however, are where the fail starts to seep in. I don’t hate how the Mk2 Big Bumpers look on it, or rather how they could look on it if fully modified to fit, but their slight sag makes my linear-loving brain blow gaskets. The rear bumper is the worst, which brings us to the next fail: if you’re going to give such great detail about what you’ve added to the car, CAN’T YOU TAKE MORE THAN TWO PICTURES?! At least SHOW us how that saggy butt really looks so we can start to picture how to fix it.

$6,500 isn’t bad for a mostly cool-looking Jetta Coupe with a VR6 and Porsche wheels. But having two pictures is the domain of $850 OBO “NEDS WRK AC BROKN” eBay specials. So, is it a big Fail this Friday, or just in need of a serious in-person investigation?

Click for details: 1989 Volkswagen Jetta Coupe on eBay

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1995 BMW M3 LSX swap

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I’m typically more of an OEM+ swap fan rather than getting near the fiery debate of what constitutes blasphemy. Carter’s documented some great V8 to M3 swaps and noted that it’s a pretty outstanding dollar-to-horsepower option. Even after the seller here spent $60k on parts, a lot of that was on tertiary bits – it’d take more money and a lot more effort than that to get an S52 pushing these nutso numbers. What really draws me to this car is how clean and serious it looks, with subtle modifications on the exterior that create one of the best looking E36s out there. The E46 fender flares look absolutely perfect, and the massive Apex knock-off BBS RCs look great in black and complement the space gray perfectly. And no wing! I want every E36 to look like this, and a sedan would be even better, but who really cares? Unless it’s parked, no one’s going to see this thing for more than a second as it rips by leaving scared children, heated women, and confused Bimmer fans in its wake.

Click for details: 1995 BMW M3 LSX on eBay

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1984 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia

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After a day of reflection on independence, I see no better vehicle to represent the ideal than a good, clean Westfalia. Cars in general embody independence, the ability to get in and go, but a Westy means you can go and maybe decide to not come back. Many people live in Westfalias full time, exploring the world and staying in new zipcodes while their pop-top home stays the same. While many command serious new-car money, this 1984 example looks to be an incredible deal. If you can make it through the intimidatingly-long description, you’ll find that this van has been loved, gone through, and updated by someone who knows their stuff and truly cared about making a great, functional camper. This is the kind of independence I want in my future, and if bidding remains at such an approachable level, maybe it will be!

Click for details: 1984 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia on eBay

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