Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Wagons are the GCFSB car of choice, if you haven’t noticed. Only our resident Volkswagen/Audi guru Carter is flying the five-door flag, however, with his 2002 Volkswagen Passat 1.8T Variant 5-speed manual. While I sit here and wait for the perfect 1995 Audi S6 Avant to come along, I’ll admire this 2002 BMW 540i Touring for sale in Portland, Oregon. It looks like a real beast, and with Dinan engine mods and a worked over suspension, it’s almost like the M5 Touring that never was.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the last day was the “24 Hours of E36 M3” here at GCFSB. But, as both Andrew and Paul have pointed out, it’s a great package that offers competent performance, a budding aftermarket support for parts, modifications and maintenance, and still can be run as a daily driver. They are, perhaps, almost a bit cliche; the E36 M3 became the go-to, market defining package and continues to this day to set the bar. It seems there’s one on our page weekly, yet the brace of examples that precede this post offer us the opportunity to compare values. This particular M3 Coupe is offered in retina-burning Dakar Yellow with the blackest of black interiors:
There’s been a lot of interesting BMWs over the last two decades that have captured my attention, but one car that always sticks out in my mind is the E36 M3 sedan. Sold in the US for two years only, this was a tidy looking four-door. While it was down on power from its Euro market counterpart, 240 horsepower from the S52 inline-6 was nothing to sneeze at, at the time. The first time I got behind the wheel of one of these sports sedans, it left such an indelible mark that over 15 years later, I still remember it as one of the tightest, well-balanced sports cars I’ve had the pleasure of driving. This M3 Sedan for sale in New Jersey has under 50,000 miles on the clock and is equipped with the preferred 5-speed manual gearbox, to make the most of what this 4-door has to offer.
If you’re a regular reader of this site you’ll know that I’m a big fan of the E36 M3 and have absolutely no problem saying so. Where haters see the blandest, most under powered M3 in the history of the nameplate, I see a perfectly proportioned bridge between the go kart E30 and the upscale E46. I came of age during the E36 years and though they were few and far between in my neck of the woods, I was well aware that they were something special. Of the two body styles offered during the ’95-’98 production run I prefer the sedan, mainly for the increased sleeper look but also for the daily drive practicality. However I am fond of the coupe as well, especially a well kempt car that hasn’t been stanced, tracked, thrashed or otherwise tampered with. This ’98 coupe in Estoril Blue Metallic over Dove Grey leather is an excellent example of an unmolested car and with just 119,000k on the clock I think this E36 represents the reasonable end of the M3 spectrum.
Manual, all-wheel drive station wagon. Magic words almost for those in the northern climates or for those seeking the cure for the common SUV. BMW passed up the chance to offer one of their most versatile cars to US customers in the late 1980s. Now, 25 years on, we see just how popular it could have been with enthusiasts importing E30 Touring at a rapid clip. The E30 Touring was offered in “ix” trim, giving an added all-weather dimension to this compact hauler. This 325ix for sale in Florida has got the goods. Reasonable miles, 5-speed manual and left-hand drive.
