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Category: BMW

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Motorsport Mondays: Budget Racers – BMW M3 and Porsche 944

Okay, so most people don’t seem to get into the race cars I’ve been posting. That’s okay; I get that owning a race car is a bit of a luxury and doesn’t make sense for 99.9% of the population; they’re compromised vehicles that are expensive to maintain and generally spend a tremendous amount of time doing exactly nothing. Think of it then as a 401K, then; but instead of a crazy year end bonus to some CEO you’ll never meet, you get to once in a while take it out to the track. What better way to achieve this than with an affordable track/race car?

Many times when instructing students at the track, I’m asked what they should do to the car; often times the answer is that it’s better to look at a track car if you’re serious about going to the track. Two of the best and most affordable options are the Porsche 944 and BMW M3; sporting offerings in their original configuration from two sporting manufacturers, they offered near perfect balance, good aftermarket parts availability, plenty of competition if you want to go racing at the next level and – best of all – you can do it all on a budget. Let’s start with the M3:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 BMW M3 on eBay

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2000 BMW M Roadster with 38,000 Miles

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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2002 BMW M5

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When I think of someday branching out beyond cars from 1988, one of the first that comes to mind is the business-class rocket E39 M5. What they lack in rarity they make up for by being one of the best sport sedans ever made, with the total package of comfort, speed, power, and handling. Today we have a low-mileage example with essentially no description, but hints pointing towards it being a loved weekender. I dig the M-stripes on the front spoiler mixing up the otherwise-stealth black on balck. A carbon lip appears to be the only modification, and is a subtly good-looking one at that. I’d like some more info before I bought and you can certainly find E39s cheaper, but less than 70k miles and good care would make this worth close to its asking price.

Click for more details: 2002 BMW M5 for sale on Craigslist Raleigh, NC

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Double Take: 1991 BMW M5 – Time to Buy?

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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1989 BMW 325i Convertible

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Most of the time we’re writing about 1980s E30s coming up for hassle-free importation we’re looking at tourings, as they were never brought here. Today, however, reader Bruce has alerted us to an intriguing E30 convertible from Japan via Canada. It’s still left-hand drive, but is in great condition after 90k miles and comes with the same plaid cloth and leather interior that was in the S38 M3 featured earlier this week. The biggest detraction is the automatic, but if you’re looking for some classy and easy top-down cruising, this would be a nice option.

Click for more details: 1989 BMW 325i Convertible on eBay

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