Who doesn’t love a clean E30 on a Friday evening? This 318is is well-traveled but “mechanically perfect” thanks to a thorough owner (now seller). It doesn’t look like a low-mile car but it looks good, with the classic red and Shadowline combo complemented by purposeful (if dorifty) bronze rims. The interior clearly shows this car is almost to the double-century, but recovered seats would make it nearly perfect. The 318is lacks the silky inline-6 but gets the most modern powerplant in the E30 family, the eager 130hp M42 inline-4 and even nimbler handling than the 325is. Clean ones are indeed hard to come by, and this one is well done.
German Cars For Sale Blog Posts
Affordable means different things to different people. Case in point, a college friend of mine who has done well for himself is cross-shopping 2014 supersedans as they have all experienced serious depreciation. Now, 45% off may sound like a sale in the Walmart meat department, but when the starting cost was an eighth of a million dollars, it’s still much more than I’ll ever likely pay for an automobile. But, for this 6’7″ former collegiate volleyball and hockey player, the $70k-80k range for what is still pretty much the state of the art in ass-hauling luxury sedans makes the two-year old S8, E63 S, and M5 affordable.
The S8 is obviously a class above the AMG and Bimmer, but he likes the S8’s looks and 90hp advantage over the S6. After considering these three cars and looking up some grey/black on grey/black examples, I was surprised by which I settled on. The AMG S is certainly the powerhouse here, with the M5 hot on its heels, but when I think about a 6’7″ dude cruising in Southern California, neither of them seem like the right choice. Whether its the longer wheelbase or the dismissal of any pretense of trackability, the S8 brings insane power, huge luxury, and massive comfort backed by the legendary Quattro capability. Now I want one. This 2014 S8 hasn’t even broken 15k miles but is over $40k cheaper than it was 2 years ago. Ouch for the old owner, great news for the buyer who gets nightvision, adaptive cruise control, a solar sunroof, and all kinds of other things that make this thing sound like a futuristic spaceship. With 513hp, it’s not that far off.
Click for details: 2014 Audi S8 on eBay
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The Turquoise Green Metallic 1996 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe with contrasting Marble Grey and Midnight Blue interior, which we featured last May, is back up for sale. Since it has now moved on to a different seller I thought perhaps we’d check back in on this very pretty 993. The original seller stated that this color combination was special ordered through Porsche Exclusive, but there’s no sign of that in the present ad. Whether it was special ordered or not, it remains a wonderful color and a unique find among the last of the air-cooled 911s.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1996 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe on eBay
The below post originally appeared on our site May 1, 2015:
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Following on the heels of yesterday’s fantastic Black and Tan 3.2 Carrera, we’ll step back one model to the 911SC to take a look at an example much more suited to providing weekend enjoyment without concern over the high initial cost. While there are certainly important differences between the 911SC and the 3.2 Carrera, for many buyers choosing between the two models might come down simply to the best available car at the best available price. This could be especially true for buyers who are new to the marque and want their first experience of an air-cooled 911. The one we see here, a Black Metallic 1980 Porsche 911SC Targa with Tan interior and 70,675 miles on it, checks a lot of similar boxes to yesterday’s Carrera, though in most every regard we have to bring our overall assessment down a grade or two. This has clearly been a 911 that has been used, but it still presents well for its age, which suggests it has seen appropriate care over its life. And, of course, that use results in a much lower cost of entry: while the Carrera sat with an asking price of $80K, bidding on this auction sits at a very reasonable $21,100. The seller’s reserve has not been met so that price will have to come up, but we’re still a ways away from where this 911 becomes overpriced.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1980 Porsche 911SC Targa on eBay
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I’ve taken a fair amount of heat over the past few weeks for posting front drive B2 models. But, in fairness, there was reasoning behind it; several of the examples were far above average, if not the best examples for sale anywhere today, and the fact of the matter is that the front drive Audi B2s are really fun to drive. “Quattro” becomes this obsession that overshadows the rest of the model run to the point that even Audi fans dismiss the two wheel drive variants as worthless. However, the much larger issue is finding good examples of 1980s quattros for sale. They do pop up from time to time, but largely what comes to market is used – and used hard. However, I came across one that appears to be in above average shape, so let’s take a look at it: