Press "Enter" to skip to content

Tag: 1983

This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.

80s 4-Banger Icons: 1983 Volkswagen GTI and 1989 Porsche 944S2

80s 4-Banger Icons: 1983 Volkswagen GTI and 1989 Porsche 944S2

Published December 17, 2018 by Carter

I’m back with another “Which would you buy?” scenario, but this one is quite a bit different from the twin S6s I took a peek at over the weekend. Today I’m looking at two very different 80s icons – the GTI and the Porsche 944. In their own right, both were also 80s film stars – the Porsche 944 in John Hughes Sixteen Candles, while the A1 Volkswagen appeared topless in nearly every other movie – most notably, ‘The Coreys’ License to Drive. Today’s subjects are higher performance, driver-oriented examples, and like last time both fall into driver-quality examples. Yet while the performance and original sticker prices of these cars is quite far apart, today in the market they’re not only within reach of budget-minded enthusiasts, but also they’re in direct competition with each other. So which would you score?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1983 Volkswagen GTI on eBay

Read Our Post80s 4-Banger Icons: 1983 Volkswagen GTI and 1989 Porsche 944S2
1 Comment
1983 Mercedes-Benz 500SEL

1983 Mercedes-Benz 500SEL

Published November 29, 2018 by Andrew

When looking at last week’s 1980 Mercedes-Benz 300SD, the claim of it being the best sedan in the world (at the time) came up. Those were someone else’s words, not mine, but I am certainly not going to argue against it because I actually own a 1980 300SD and it is one of my daily drivers. 1980 was also the last year of the W116 and the W126 was already on the roads late in that year in Europe with 1981 being the first model year for the new S-Class in North America. The W126 had to continue on the legacy of being the best luxury sedan in the world and again, at the time, it would tough to say it wasn’t. You could have the efficient OM617 diesel or two V8 options in the Gen 1 W126 with the 380SE/L or the 500SEL. Today’s car I wanted to check out is a 1983 500SEL but it isn’t the standard North American spec cars you are used to seeing. This W126 is a Euro-spec car with some neat options, both inside and out.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1983 Mercedes-Benz 500SEL on eBay

Read Our Post1983 Mercedes-Benz 500SEL
7 Comments
1983 Porsche 928S 5-Speed

1983 Porsche 928S 5-Speed

Published November 23, 2018 by Rob

Here we have another very pretty 928. But first a question: The seller refers to monochromatic interior/exterior combinations as an iconic ’80s theme. Was these really iconic? I was a kid so I can’t really recall what the crazy cars were like (My mom had one of those huge Buick or Oldsmobile station wagons. It was not sporty and I believe it was black with tan interior. We slept in the back on long trips. My dad’s 911 was black on black, but I don’t think that’s what they mean.) Color-matching the interior and exterior definitely seems more prevalent in the ’80s. I know I’ve commented on the blue on blue combination that we almost never see outside of the ’80s and early ’90s. Burgundy also seems popular. I’ve seen green on green a few times and those are…quite something. That was the ’70s though. I digress, I guess I hadn’t thought of this as an iconic ’80s thing to do. Perhaps it is and this 928 uses it to nice effect.

This is a Ruby Red Metallic 1983 Porsche 928S with, you guessed it, a Burgundy interior, 47,915 miles, and a very desirable 5-speed manual transmission. One other quick digression: The seller refers to the color as Rubino Metallic, which I had never heard of before. Thankfully the paint code sticker provides clarity and confirms it is rubinrotmetallic or as it’s typically called in English, Ruby Red. It looks spectacular!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1983 Porsche 928S on Classic Driver

Read Our Post1983 Porsche 928S 5-Speed
1 Comment
1983 Mercedes-Benz 300TD

1983 Mercedes-Benz 300TD

Published November 23, 2018 by Andrew

 

It has been some time since I’ve looked at the world’s most favorite wagon, the W123 Mercedes-Benz 300TD. We’ve been at the point with them for a while where unless it is an absolute heap, they are all worth saving or at least maintaining to the point of usable service. Sadly, some of the S123s ended up being used as work horses or straight up beater cars that took them to the point of no return. Today’s car, a 1983 in New Jersey, is one of those cars. Cosmetically, this one is pretty far gone and thanks to an odometer that stopped working who knows how many moons ago, mechanically it is a bit of a question mark as well. Question is, if it is cheap enough, is it worth it?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1983 Mercedes-Benz 300TD on eBay

Read Our Post1983 Mercedes-Benz 300TD
2 Comments
Dealer Disinformation: 1983 Audi Quattro

Dealer Disinformation: 1983 Audi Quattro

Published September 28, 2018 by Carter

Perhaps I’m being harsh in my title. But I have to say, this listing annoys me for a few specific reasons. We’ll get back there soon. Predictably, as it did with Mercedes-Benz Pagodas, Porsche 930s, 80s BMW M products and the original GTI, the quick rising of selling prices for the Audi Quattro has continued to bring good examples to market. Where we used to wait seasons between seeing any at all, today you seem to be able to view at least one pretty good one on the market at any given time.

Today’s furthers the recent line of ’83s I’ve looked at. We saw the $59,000 ask on a modded L041 Black one. Recent bids only hit $33,000, which tells us more where market value lies. We saw more of a project a month later with the Treser’d LA5Y Helios example. At $25,000, it was one of the cheaper examples to come to market recently. Then just last week the stellar L97A Diamond Silver Metallic one popped up. Priced right in the middle of the two at $40,000, it looked like the one to buy of the three.

Today’s ’83 comes in a fourth shade available that year. LA3A Mars Red was shared with the A1 and early A2 chassis Volkswagen GTI and GLIs (along with a few others), but is less frequent to see on the Quattro than the color that replaced it in 1984 – LY3D Tornado Red. It’s more orange in tone and distinctive as a result. This particular example is also claimed to be completely original and from a single owner – something none of the others could boast. Priced at $36,900, is this the one to get as a collector?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1983 Audi Quattro on eBay

Read Our PostDealer Disinformation: 1983 Audi Quattro
Comments closed