Tag: 1989

1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6 with 45k miles

  By

In my opinion, the new design language of Mercedes-Benz leaves a bit to be desired. For ten years, I drove two different C class models, and while the new one is certainly not a bad looking car, the recently unveiled facelift looks as if the styling is being brought in line more with the BMW 3 series, at least in the front. If I ever buy another Mercedes in the future, it will probably be a classic from the 1980s or 1990s. Like the following mint 190E 2.6, I model that I revere.

The seller states:

This 190E has original 48,000 miles!

Clean Carfax, (13 records of Passed Emissions Inspection every 2 years since 1991 with about 4,000 mile intervals). California car.

The cosmetic condition is what you can expect from such low mileage. Original paint is in excellent shape and lower trims has no cracks or splits. The Leather seats have no tears, seat feel like they are not broken in yet. Both front seats are powered. We also provide full service for Mercedes and have inspected this vehicle. The mechanical condition is in great shape. No rust, no moisture. Most likely to have been garaged most of its life.

If you are familiar with these vehicles, you can easily see them with over 200,000 miles and still running strong. Spare parts are always easy to find. Cruise control is working good.
All power windows and sunroof are working. Air conditioning is working. Rear window defroster is working. Front headlights and frames have no cracks, the front grill is excellent.
Rear light frames have no cracks. Original Becker AM/FM tape stereo. Dash in great condition, no splits or cracks. Wood trim is beautiful, what you can expect from such low mileage.

All rims are in Excellent condition, no peeling. Michelin tires have 90% tread left. Spare wheel in good shape (Michelin tire) with jack. We have the original booklets. Production Date: 01/1989.

This is one of those few auctions as of late where I think the buy it now price is actually quite reasonable. For $7,500, this car could easily last another 200,000 miles and would provide a simpler, more involving driving experience than many newer vehicles costing much more. The blue interior puts me off somewhat, but I wouldn’t mind calling this classic my own.

-Paul

Which E34 would you go for?

  By ,

I came upon an interesting dilemma today: Two red E34s with very similar power outputs selling for within $2k of each other on eBay. One, a higher-mileage but painfully clean M5, the other, a nice 535is with a Dinan turbo setup. So, do you go for the factory sports-car assassin in a business suit, or a beefed-up and modified lesser model that flies only slightly less below the radar?

Let’s do a quick breakdown:

Engine: Unclear as to whether this is a S38B36 or B38, whether it has 305 or 335hp makes little difference in the decision; it’s hard to say no to one of the sweetest 6-cylinders ever made. The Dinan turbo is great and helps the sub-100k mile M30 reach 325hp and looks cool under the hood, but nothing’s better than “BMW M Power.” I’ll take the S38.

Exterior: Again, a fight of subtle modification against impeccable factory production. The removed-high beam look can work on rat-rod Bimmers and horsepower monsters, but here it just looks like it might need fixing. A few scratches on the 535 tip the scales towards the M5, which has a few scratches of its own but looks amazingly rich and clean for the mileage. Those Hamanns are nice, but they’re not enough to take down the M5.

Interior: The M5 looks nearly showroom-ready inside, while the 535 looks clean and complete but shows more age. Apparently an extra 2 years make more difference than 50k miles. A pattern is emerging… M5.

Price: Looks to be a clean sweep, which I was not expecting when I first looked at these cars. The M5 has a Buy-it-Now of just under $10k, a great price for a really clean M car, even if it is the forgotten son. The 535is comes in closely behind with a Buy-it-Now of $12k, not bad money for a well-done turbo swap in a clean car. Just got undersold by the M5.

So the M5 takes all categories, but the 535is was nipping at its heels the whole way. Just goes to show that it’s hard to beat BMW’s M department from the 80s and 90s, which leads to another feather in the cap of the M5: long after the 535 has become a once-great tuner car, the M5 will live on as a piece of history, garnering cache and cash. Go for the 535 if you want to turn the boost up and have some fun; otherwise, it’s all M5.
-NR

1989 Mercedes 300TE with some extras

  By

Coincidentally I am following up the nice 300TD just posted with another Benz estate. This 128,000 mile Benz wagon has seen some attention. The car has had a repaint and had the interior wood redone to the tune of $1800. That is an interesting thing to see on a car of this age. It is more common on older more valuable Benzs to have the wood redone. Going that far suggests the previous owner took good care of the car. The seller says the engine was rebuilt, a potential buyer should find out what that means exactly.

The vehicle also has some aftermarket headlights, that appear to be projector lenses at least in part. The wheels look to be Carlsson or Carlsson reps.

The car has third row seats to fit seven, though there is a subwoofer box back there now.

$9000 takes it. Offer to give the seller a few lessons on how to write a better online advertisement (hint don’t use all CAPS) and see if you can get the price down for a better deal. Benz wagons owners are cliqueish so ownership comes with instant fanboys. With the seller in Brooklyn and the plates from Oregon its made at least one cross country journey, one should make sure those photos are current.

~Evan

1989 VW GTI w/ Turbo’d ABA

  By

We’ve seen some pretty serious vintage VWs here recently, including the restored MkI Scirocco and tuned MkI GTI, both in the $14k-range. While those are lust-worthy and amazing VWs, that is a hell of a lot of money for 25-30 year old Volkswagens, cars that are supposed to be affordable and tuneable German machinery.

Which brings me to today’s MkII GTI, the kind of car that shows the level of fun possible with moderate investment in a VW. Turbo fun on the torquey ABA 2.0 and “almost-there” aesthetics for under $3,000 is what Volkswagen tuning is all about.

From the seller:

Up for sale is my 1989 Volkswagen GTI. The 8v, 2.0 liter ABA engine currently has right around 57k on it. The chasis has about 177k on it. The car is in remarkable shape. The body is near perfect. No dents, dings, scratches. The car has a borgwarner t3/t4 S200 .60 trim turbo currently running right around 6 psi. It also has a Revtec FMIC, Blitz BOV, and Eurosport exhaust. It runs great and makes good power. The front left wheel bearing (which I have) needs to be replaced. It has Weitec springs and Koni shocks. The paint is faded on the roof, but is very alive on the rest of the car. The hood is now primed black. The interior is also in good shape. It has Monaco seats, and a Momo wheel. The sunroof works, but leaks a bit when closed, i’m sure it needs new seals/stripping. It also needs a headliner. Its a very solid car, and I would certainly trust it to drive anywhere. Its great to drive, and gets a lot of attention. It has no AC, but the heater works perfectly. The car has been very well maintained. I only used royal purple when doing oil changes. Thanks for looking!

57k miles on the new ABA! Yes, there are some minor, non-mechanical issues to deal with like a leaky sunroof and lack of headliner (both common GTI afflictions), but I consider those part of the fun part when you’re getting a swapped and turbo’d GTI with a lot of quality cosmetic things going for it, e.g. wheels, straight body, and perfect single-crosshair and GTI-lined grill. This is MkII Volkswagen at its best, with some great work already accomplished; a little work and personalization could make this a show-worthy VW with a fraction of the investment of any other comparably-fun German auto.

-NR

E30 Mmm3 for sale

  By

This E30 deserves a couple extra “m”s in the name because it looks so tasty. A respray in 2002 and less than 90k miles make this one of the ones you keep an eye out for. Just as clean as the Cinnabarot is the tan interior, showing very little if any of the usual driver’s bolster wear.

What’s not delicious is the seller’s description:

BMW E30 M3 1989 IN EXCELLENT CONDITION, 4 CIL, 5 SPEED, NEW ENGINE, NEW SPORT SUSPENSION AND SHOCK ABSORBER, NEW BBS WHEELS AND BRIDGESTONE POTENZA TIRES, NEW CLUTCH. RADIO HAS THE CODE BUT CAN NOT HEAR IT. IT WAS PAINTED IN 2002 AND PAMPERED GARAGED SINCE THAT. SHIPPING TO FLORIDA O NEW JERSEY FOR $900.00. THE SPEEDOMETER IS MARKING THE SPEED BUT ITS NOT ACCUMULATING THE MILLEAGE.

What does he mean “not accumulating the mileage”? If the odometer stopped working recently, no big deal, but if this has been a problem for a while and the mileage is wrong, then the $18.5k Buy-It-Now is a bit steep. But if the lame description isn’t hiding any major demons besides a radio and odo fix, this is a very clean example of the Holy One.

-NR

1989 Porsche 911 Speedster

  By

From 1984 through 1989, Porsche manufactured what was, to many, the pinnacle of the 911 production run, the 3.2 In January 1989, production of the low volume Speedster commenced, ending six short months later with a total of just over 2,000 produced. Featuring a low slung windshield and hard tonneau cover, the Speedster was meant to evoke the 356 models of yore. Here is a widebody example with exceptionally low mileage.

The seller states:

This the rarest of the rare: A black wide body Carrera Speedster. It is very low mileage at 17,572. The paint is all original. This is a lightweight no A/C car. This car is untouched other than oil changes. This is powered by the super reliable Carrera 3.2 Motronic engine. It has its original 5 speed G50 gearbox shifting smoothly and flawlessly. Other than a lightly scraped wheel, the car is cosmetically beautiful.

$65,000 is about average for what clean, low mileage Speedsters are going for these days. I’ve seen some as high as $100,000, some as low as $40,000. With Targa, Coupe and Cabriolet prices holding steady, it’s no surprise that the rarest version of them all commands such respect in the marketplace.

-Paul

High-mile, well-maintained E30 M3 for sale

  By

Another rare, attractively-priced E30 M3 has come up on eBay that could give someone the chance to fulfill their dreams without destroying their bank account.  We’ve seen examples go north of $30k, with the majority of the market in the mid-teens these days.  High-mileage M3s have become the last affordable way to get in the ultimate homologated BMW sports car, and this one comes in decent condition considering it’s covered 190k miles.

The mileage means it’s going to need a bit of work, but getting an M3 for under $10k is practically grand theft auto these days.  The engine looks very clean considering the mileage and age, and the interior and exterior each have highs and lows.  The Cinnabar Red looks pretty good though the front fascia has seen a lot of road.  The seats have normal E30 wear but aren’t falling apart, and the rest of the front interior looks pristine.  With less than day left and reserve off, the bidding is at $7,900.  If people say you have to spend $15k to get a nice M3, this one will give you plenty of breathing room to make it gorgeous.

-NR

1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6 with 49,000 original miles

  By

With each successive generation of C class, the original W201 chassis “baby Benz” has developed a cult following. Many of these cars were bought by folks who never had owned a Mercedes-Benz before and used and abused them much like any other car. Then there were those who appreciated the 190E for its virtues and subsequently, there are still a few clean, low mileage examples out there to prove it. Like this one:

The seller states:

You are viewing one of the finest examples of a 1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6 with only 48,920 2 owner Actual miles or 78,730 Kilometers. This Baby Benz hails from Canada and was imported into the States in December 2007 having 40,000 Actual miles on it. The original speedometer is in Kilometers but I can have it converted to MPH at no additional cost to you. This Mercedes runs, drives and looks like new. The 2.6 liter engine runs super smooth and powerful and the automatic transmission shifts flawlessly. There are no leaks of any kind. It was recently serviced and new front Bilstein struts, new hood foam and 4 brand new Continental tires were just installed.

Everything works as new including Ice cold A/C, all power windows, locks, sunroof, mirrors, antenna, outside temperature gauge and even has heated seats! This 190E has never been involved in any accidents or had any paintwork. A perfect Carfax report is available upon request. The Original factory paint shines like new with only a couple minor stone chips and one scratch that runs along the rear passenger door. The interior is spotless and looks Brand New. There are no cracks in the dash or woodgrain and the seats, carpets, door panels and headliner are all perfect.

When I was in college, my father had a 1992 190E 2.6 in diamond blue and I loved that car. The smaller inline six engine teamed with the smooth 4-speed automatic makes this a joy to drive and gives it plenty of power for all situations. The car was also economical and reliable to boot. Unfortunately, that car was broadsided at 40mph by someone in a Ford Taurus who ran a stop sign and should have subsequently had his license taken away for totalling what was a fantastic car. My father has been on the hunt for just the right 190E ever since, as he claimed this was the best car he ever owned. The buy-it-now price of $7,995 seems right in line with other clean, 190E 2.6 examples I’ve seen out there lately.

As an aside, even Mercedes-Benz themselves recognizes just how important the 190E was and converted a 1992 190E 2.6 Sportline to a 190D with a new, 2.2 liter BlueEFFICIENCY four cylinder diesel engine, pumping out 201 horsepower. With its new lease on life, this 190 can reach 60 mph in 6.2 seconds and return 48 mpg. Hybrid what?

1990 Mercedes 190 D upgraded to new BlueEFFICIENCY engine, jumps from 32 to 48 mpg

-Paul

1989 Volkswagen Fox with 1,300 miles

  By

The Volkswagen Fox was introduced to North America in 1987 model year to serve as a sort of Beetle like, entry level vehicle. Based on the South American market Volkswagen Gol, the Fox was sold as a two or four door sedan, with a two door wagon appearing in the lineup from 1988 to 1990. Power came from a fuel injected, 1.8 liter 8 valve engine mated solely to a manual transmission.

The seller states:

VW Collectors and Enthusiasts take note! This is a 1989 Volkswagen Fox Coupe WITH ONLY 1300 MILES!! This vehicle comes with a CA SMOG CERTIFICATE dated 02/09/10. IT WAS inspected by our mechanic and was found to be running and driving however it has been sitting for 20 years and we would recommend anyone to have it fully inspected by your local VW dealer. The A/C was blowing cold when we tested it.

This vehicle looks like it just came off the showroom floor…it may very well the only VW Fox in existence with the low of mileage and in the pristine condition. It appears to be an always garaged vehicle. It has only been driven 35 miles since 2004 and 165 since 1996. It is a local, one owner vehicle. The owner/donor suffered vision impairment soon after purchasing this vehicle and as a result it was not used for 20 years. The exterior and interior look brand new; there does not appear to be any wear to the vehicle.

With less than a week left in a no reserve auction, it will be interesting to see what this sells for. Surely not many were keeping these stored away thinking they would be future classics. Somehow I don’t think it will fetch big bucks, which is a good thing for those out there looking for cheap, efficient, German-engineered transportation.

– Paul

Nate also posted on this car at the same time here are his thoughts:
Does extreme low mileage matter if the car is, at best, mundane? Probably to someone. This may very well be the lowest-mileage VW Fox ever. Someone donated this 1,293 mile Fox to Cars 4 Causes, and now it’s on eBay at just over $4k. They say prior to donation it hadn’t been driven in 20 years, but, impressively, it’s running and driving.

Low-mileage cars have a freshness that even the most well-cared-for old car can’t match. If someone was looking for an immaculate VW Fox, this is it. The interior and trunk are mind-boggling time capsules. The worth of this is highly subjective so I won’t wager a guess at what it will go for, but if it stayed around $5k I’d call it a steal, if only because of how weird and clean a 1k mile VW Fox is.

-NR