Tag: 1997

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1997 Porsche 911 Turbo S

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Oh my lord this is everything. Here we have an Arctic Silver Metallic 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo S, located in New York, with Boxster Red interior and a mere 2,544 miles on it. Do I wish the exterior were something other than silver? Maybe, yes. However, Arctic Silver is a pretty nice variant of the color and the contrast it presents with the Boxster Red interior works so incredibly well that I almost don’t mind it’s a silver car. On the 993 Turbo S the color works quite well anyway.

There were only 345 examples of the Turbo S built in total and they provide the best combination Porsche could offer at the time in terms of performance and luxury. 430 hp was propelled to all four wheels through a 6-speed manual transmission. Larger disc brakes with the now well known yellow calipers provided restraint for those extra horses and the revised Aerokit helped keep the wheels planted. They are exquisite looking cars and, of course, the last of the air-cooled 911 Turbos. Naturally, that makes them quite highly sought after.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo S on eBay

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1997 Volkswagen Jetta GLX VR6

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Update 11/11/18: This Jetta is listed as sold at $1,486.

Update 11/8/18: After being listed as sold for $1,977, this Jetta GLX VR6 is back on the market again for no reserve.

There’s something really special about the used Volkswagen market that you just don’t get with other cars. There are stories – stories of plans hashed over a few too many PBRs, stories of hard luck and bad decisions. A fair chunk of the time the cars appear with hurt feelings – or just “hurt” and “feelers” in Volkswese. Listings leap into “I was planning…” and proceed to outline a SEMA build-off from someone who clearly is neither Chip Foose, nor has the budget to be. Even when they’re not, hilarity can still ensue.

In short, you just don’t get the type of entertainment from a Porsche listing that you do from a VW. Today’s listing is a 1997 Jetta – but the seller assures us that this is “not your typical Jetta”. That must mean that everything works, it’s not rusting, and it has some residual value? I kid, I kid. What drew me to this listing, though, were two things. First off, Jetta GLX VR6s are getting harder to find, and this one both looked reasonably clean at first glance and was being offered at no reserve with a semi-useful description and set of photos.

But those photos are the key here. Not only did this seller manage to line up the Volkswagen to take pictures with signs indicating it’s pointing the wrong direction on a one-way, further investigation reveals that they’re not on a road at all – they’ve parked straight in the middle of a bike path. In front of a Meineke, which I’ll fully admit I was amazed to see was still a thing. But the coup de grâce must be the giant hanging “CHECK ENGINE” sign. Is there a more appropriate way to depict a dark green Jetta from the 90s?

Still, it is a VR6…

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Volkswagen Jetta GLX VR6 on eBay

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1997 Porsche 911 Turbo

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I think this 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo comes under the heading of “never judge a book by its cover” because while it’s a very lovely car from the outside it is really all about the interior. That’s the part of this one that will have appeal relative to all of the other 993TTs on the market. It’s quite clearly special order. I’ll also be quite upfront and state that I don’t like the way it has all come together. However, I’m very happy that it exists. It shows us the type of things that Porsche has made possible over the years for its more intrepid customers so even if it isn’t what I would do it might give you some ideas. I also think it’s only a couple minor tweaks from looking quite good. Let’s take a look:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo on eBay

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Roll the dice: 1997 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG

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The W202 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG has gone from being a neat little footnote in Mercedes-Benz and AMG history as being the first post-acquisition AMG car to a car that collectors are now seeking out to add them to their stable. They aren’t at the level of the 190E 2.3-16v, nor do I think they will ever be, but the demand has definitely picked up over the past year or two. Because of these cars being unloved and overlooked for as many years as they were, lots of them fell into the hands of people who used and abused them then moved on to the next cheap car. At the end of the day, this is still a W202, so its tenancy to rust is always a major issue as well as some other things that plague the chassis such as the tendency for head gasket in the M104 engine to leak oil from the back of the head. Sadly, this 1997 C36 up for sale in Canada, seems to suffer from both of these mentioned things. Although if you do the math on the purchase price plus potential repair costs, maybe you could come out ahead and have yourself a really cool car that the value is slowly rising on.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG on eBay

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1997 Porsche 911 Carrera S

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A black 911 isn’t always going to be the thing to draw our attention. After all, we see black 911s all the time. But when the color is covering one of the best looking 911s, then I think we have something. Here we have a 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera S, located in Brooklyn, with a reported 68,000 miles on it. The black exterior is contrasted with a beige interior. For some, and that includes me, that light and dark juxtaposition between exterior and interior is just about perfect. For others it doesn’t work. If you happen to be one of those in the former camp, then I think this one deserves a look. Like with any C2S the price is pretty high, but you are getting one of the best naturally-aspirated air-cooled 911s Porsche produced and certainly one of the most attractive overall designs.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera S on eBay

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1997 Porsche 911 Turbo

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Let’s see if we can figure out what we’ve got here. Despite its appearance this is not a 993 Turbo S. The rear vents in the quarter panels, the quad exhaust tips, and the yellow brake calipers all make it look the part, but it isn’t. It is an Ocean Blue Metallic 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo with a Black leather interior and 23K kilometers on it. It also just so happens to have been fitted with a number of Turbo S pieces. As noted, the mileage is given in kilometers and the speedometer shows km/h so this clearly was not originally a U.S. market 911. In which market did it originate? We aren’t told. It’s also not quite clear why the original buyer would order a standard Turbo and then effectively convert it to a Turbo S. Porsche doesn’t typically make it less expensive to “build your own” so to speak. Perhaps a Turbo S was not available or perhaps the owner just wanted something more unique because given that this one is claimed to be 1 of only 2 such Turbos to exist it’s quite a bit more rare than the already very rare and very desirable Turbo S.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo on eBay

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Oak Green Metallic 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet

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I don’t come across a lot of what I would consider reasonably priced 993s. As the last of the air-cooled 911s the 993 always has been pretty highly prized and it seems like prices never really dipped into the reasonable territory of most of its predecessors or its successor. Well, especially its successor. This one, however, doesn’t seem priced too badly. With an asking price of $48K it’s not inexpensive by any means, but relative to a lot of other air-cooled options these days that’s not too bad.

Here we have a paint-to-sample Oak Green Metallic 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet, located in Boise, with a Classic Grey leather interior and 93,310 miles on it. To make it just that little bit more special it is also equipped with a set of the very desirable hard-back sport seats.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: Oak Green Metallic 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet on eBay

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1997 Porsche 911 Carrera S Vesuvio Edition

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Keeping track of special options packages isn’t easy and I will admit I did not know this existed. I’m still not entirely sure it does, but after some searching I’m pretty sure.

This is a 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera S with the Vesuvio package, which was an optional package offered through Porsche Exclusive that provided a few contrasting cues to highlight that stunning exterior paint. We have featured the 993 in Vesuvio Metallic before; we’ve even seen the 993 C2S in Vesuvio Metallic before. But the full package? That I have not seen.

From what I could gather it appears there originally were 24 of these 993s produced. One of those has been totaled, which leaves us with the figure this seller gives us that this is 1 of 23 known to exist. That’s pretty rare. To make this one even more rare – though probably not more desirable – this one is a Tiptronic. There are only a couple of those, so if you’re uninterested in a manual transmission, or if the years simply have passed you by and driving a manual no longer is feasible or desirable, then this should mark one of the very rare opportunities to get your hands on one of these cars.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera S Vesuvio Edition on eBay

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1997 Mercedes-Benz S600

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Last week I checked out an extremely well-kept 1996 Mercedes-Benz S600 Coupe that was probably the nicest example currently for sale. It had a price tag to match, but I argued that it was probably worth it over a cheaper example with a bunch of problems that will seem never-ending if you don’t stay on top of them. Today, I wanted to check out the brother S600 up for sale in Brooklyn, NY sedan with triple the mileage but surprisingly a higher price. Truth be told, this S600 painted in the rare Green Black Metallic has been up for sale for a while and it probably has to do with the price tag but curiosity got the best of me so I really wanted to take a look at this M120-powered sedan.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Mercedes-Benz S600 on eBay

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1997 BMW M3 Sedan

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Just last night, a friend informed me he had “acquired an older BMW”.

“Willingly?”, I asked. He affirmed he had contractually agreed to this life changing experience. “What model?”, I furthered.

“A Z3”.

Now, supportive friend Carter probably should have nodded in approval. After all, the Z3 is great value for the money. They’re cheap to buy, cheap to maintain, and fun to drive. But what actually came out of my mouth was laughter. Not maniacal laughter, mind you, but just the uncontrollable mocking type that you immediately feel a bit bad about. Hoping to redeem the situation a bit, I prodded “Six cylinder…?” Nope. 4. I contained further laughter at this point, but I was grasping for straws. Meekly, I ventured “…..manual….?” hoping for some affirmation. “YES!” he happily retorted, glad to finally confirm a question of mine.

It’s actually a nice car, and it’s in great shape, and he paid almost nothing for it. But from the same period, BMW had some other affordable, fun to drive and even more potent options for enthusiasts. Take, for example, the M3 Sedan. Like the Z3, it was rear drive. Like the Z3, it has a manual, and they share some achitecture. But while the Roadster has a bit of a stigma that results in enthusiasts’ dismissal, the M3/4/5 has developed into a legend in its own right. Damn the fact that it didn’t have the more exotic Euro motor, if you want a cheap and pure driver’s car while still being able to comfortably transport 4 adults, they don’t come much better than this platform:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 BMW M3 Sedan on eBay

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