Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.
This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.
Fast wagons are perhaps one of the most cultish of vehicle genres to date. There are those like me who have disdain for most SUVs and realize there are alternatives to moving your stuff around. As a single person without children, minivans are overkill for my demographic. It was Jeremy Clarkson who was quoted as saying a minivan signals to the world that “I’ve done my breeding. I’ve served my biological purpose, and now I’m waiting to die.” So ruling out a small van, where is one to turn for their hauling needs? How about Mercedes-Benz? Unlike Audi, Mercedes-Benz has not given up on a segment in the US market which it began to popularize decades ago. There are still loyal fans of the five-door variant of the E-class, now on its sixth generation if you count the W123 T-modell which started it all. Luckily, Mercedes-Benz has been kind enough to bring AMG tuned variants to a market with otherwise vanilla tastes when it comes to family cars. Today we’ll look at two very similar looking but different beasts, the E55 AMG and E63 AMG estates, both wearing the same shade of Graphite Gray Metallic for sale for sale from the same dealer outside of Philadelphia.
Niche vehicles are always a funny thing. The BMW M Coupe was derided for its weird styling when it debuted in the late 1990s and wasn’t a big seller. But now, these rare sport coupes are wildly popular in the collector car market. While you could consider the R-class a niche vehicle on its own, Mercedes-Benz toyed with the idea of an AMG version of this people mover around 10 years ago. This fast van hung around for one model year and as such, has been relegated to an almost persona non grata status amongst Mercedes history. However, any car with 503 horsepower that can seat six in comfort should at least be given a second look. This R63 AMG for sale in Washington state is one of approximately 30 to 40 examples that were sold in the US, out of a total production of under 200 worldwide. If you need space with pace, there are few choices more rad than this one.
For me, the desirability of the BMW M3 peaked right around 1997 and 1998, when the M3 sedan became available in the US market. Sadly, this more practical take on the //M formula didn’t last long, nor was a four-door example available in the successor, the E46 M3. However, a curious vehicle wound up coming along right as the E36 sedan exited the market: the M Coupe. Based on the M Roadster, this two-seater sports car with a breadvan profile wound up being derided at first for its styling but has since turned into a premiere collectable. Even though the first M Coupe was a niche model, BMW decided a follow on was necessary and created the Z4 M Coupe. This car had a bit more conventional profile but packed the mighty S54 inline-6 that found its way briefly into the end of the original M Coupe production cycle. This Z4 M Coupe for sale in Texas has only 8,600 miles on the clock, giving someone the chance to own a nearly new example of what has become a rather mythical BMW model.
In recent features of the 991 GT3 RS I’ve talked about alternatives to these very high-priced machines given that most of them are currently priced above $300K. Of course, there isn’t much of an alternative that’s going to get you 100% there, but there are options like the Cayman GT4 or previous generations of the GT3 RS that at least begin to reach the dizzying heights of such machinery at a fraction of the cost. To present one such alternative I’ll reach back to a reliable favorite of mine: an Orange over Black 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The one here is fitted with the optional carbon ceramic brakes and sits with just 17,069 miles on it. While the last of the 997 generation, the GT3 RS 4.0, remains extremely cost prohibitive even compared to the new 991 GT3 RS, these earlier examples with the 3.6 liter engine remain, at least in a relative sense, a pretty reasonable value. Even in these earliest examples you still get 415 hp delivered to the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual transmission along with a lightened and stiffened chassis to help keep all of that power directed precisely where you intend.
One of the things I’ve liked about moving back to Washington State from the SF Bay Area is that seeing rare, expensive cars is special again. Living next to the most expensive zip code in the country meant that pretty much every luxury car was the top-of-the-line model, from BMW M5s and Alpina B7s to Audi S8s and RS7s to Mercedes-Benz E/S/CLS/SL/ML/G/GL63s and 65s. I got desensitized and disdainful, scowling at the 80 year olds puttering around El Camino Real with 500-600hp on tap. The Mercedes AMG 65 models always caught my attention with their gunmetal wheels as the main giveaway besides the badges, a nearly $200k car just hanging out next to the yoga studio and completely unnoticed by the general public.
Well, they were roughly $200k when new. Depreciation hits them harder than their (transmission-limited) 738 lb-ft of torque and now this twin-turbo V12 GT is roughly a third of its original price. They’re not the most attractive roadsters, but it’s certainly a more balanced design than the “umm… copy-paste-update new shape here!” look of the current R231 SL. This R230 looks a bit more classic in black on black and has the Panoramic Roof option on the folding top so you can see the sky without exposing yourself to the commonfolk. Carbon fiber puts a performance veneer on the interior, but this will never be a canyon carver. It’s a 604hp highway bomber, and hopefully having covered fewer than 12k miles will keep scary-expensive maintenance on the V12 at bay for a while.
