Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Last week, I put a neat 2002 up on our Facebook Fanpage. Sporting crazy Zender flares, an even crazier rear wing, and most crazy a S14 E30 M3 engine transplant, it sure looked the part and generated a lot of interest. Well, the good news! It’s back up on Ebay this week, along with an added M10-swapped Targa Newfoundland Rally veteran that makes an interesting comparison. What’s your flavor?
If you’ve been watching the E30 M3 market, you’ve been shocked by the seemingly insane appreciation of the entire line. From roughly a year ago’s top value of about $28,000, condition 1 M3s are now valued at nearly $70,000 with no slow down in sight. While the trend is undeniable, the question I have is at what point do you recognize that there are some classic options that are more unique and perhaps as collectable as the E30? Certainly, BMW has plenty of options in its own stable, and the E9 3.0CS is one of the best. Currently top examples are trading at about the same rate as the M3, begging the question of which classic BMW you’d rather have. For me, while the E30 is an awesome ride, I think I might sport for something more classic in that price range, such as today’s “RS” inspired 3.0CS – pared down and turned up with a 3.7 race motor:
I love my E28 and it’s still the generation for me, but the earlier BMW model lineup intrigues me, piqued by the Bavaria down the street I bike by every day and ranging from the 2002 to the E9 and E12. Today’s example of the first BMW midsize sedan to truly be a 5er is impeccable, even after 130k miles thanks to one careful owner. The interior’s leather and wood combo looks fantastic over three decades on. There are a few bumps and dings, reflecting that it is a real car that has seen real use, but overall it shows the kind of love and attention that I wish all classic car owners would give to their autos, from the well-maintained engine bay to the impressively-clean tool tray. With no reserve and a low starting point, this could be a cheap entry into a great mix of classic luxury and sportiness.
When I was a younger lad, my father was looking for an upgrade to his BMW 635CSi for a track car, and we were scouting out E28 M5s. He finally picked one up, and we headed to the track – these were the days when, short of a modified 930, there wasn’t much faster on track than an E28 M5. We were at Lime Rock park, and I excitedly waited for him to come blowing down the front straight, decimating his competition in a wave of speed, power and sound. Yet, when he did appear on the front straight, his arm was out the window – pointing by what appeared to be a fairly unassuming 535i. My 15 year old self couldn’t really contemplate what had happened; how could a 535i possibly be faster than an M5? The answer was under the hood, where a Dinan Turbo kit subtly hid; with a reported 400 horsepower on tap at full boost, the M5 was no match for this supercar slayer. That power figure may well have been exaggerated by the owner, but it was no slouch, so I was excited to see a similar 533i 3.5 Dinan Turbo pop up in our Self-Service Classifieds:
On the surface, the themes were very similar; two movies staring action superstars playing above-the-law criminals with an amazing ability to extricate themselves from seemingly impossible conditions against improbable odds driving large, fast executive cars. Despite this, the movies Ronin and The Transporter couldn’t be more different. I watched the former on the edge of my seat, captivated by the mystery, floored by the incredibly filmed stunt scenes, the attention to reality and detail, and the staggeringly awesome lineup of cars. The latter I struggled to get through at all; I managed to make it about half way through before giving up. To this day, I still haven’t seen the ending of the first movie, and nothing more than trailers of the second. Is there a third? I’m sorry, I’m sure it made a gazillion dollars in the box office but frankly when I watched the clip of the Audi A8L W12 corkscrewing through the air to miraculously remove a bomb from the bottom of the car on a perfectly placed scrap-metal magnet hanging in mid-air I lost all interest. I can suspend my belief for a movie like Ronin because there was an air of reality to it; the characters were flawed and mortal. Sure, there were problems with the plot and even some of the stunts – I mean, they don’t show Jean Reno standing in line at the DMV to register the 450SEL 6.9, for example. But in terms of reality, it was on this planet at least, while The Transporter seemed to be set in some alternate Japanese-live-action-anime reality I’m not sure I want to understand. Nevertheless, the central plot to both is about cars and driving (at least a bit), and today you can purchase just about all of the cars featured in these films for around $10,000 – so which would you have? I had to use a bit of creative with some of the versions, so you’ll bear with me I hope – here we go!