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.
We’re raised in the US to think that all BMWs are all full-leather, optioned-out, powerful luxury machines. Then we ‘Mericans set one foot in Europe and see BMW cabs and dented city cars running around on steel wheels and get thoroughly confused. Unfortunately for us, BMWs standard of engineering and handling extends much further than just catering to yuppies. Fortunately for us, some zealous souls bring these oddities over, like today’s diesel E39 wagon. Sure, I’d love a 540iT or even a 528iT, but wouldn’t it be sweet to get Prius gas mileage with the good looks and handling of the E39 longroof? Today’s your chance with this double-import, first to Canada and then officially to the US. Cloth seats and celsius temperature readings mean this is no American Bimmer, and that makes it an interesting proposition indeed.
Mercedes-Benz is one of those companies that has been consistent in offering estate vehicles, or the station wagon as it is known to those of us in the US. Sometimes the variety of their offerings is less rather than more, but right now, it’s pretty neat that you can order a high horsepower V8 beast under the hood of a W123 E class estate, which has been the staple 5-door offering from Mercedes. We did get the C-class estate in the form of the W203 for a few years, but Mercedes has never dabbled with an estate variant of their big boy, the S-class. Nor, frankly, have any of their competitors. A few determined coachbuilders have set out to make an S-Class estate, such as Crayford back in the 1970s with the W116 S-class. This 560SEL estate for sale in Germany is one of the best executed, most OEM looking of all the coachbuilt estates, but it comes with a hefty asking price.
When friends and associates come to me and ask for my advice on large SUVs, I can’t help think that if I’m going to have a utility oriented vehicle with a large engine, why not make it fun? This is exactly where the E39 BMW 540i Touring comes in. Sure, it doesn’t have all-wheel drive, but it does everything else a mid to large sized SUV can, and rather well. Under the hood is the familiar 4.4 liter V8, coupled to a 5-speed automatic gearbox. Add to that cornering abilities that no truck could match and you have a recipe for family fun. As BMW’s commercial for the E39 stated when it debuted “why float through life, when you can drive?”
It was an interesting Wagon Week last month, featuring more utilitarian choices than normal. We began with a Mercedes-Benz 230TE equipped with a 5-speed manual and ended with a 1980 Volkswagen Passat L Variant. We’re back this week with another 230TE equipped with a third pedal, this time on the other side of the pond. This 1992 model is in much better nick, having covered only 30,000 miles. It might only be a four cylinder model, but good W124 estates aren’t getting any easier to find. If you know anyone in Europe who could hang on to this for two years until it’s legal for US import, keep reading…
As we round off another Wagon Week here at GCFSB, we’ll take a look at something a little bit different. The original Volkswagen Passat, otherwise known as the Dasher in the US market, would replace the Type 3 in the lineup, ushering in a new era of larger, front-engined, water-cooled vehicles. Successive generations of the Passat would see the car grow further in size, with four-wheel drive as an option on some models. The fifth generation would go on to be quite a success and help drive Volkswagen’s comeback in the US. This early Passat L Variant for sale in Hamburg, Germany isn’t fast, luxurious or flashy, but in Manila Green, is rather eye catching. Rarely do you see them this nicely preserved.
