While the BMW faithful and converts have flocked to the E28 and E30 as the next collectable and drivable classics, nearly ignored in BMW history are the E21 and E12 predecessors; cars that both revolutionized the small luxury sport sedan market and set the stage for their more sought after replacements. If you’re not in as much of a hurry and don’t mind the more 70s, less 80s approach of the earlier cars, finding a clean example is a much cheaper proposition than the market stars that everyone is looking for. Truth be told, finding those clean examples – especially the E12 variety – can be difficult, but today there is a mint condition, lower mile 1979 528i example on Ebay: