The question of badges, badge engineering and car’s values are always interesting to me. Obvious car values vary considerably, but some times enthusiasts really gravitate towards one particular year or sub-model within a lineup and choose that model for value. Yesterday’s 1995 M3 raised that point; while it was a neat color and lower mileage with good overall condition, it was the OBD1 status that had some claiming that it should be worth more than later models. In the case of the E31, it’s obviously the big-dog 850CSi that stands out with its BMW Motorsport heritage and build. But let’s say, for argument’s sake, that there was arguably a nicer example of the lesser 850i 6-speed with some light modifications available at the same time – is the M badge that important?
Tag: m70
Yesterday, Paul wrote up a very clean, low mile and celebrity-owned 850Ci. There were some serious positives to that example: the condition of that car is pretty spectacular, it has the later M73 5.4 V12 pumping out an extra 40 horspower, it has the better wheels and a great color combination. However, even though this morning’s example has ten times the miles and the condition admittedly is not as good, it also has some things going for it. First off, it’s a 6-speed manual – the package most enthusiasts who want this car would like. Second, unlike the 97’s CSi-high pricetag, this model can be bought on a serious budget if you’re willing to accept some flaws:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 BMW 850i on eBay
2 CommentsI’ve talked about what you could get if you were willing to miss out on the E30 bandwagon, and here’s another example of just how much car you could get. The E31 BMW 8-series is still relatively undervalued; part of that is not yet being recognized as a classic, and the other part is the fear of repairs on this fairly complicated big coupe. That means that if you’re willing to maintain that double-inline-6 motor that those crazy engineers from Munich developed, you can nab yourself a top-rate luxury grand tourer for a song. This example is one of the early M70 motored cars, with 300 horsepower on tap and what I’d consider still a great and underrated design: