Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
As Paul said, “It’s back!” The awesome BBS and Callaway modded GTi is back just in time to fulfill your Christmas wishes! I know I’d certainly love to have it under my tree. Bidding reached into the $20,000 range with the reserve still on last time around, failing to sell. It’s already hit $10,000 this time with 4 days to go. What will it take to buy this incredible Mk.2?
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a turbocharged night!
Let’s face it. Vans are not normally considered the coolest genre of vehicles. But with Volkswagen forbidding US customers access to their most recent Transporters and the commonality of the SUV, the Eurovan, as it was known stateside, has gained a bit of a cult status in the US. While the version equipped with the VR6 engine might be fresh in our minds, a few were sold here in the early part of the 1990s with a 2.5 liter inline-5 cylinder engine. This Eurovan for sale in Florida looks very 1993 with its shade of green and is one of the early examples equipped with a 5-speed manual gearbox.
In the world of race cars, there’s something that gives enthusiasts like me raised hairs on the back of the neck. ‘Body in white’ cars are cars that were never sold to the public, but turned directly into racers either by a third party or by the manufacturer itself. What is extra special about them is that as more or less dedicated race cars, they were often sent with less options or even devoid of items that racers love to rip off. It might be no interior, less wiring, or a lack of undercoating but it all translates to the same thing – less weight, faster lap times and more wins. Today’s Volkswagen Golf may look like a run of the mill pocket-rocket racer that someone built in their garage, but it has an interesting history:
When Paul sent me the link to this GTi, I knew instantly that I recognized it. We write a lot of cars up here, but some stand out – in this case, this car followed up two record setting GTis that I wrote up, but unlike those this one seemed stuck in no-man’s land. It wasn’t restored but also wasn’t quite as nice as the other two low mileage examples. Despite the lower asking price, no one jumped on the potential of this car at $6,500. Nearly exactly one year later, the car is back. It hasn’t remained static, gaining a touch over 6,000 miles – but strangely, the price has increased to $7,000. Given that the other similar condition Diamond Silver 1984 struggled to make $5,500, it’s hard to see why this one will hammer for more.
Time for another wheel roundup, and as I’m just in for winterizing the Audi and swapping the snow wheels onto the Subaru, I’ve got the chunky winter tires on my mind. Just because you’re swapping on the winter duds doesn’t mean you can’t still be in style on a budget, and today I’ve got a few sets that look like a great deal. The Audi B8 wheels are awesome looking – factory wheels aren’t the lightest, but they’re well made, well finished and look great on a number of newer Audis. For only $650, this set with caps looks awesome. The Tiguan wheels are the only non-stock wheels here, being made by Sport Edition. It’s a popular Tire Rack winter brand that looks reasonable and gets the job done. With few miles on that set of tires, it looks like an awesome deal at under $500. The Beetle wheels fit a bunch of the Mk.4/A3/TT models, and the brand new factory wheels and new tires mounted for under $800 seems like money well spent. Then BMW wheels are a bit more pricey but look overall to be in good shape. Then there are the factory 8″ Mercedes wheels, off either a 500SL or 500E. With some chunky looking rubber and no reserve, at the current bid of $250 they’re an absolute steal.