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Tag: Wagon

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1988 BMW 320i Touring

The E30 Touring I wrote up last week was a fine example but not for me as it was a.) Red and b.) a RHD model. I quickly moved on from that vehicle and wasn’t really giving the E30 Touring much thought, that is until I came across this beauty on eBay.

Certain cars just catch my eye and immediately I feel a connection to them. Such is the case with this 1988 320i Touring that currently resides in New Jersey. The overall condition of the car looks to be quite good for its age and living in a state that still thinks it’s ok to use road salt. Most people think silver is a boring exterior choice but here, I think it works splendidly. The blacked out kidneys are a nice touch, something I would have wanted to do myself. It’s such a minor detail but one that really makes the car pop given that the window trim is also black, not of that chrome garbage. The 15″ BBS mesh wheels also look to be in good condition, some scratches and curbage are present but not so much that I’d take issue with their condition.

The interior of this car is what really sells me on it, no tears, cracking on the dash or droopy headliner. The grey cloth seats are wonderfully simple and the grey door cards only add to the clean, elegant vibe of the car. It’s getting harder and harder to find BMWs with appealing interiors, whether it’s the condition or the color choices, that makes this car even more of a rarity in today’s market. I’d go so far as to say this is the most lust inducing classic BMW I’ve come across in over a year of carefully watching the used market, that includes M variants as well.

Click for details: 1988 BMW 320i Touring on eBay

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1993 Mercedes-Benz 300TE

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We’re in the midst of planning another Wagon Week here at GCFSB, but until then, let’s take a look at one of our favorite 5-doors, the Mercedes-Benz W124 estate. Long before SUVs like the ML, GL and GLK roamed the earth, Mercedes’ mainstream utility vehicle was their mid-sized estate vehicle. While a few coach builders produced estate variants after World War II, Mercedes’ first in-house effort was the W123 estate of the late 1970s. This car has become the darling of the biodiesel set, attracting folks looking for a bit of panache with their free motoring. The W124 estate did an excellent job of picking up where the W123 left off, combining the classic hallmarks of Mercedes-Benz style with a good balance of luxury, utility and durability that kept customers coming back to the showrooms. This W124 estate for sale in Florida has escaped the ravages of hard duty, showing just under 80,000 miles on the odometer.

Click for details: 1993 Mercedes-Benz 300TE on eBay

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1990 BMW 318i Touring

The E30 Touring is among the tastiest variety of European forbidden fruit. I first laid eyes on one in an issue of EVO magazine some years ago and I’ve been a fan ever since. The story goes that BMW engineer Max Reisböck was worried about having enough space to go on holiday with his expanding family and so he fabricated a long roof from a wrecked E30 sedan. Just think about that for a second, a guy built this car without the knowledge or backing of management and here it is today, one of the most coveted vehicles of the era among BMW enthusiasts. Without that passion to go out and just make things happen, who knows if BMW would have ever gone on to build some of the best looking wagons of all time.

Its silhouette is as good looking today as it was when it first debuted in 1988, unlike some other wagons of the era. Though red is one of my least favorite colors on any car, here it’s kinda working for me. I don’t know why but the combo of the tuning fork Fox Racing wheels and the Red exterior just make the car enjoyably quirky. Further upping the quirk factor is the fact that this car is a RHD model, which combined with the 5 speed manual acts as a fantastic theft deterrent. I’ve never had the opportunity pilot a vehicle from the right side but I’m sure hoping that changes in the near future because doing so unlocks the level 5 enthusaist badge, or so I’ve been told.

Click for details: 1990 BMW 318i Touring on eBay

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Beige-off: 1986 Volkswagen Quantum Wagon v. 1987 Audi 5000S Avant

One of the unintentionally funny quotes from Stephen King’s Pet Semetery was the haunting warning from the crusty old Jud Crandall; “Sometimes, dead is better“. Now, I know what you’re thinking – “What, Carter? You’re the biggest Audi/Volkswagen fanboy who writes in complete sentences on a daily basis! And now you want to suggest that these two classic VAG wagons shouldn’t have been buried in the Micmac Indian burial grounds?” Well, I wouldn’t go that far but it does seem that 1980s Audi and Volkswagen products of this ilk are resurrected from the underworld because we see them so infrequently. And for enthusiasts, inevitably they’re not quite the cars we wish had been saved. As a result, besides both being beige in color, these two wagons are completely beige in their totality. Neither was a top-spec car originally though they were both fairly expensive – the Volkswagen stickered at around $14,000 in 1986 without options, while the Audi was the best part of $22,000 base price in 1987. Both come with the long lived but rather forgettable KX-code 110 horsepower inline-5 engine, and both original buyers opted to pay an astonishing $1,000 extra (from memory, it’s been a while) for the dull-witted 3-speed automatic. And then, if that wasn’t enough, both buyers selected their respective marques’ beige tones in a celebration of their mediocrity. Yet here we are, nearly 30 years later, smiling just a bit to see both in overall very good shape. Who wins the “race to watch the paint dry” competition?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 Audi 5000S Avant on eBay

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2002 Mercedes-Benz C320 Estate

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The Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate was a very short lived offering here in the US market, lasting only four years, with supply cut off two years before the next generation C-class would arrive. In the beginning, two engine choices were offered, a 2.6 liter V6 or 3.2 liter V6, with or without 4Matic all-wheel drive. Later on, the C240 would soldier on as the sole C-class estate, available with or without 4Matic. This 2002 C320 Estate for sale in New Jersey has well under 50,000 miles and wears the five-spoke alloys from the Sport package of the period.

Click for details: 2002 Mercedes-Benz C320 Estate on eBay

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