It’s an interesting exercise to just pull a random price out of a hat and see what you can get for that. While not by design, the last two cars – a running but very faded Fiat 1100, and a similar condition Fiat 128 – were both priced at $2800, and so is our next feature. Check out this 1973 BMW Bavaria for sale for $2800 in Newark, NJ. Oh, how the mighty have fallen to the level of the plebeian cars…
Depending on your definition of bang for the buck, you get a lot more for your money with this BMW. Six cylinders, comfortable seating for 5, a top speed well over 100mph, and the general solidity of a luxury sedan. The seller has put a lot of effort into the car, making it a driver capable of handling his 69-mile daily commute last year. Unfortunately, the non-original clearcoated paintjob has failed at some point, and you can see it’s flaked off in sheets from the trunk, less so from the roof and hood.
These E39 turbine-style wheels do not come with the car, and the seller does not provide detail on what is included – do you have to BYOW? A set of repro Momo Vega wheels would look great on this – the modernish paint color really doesn’t work so well with the standard alloys or steelies with hubcaps.
Ahh, stick, you’re so helpful to old-car owners. However, it’s hard to understand why it’s needed here, as the hood doesn’t rely on a spring or strut to hold it up. This car appears to have a Weber conversion, which is apparently the hot tip for reliability, although some E3 owners have figured out how to make the original Zenith carbs work. There’s nothing too alarming visible here, though it is a bit dirty, and you’ll want to carefully inspect for rust, given it’s in Illinois.
The interiors seem to be generally hard-wearing, and this one only shows a couple of splits in the dash and a small rip in the right bolster of the driver’s seat. This looks to have been an A/C car, though no hardware is visible underhood, and it’s nice to see these with a manual transmission since a significant percentage got the ZF 3-speed. But, if you don’t like the newer paint and want more of a project, the above car could serve as a bargaining tool when you’re looking at this 1972 BMW Bavaria, for sale for $2950 in Hazel Dell, WA.
Silver suits the car well, and it’s nice to see the original-style hubcaps since most have been replaced by the alloys you also see on E9 coupes. There might be some bubbling at the bottom of the driver’s door, and the car is said not to run but to be straight. At least it’s been garaged for the past 10 years, but not much other detail is given. That said, the M30 engine is fairly solid, and as long as a failed head gasket was not the cause for the long-term storage, a revival might be fairly straightforward. Which one would you pick?
Rusty But Trusty 
June 14, 2014 at 11:36 am |
Yikes! the first car is in Newark. I’ve been to Newark, so I’d take the other one rather then ever go back to Newark.
December 14, 2014 at 3:18 pm |
I bought the ’73 bav. Actually bought it for $2k. The seller also included a solid extra hood and a bootlid and some other little items that he collected over the years. Car didn’t move because it needed a clutch slave cylinder and a new battery. I took the chance and still bought it and got it towed back home. After the clutch slave cylinder and a new battery, it actually ran and ran mint! Only problem is the power steering whine, it probably needs to be flushed or a new pump which is not a big deal. Now….. at some point the car got restored and whomever did the restoration, went the cheap way. There’s lots of bondo almost all over and its cracking at some places. The roof is the worst because bondo peeled and you can tell how thick they aplied it. It’s a shame but ohh well… I bought it to restore it anyway. Now I’m just gonna have to work a little harder taking that bondo off. My plan is to get is painted, redo the whole interior although it’s not bad, get 18″ retro wheels made by Detroit Steel Wheel Co. And install a custom Accuair air ride suspension. 😉
March 22, 2018 at 6:17 pm |
For Sale??