For all the whining (here too) about the classic car market escaping the car lover on a budget, there are still plenty of interesting options out there. Sure, they won’t get you into the Mille Miglia, nor are they always achingly beautiful, but you could say the same for some cars that have experienced an explosion in value. So if you can’t afford that German classic from the 1980s – which was never down into the low thousands anyways – but you still want a car with a horizontally-opposed, turbocharged engine, and Corvairs are just too, um, hoarder-ish for you, why not check out this 1983 Subaru GL Turbo Wagon, for sale for $1500 in Olympia, WA.
That In-Between Phase – 1969 Mercedes 230
March 13, 2015Most people, even people who like cars, would be surprised to know that Mercedes Benz has not only associated itself with one, but two third-rank American automobile manufacturers. From 1957 to 1963, Mercedes cars (including the legendary 300SL) were sold and serviced by Studebaker-Packard. Shortly after Mercedes struck out on its own in the US market, Studekard was acquired by AMC. And from 1998 to 2007, Daimler Benz merged with Chrysler, but the expected financial benefits of the merger never materialized. Daimler Benz sold Chrysler to Cerberus, who fumbled around with it for a couple of years before selling to Fiat. What’s the significance of all that? Well, today’s car is from the 35 in-between years. And while it would be funny to call them the awkward in-between years, there’s not much that’s awkward about the handsome, though conservative, W114 series of sedans. Check out this 1969 Mercedes 230 for sale for $2000 in Snoqualmie, WA.
Two Times Five – 1987 BMW 535i and 1994 BMW 530i
March 11, 2015While you can argue that the transition from E12 to E28 and E34 to E39 5-series BMWs were more evolutionary, the difference between the E28 and E34 models is quite significant – they went from being a relatively light-weight, luxury oriented sports sedan, to a more solidly built sedan where sport and luxury were at parity. As it happens, there’s an interesting example of each for sale right now, so let’s take a look – first up is this 1987 BMW 535i for sale for $2000 in Seattle, WA.


