Posts Tagged ‘Feature’

Costco Twin-Pack – Pair of Running 1972 BMW 2002s

May 26, 2010

Wouldn’t it be great if you could go to Costco and get a multi-pack of your favorite classic car? Well, this seller has got a jump on the concept and is selling a bundled pair of 2002s. I’ve probably rambled on in the past about how I was brought home from the hospital as a baby in one of these (1970, Colorado orange, probably with plenty of rust by the time I was born since it was a Montreal car, and because my father pretended to be Roger Clark on the backroads of Vermont), and how I think they’re fun, simple cars to own and drive. Anyway, I’ve been trying on and off to realize my dream of having one since looking for a car in high school, and Alfas always got in the way. If you’re like me and you’re up near the seller, and this doesn’t make you fulfill your need to have an ’02, I don’t know what will. I found these on a mailing list I’m part of for the Melee, but they’re also listed for $3000 in Quincy, CA (near Chico).

1972 BMW 2002 pair

The listing is very brief, so this post will only be a quick hit, but the seller does say both cars run. The caveat is they both need restoration, according to him. While the picture is not super-clear, the cars are cream-colored, and no major rust is visible. At this price, you could probably even part them out and make money. Let me know if you’re up near there and able to check them out – they do look to have a lot of potential, even without a full restoration.

Finally, one bit of administrivia – I’ve taken on a new job that doesn’t allow me to write as frequently as I’d like to. That said, I seem to spend more of my time looking for candidates than actually writing about them, so if you spot a car while looking around, let me know and I’d be happy to feature it. My guidelines when looking are simple – under or around $3000, running, and unusual. Let me know what you find!

E12 Junior – 1988 BMW 535iS

May 22, 2010

I spend a lot of effort writing about all kinds of Italian sedans, and some of the earlier BMW 2002s and Bavarias, but have never been excited enough about the accessible price range of 1980s BMW sedans. They still qualify as pure sports sedans, since they are from the time before BMW decided it was also a luxury car maker. So while there are some nice touches like high quality leather seats, a full set of gauges, and a high-performance chassis and drivetrain, there’s still a certain simplicity to them that appeals to me. Since the E28 5-series from the 1980s is really more of an evolution of its 1970s older brother, the appeal is even greater.

Sure enough, there are plenty of affordable E28s on the market. But seriously, even BMW suffered a bit under the new smog rules of that time – when did anybody get excited about pinnacles of automotive excitement like an automatic 528e or the 524td? The 533i was a step in the right direction, but the car to have was the 535iS – its engine was formerly seen in the E12 M535i (BMW nerds will correct me if I’m wrong, no doubt!). Most 535iS are priced out of our range, but if you’re willing to go a bit higher on the mileage, you might find a well maintained example at a reasonable cost, like this car in Milwaukie, OR (who knew? it’s near Portland), with 240K miles at a very reasonable $3200. I’ve seen these cars listed with much higher mileage, so with some care this car should have a lot of life left in it.

1988 BMW 535iS rear

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European GTs, part 2 – 1980 BMW 633CSi

May 19, 2010

Recently, RustyButTrusty has been watching a lot of episodes of Wheeler Dealers. In case you haven’t heard of it, it’s a British show on Discovery where they buy an older enthusiast car, “restore” it, and sell it on at a profit. Who among you haven’t dreamed of doing that? I can say for sure that I have no ability in that area, instead sinking all my money into cars I sell for less than I bought them for… although to be truthful I have yet to sell one of my cars.

Anyway, one of the cars they featured recently was an E24 BMW 6-series, specifically a 635CSi. For £2000, they picked up a nice red example with cloth interior and automatic transmission. They cleaned it up nicely with leather seats from a parts car, some suspension fixes, replacing the 80s alloys with OEM wheels, and a new exhaust, and sold it on for a few hundred pounds profit. Now, £2000 is on the outside of our budget, but you can still find nice affordable examples if you’re willing to look around a bit. Looking for a car with a manual transmission (because really, what fun is an automatic?), I was able to find this tidy-looking example for sale for $2800 in Bloomington, CA (east of Los Angeles).

1980 BMW 633 CSi front

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