Bring a Trailer Auctions, E30 edition

[djjerme]

Maybe 35K if the right two bidders are there.

Called it! What do I win?

[flyboyx]

Called it! What do I win?

a 16" inflatable rubber dildo?

it may not be your cup of tea, but hey...its a "major" award. (meant in that "christmas story" kind of way)

[djjerme]

LOL.. just look at it!

[2mAn]

Any thoughts on the 87 iS?

[M-technik-3]

Clean bronzit not bad, thinking 4k autotragic hurts but most consider automatics are abused not as frequently, unless it's junior's first car! rollbacks come to mind

[cheffy30]

my autotragic has performed very well over the last 120k miles... had her for 15 years as my daily driver...just in for a service as we speak and there are no issues with transmission.. seattle traffic sucks ass so its nice not to have a clutch...
love me a stick but hey...

[djjerme]

Any thoughts on the 87 iS?

I'll be watching it closely. We've got a plastic bumpered Bronzit 4door 325i with an AT that we spent some money making into a very reliable daily (new suspension, brakes, timing belt..etc.) that we are probably putting on the market in the next month or two. This will give me an idea of where the market is right now..

[Poorhouse]

Interesting the did a "partial rebuild" of the auto.
Seller then comments how easy a manual swap is.

Not sure why he wouldn't have just done the swap when the auto was out?

[djjerme]

Not everyone WANTS a manual.

Or maybe he had physical issues that wouldn't allow him to drive a manual (part of the reason Alpina's owner actually prefered installing Autotragics in cars.)

[Poorhouse]

I will venture to guess that the vast majority of E30 buyers today want manuals.
These cars aren't seeing the commuter slog anymore where an auto might be preferable.
Enthusiasts buying hobby cars are looking to have fun, which means a manual.

Note that the seller is a dealer. I'm guessing "partial rebuild" means a couple new seals to get it ready for sale.

[SlickAlpinweiss]

Value of Verts

Question:
Are the cabriolet's becoming more desirable? The last 3 sold for well over $10k. I understand the the $15k one was super clean, nice color interior, and documentation since new. I've always assumed people pay more for face lifted models with plastic bumpers..
Even here in Hawaii, the convertible e30's sell for less than coupes and sedans. Not judging, to each their own. Problem is that almost all e30's here have some rust. Also for some reason, bronzitbeige e30's, e28's, e24's are found rust free; something unexplainable in the paint.
I've passed up on some clean cheap cabrio's, am I missing something here?
It's just not my style to drive around here with top down, it really draws attention. Not so much the tourists, but your neighbors see you everyday.
Thoughts?, thanks.

[DELPHINtimecapsule]

Not everyone WANTS a manual.

Or maybe he had physical issues that wouldn't allow him to drive a manual (part of the reason Alpina's owner actually prefered installing Autotragics in cars.)

That actually clears up a huge question mark for me. I've always wondered why they EVER did slushbox in any of their cars, let alone a big chunk of them.

[djjerme]

It's interesting because before I got in to the world of E30's, I was big in to Drag Racing for most of my formidable years. And in that world NOBODY wants a manual. You can't launch a car with much consistancy using a stick. Even with a line lock and two step.

Back in my street racing youth days, I knew plenty of people who converted classic cars from manual to automatic, in fact, one was a '70 Chevelle SS 454. He took the Muncie out of it for a TH400 with a higher stall converter, because it allowed him to launch better on the street and cut better lights at the dragstrip.

So it's always a matter of perspective..

[reelizmpro]

In E30's the ZF gearbox sucks. We're talking early 80's auto trans 4 speed OD with very spread out gearing. Known to fail just by revving the engine while in Park on smog tests. Sometimes they won't shift and sometimes lose gears altogether. Seen it happen moreso on the early cars back in the day. Maybe the later models got an updated trans. At any rate, I never looked back when I converted my first 85 325e. It was much better as a manual. Sold my old trans to a lady customer for almost twice what a Getrag 260 was going for so it was a win-win.

[djjerme]

Not a bad looking Touring up now..

I'm not a huge fan of how it sits right now, makes the arse look big. In my eyes, a touring should have just a slight rake.