Bring a Trailer Auctions, E30 edition

[AWDBOB]

It is my entire strategy to buy poorly sorted cars. Sorting them out can be a pain but that's what the discount is for. The previous e30 s54 swap I bought on BAT was a pretty mess. But, but it is easily worth 15k more than I bought it for now that it's sorted.

I was betting that this car could be sorted with lots of sweat, patience, and a couple of grand. Plus I have most of the parts that I need already on hand to make it right.

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I fully agree, and most of my cars are purchased similarly, airing more on the side of total basket cases.

But the one thing that can’t be sorted with a couple grand and patience is the chassis, unless one happens to be an adequate fabricator/welder. After looking closely at the photos I suspect there is a lot more rust repair to be done than first meets the eye.

[carlb]

I fully agree, and most of my cars are purchased similarly, airing more on the side of total basket cases.

But the one thing that can’t be sorted with a couple grand and patience is the chassis, unless one happens to be an adequate fabricator/welder. After looking closely at the photos I suspect there is a lot more rust repair to be done than first meets the eye.

Rust is always a gamble. I didn't see anything worse than what has plagued my current fleet. But, it's a gamble with which one must be comfortable. Which is why I think it was worth what I bid. The chorus of "stolen!" and "easily a $30k car" didn't help one bit. That is always annoying because every car I buy at auction is a gamble (in this case, crash history, not repaired by a shop, swap as well done by a private party... or, in other words, some random dude...) and that has to be priced into the bids. I set my top bid at $21,500 (because I couldn't decide if it was a 20k car or a 23k car) and I decided that an extra $500 was reasonable given the uncertainty.

[2mAn]

I won the auction for the S54 swapped e30 and the buyer refused to sell. Said it sold for too low. I'm like "can we talk about the entire purpose of a reserve price?" Very disappointed.

Im annoying my buddy who works for them (BaT) His job is to literally help facilitate a situation where the deals go through.

EDIT: Ironically my buddy was the one who worked on this. There was zero response from the seller. Buyer (carlb) was refunded and seller was banned...

Im sure the car will pop up for sale again in the near future for $30k

[AWDBOB]

Indiana 2.9L car was a bargain

[2mAn]

Indiana 2.9L car was a bargain

Yea, just barely made reserve too... I would've loved it, but I might be doing something else soon thats dumber than buying a sorted car lol

[AWDBOB]

Yea, just barely made reserve too... I would've loved it, but I might be doing something else soon thats dumber than buying a sorted car lol

I could feel the juju in the internet air every time I visited the auction to check on it. I could feel your cursor hovering above the bid button in the final moments.

Car gave me “driven hard, put away wet” vibes.

[2mAn]

1991 325iX

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1991-bmw-325ix-24/

[2mAn]

1990 325i Convertible

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-bmw-325i-convertible-17/

[2mAn]

1990 M3

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-bmw-m3-71/

1989 325iS

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1989-bmw-325is-78/

[2mAn]

1990 318 Touring

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-bmw-318i-touring-5/

[2mAn]

1987 325 Sedan

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1987-bmw-325i-81/

[2mAn]

1986 325e Sedan

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1986-bmw-325e-36/

1989 M3

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1989-bmw-m3-63/

1990 325i

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-bmw-325is-60/

[djanalog]

Really like seeing these sedans. The red interiors are hard to resist.

[roguetoaster]

Really like seeing these sedans. The red interiors are hard to resist.

Apparently this is heresy. Take two exactly equivalent E30s, one a four door, one a two door, the two door will almost always be worth double. Why this is so is baffling, when the E30 four door looks good and offers more utility.

[E30 Wagen]

Man that euro slicktop M3 looks tasty. Some of the paintwork is a bit orange-peely but any slicktop M3 is a must buy in my book.