TjRubley.com

Wow! I think if you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know what a huge fan-boy I am of Alpina modified BMW’s. Hartge is definitely in the same league of tuners. Tuners like Alpina and Hartge are so well respected in Germany, and so extensive in the engineering and modification they perform, that when these cars are completed they are titled under the tuner’s brand name, not BMW!

With that foundation, check out this incredibly rare BMW e21 323i based Hartge H3 for sale in California on eBay:

The e21 BMW 3 series model falls between the older BMW 1600/2002 series of 1966-1976 and the newer e30 BMW 3 series from 1983-1991. Considering how hot rare 2002’s and e30 M3’s are right now, it will be interesting to see where this e21 ends up. Historically, they have never received the love that the other two series have enjoyed. But the 323i was never imported to the states, let alone one modified by Hartge. This e21 could definitely be the exception to the rule. Not to mention the seller has done a great job with the ad including many details, photos and videos of the actual car.

I wish we didn’t need a roof or bathroom remodel because I’m really excited about this car!

Hartge H3 Links
Details on what parts make up the Hartge e21 H3
Google search for ‘hartge e21 H3′ - Note how many of the links end up displaying this very car. The owner must have been very active in the community.

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Less than 300 were imported to the U.S. and this one has just a few tasteful upgrades.

1993 Ducati 888 SPO For Sale on Ducati.ms for $8500:

I am selling my 1993 DUCATI 888 SPO (limited edition, 1 of only 200 in the world!) it has an Ohlins rear shock, carbon fiber FBF exhaust pipes, upgraded ECU, air filter, Steering Damper, and upgraded racing brake lines, and pads.

The bike has only had 200 miles put on since its last service, which is when new Dunlops where put on as well.

This motorcycle has the extremely rare, and hard to find “Ducati Campione Del Mondo Superbike” paint job, celebrating the Superbike championship win by Doug Polen for that year…

I’m a subscriber on the Ducati 851/888 Yahoo group where this bike was mentioned. This is a very active and knowledgable community. Here’s some of the comments on this bike:

I wish I could just buy all the 1/2 priced early 4 valves out there, moth ball them and sell them for stupid money in 25 years.

I can tell you that if it was possible to get Australian compliance and rego on that SPO it would be heading here PRONTO!

I was recently at Ducati Motocorsa in Portland, where they have an 888 SPO on display. It’s even more beautiful in person.

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Naturally I’m a sucker for the alpinweiss M3’s, and this example with 63k miles and $22k asking seems to fall right in line with current asking prices for clean and documented e30 M3’s:

1991 BMW e30 M3 for sale on Roadfly

I still think that $20k+ is too much for an e30 M3, but that doesn’t mean I’m not totally star struck when I see one!

Check out other e30 BMW M3’s posted on TjRubley.com

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I’ve been meaning to point out that Hemmings has an .rss feed for it’s classifieds, and this 1993 Mercedes Benz 500E is a perfect example of the unique cars that are listed there:

1993 Mercedes-Benz 500E LIMITED PRODUCTION MODEL. Hand-built by Porsche in Stuttgart due to extensive floor and body modifications. 326 HP (11.2 lbs/hp, 0-60 in 5.5 sec.), 5.0L M119V8. Leather seats by Recaro. 1.5″ wider track, 0.9″ lower profile, flared fenders, side skirts, air dam, wide tires, and special wheels distinguish it from its lesser brethren. Only 1095 imported to the U.S. Considered a classic, as per MB. Featured in October 2005 issue of Hemmings Sports&Exotic. Always Mercedes serviced. All service records available. 70,000 meticulously maintained miles. Recent major service, all new brakes. Needs no attention–ready to drive. Call or email amc333@msn.com $15,950

This car seems priced lower than most of the 500E’s I’ve seen for sale, but what if it checked out? What a cool car!

And if you want to keep an eye on Hemmings Classifieds, or any .RSS enabled site, check out my post on how to use .RSS feeds for classifieds.

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Check out this beauty! A 1987 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 with only 41k miles and a buy-it-now of $11250:

Considering the ridiculous prices that e30 M3’s currently command, the value of this car, it’s nearest competitor, looks very good!

Take a look at the other 190 2.3-16 for sale cars I have posted on TjRubley.com

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My buddy Ed contacted me about a finding him a sub $5k car that fit the following criteria:

2:48 PM edwardwilson749: Up for a car challenge?

me: sure!

2:50 PM edwardwilson749: You can take your time with this one, but we are looking for a dog/visitor car. Open to all makes/models with a max of $5000. Looking for something we can haul the 3 dogs in comfortably, let visitors drive when they are here, and not be embarrassed to park out front.

2:51 PM So far we have been looking at wagons, but would be open to a small SUV, or anything if the right one comes along.

me: hmmm, interesting.

2:52 PM edwardwilson749: Figure pick something up, drive it for a couple years, then sell it for a little less than what we paid for it. Figure it’ll cost us a couple grand to own, as opposed to a complete junker that might cost that much in maintenance.

So it will need to have a fairly good service record as well.

2:53 PM And being located somewhere close to the SE as well

me: gotcha, sounds like fun!

You can fake having 3 dogs in a 4 door once in a while, but it’s sure not ideal. In my mind, that means wagon or SUV.

So I took a swing at some logical choices for Ed and G. I may have to come back to this later in the week with some more ‘creative’ examples though!

The first car to spring to mind was an e34 touring, that Ed also had found. His response was ‘meh’ for this 1993 525i Touring on Craigslist for $4k:

Right behind the BMW e34’s on my list was the W124 Benz Wagons:

1995 Mercedes 300TE Wagon on Craigslist in Orlando

1995 E320 Wagon on Craigslist $4595 in Orlando

And if you’re going to consider BMW’s and Merc’s, well you have to consider the Audi’s with Quattro:

1998 Audi A6 Avant on Craigslist Treasure Coast:

Or this 1998 A6 Avant with only 83k miles in Virginia on Autotrader.com:

I’ve always thought a Landy was a sharp buy for the money. I’d take a look at these as well:

2000 Land Rover Discovery on Craigslist West Palm, $4130, 123k miles:

And this 1997 Land Rover Discovery SE with only 92k miles for $4996:

And it’s hard to ignore a Japanese option:

1997 Infiniti QX4 on Craigslist Birmingham ($4950):

But of all the cars I looked at tonight, the value leader and enthusiast bargain has got to be the Volvo R series wagons from the late 90’s. Check out these two barn burners for under $5k:

1996 Volvo 850R Wagon on Craigslist Atlanta. I really dig the beech interior and the stout black exterior.

And along the same lines, this newer 1998 Volvo V70R on Craigslist Savannah:

Honorable Mentions:

Fiat 500 Station Wagon on eBay (exceeds price limit by $2k )

1993 Cadillac Fleetwood Hearse on eBay (too creepy, but probably meets or beats most of his criteria LOL!)

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Let’s start with the bad news: The listing shows a buy-it-now price of $48k and it’s in Norway.

1972 Alpina 2002 Touring on eBay

If you watch this blog regularly, you know I’m a 2002 fan. But $48k? Really?!

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Found this 1993 Ducati SuperLight on the Bay Area Craigslist:

$9500 and 2100 miles. Keep in mind these were rare to begin with and only 300 were imported. And I love the old 911S and original SuperSport in the background!

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I am such a sucker for these 400cc gray market bikes! Good thing those home equity loan letters no longer overflow from the mailbox!!

Here’s a 1994 Honda RVF400 that’s been for sale on the Bay Area Riders Forum (BARF - clever) for some time. But according to his latest post, he might be willing to deal (Update: He’s dropped the price to $6500! This really does sound like a steal!):

1994 Honda RVF400 NC35 CA titled.

$7,500 obo or will trade for NSR250 MC28 or MC21 (plus cash)

specs-

7500KM = 4650 miles
Two Brothers Pipe
Steering Dampner
Rearset Risers
Rear Ride height spacers 10MM
CRG brake and clutch levers
Front steel brake lines
NEW 520 Chain with Sprockets
NEW R&G non-Drilled sliders
Solo seat cowl

Titled and has what appears to be documented maintenance. Plus it’s pure gray market bike sex!

And here’s a 1994 Honda CBR400RR, aka the Baby Blade, on Craigslist San Francisco (do rare bikes just grow on trees down there??):

CBR400rr JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) bike with original Jap Title and California Street title current tags and insurance of course.
The bike is a 9 out of 10 mechanically. Fresh oil (always), recent carb tune and sync, plugs etc… Good brakes, suspension, tires are safe and legal but ready. Stored indoors on Battery Tender but it’s always a good idea to replace your battery every 2 years anyway.
It’s a great bike, fast and controllable, low to the ground so it’s a smaller rider’s dream that can seldom be found for sale in this country; especially in street-legal form.
It’s my girlfriend’s street-ride. She has ridden it on the occasional track day too. WOW, what an incredible little machine!
Has about 12k on it.

Pretty low miles and the bodywork looks original. For $4900, this looks like a total steal with the California title!

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Here’s a reasonably attractive 1995 Porsche 993 on Pelican Parts for $33k w/ 70k miles:

Beautiful 1995 993 Porsche Carrera Black/black. 2 Owners. 12 Year California Car! No Accidents. 73,000 Well Maintained Miles. Fresh Service, New Air Conditioning System, Tune Up, New Spark Plugs, Oil Change, New Clutch, Slave And Master Cylinder.serviced For Most Of It’s Life At The Legengary Porsche Service Center “the Stable” In San Francisco. Big Red Turbo Calipers, 10 Speaker Hi-fi, Single Cd, Cd Changer, New Bridgestone S-02 Tires. All Original Records, Books, Stamps, Compressor, Jack, And Tools. Mint Condition!

As the last of an era, the 993 still commands a significant price point in the market compared to the two 964’s I posted earlier this month. But I love the black on black, good miles, and service from the Stable?! Well we know what kind of work they do and it speaks volumes for how well this car should be maintained.

Still… seems like a big jump in price point vs. relative experience with the 964’s.