DT's Take on BaT Auction: 1993 BMW M5 Touring

No, you don't need to adjust your PC, iMac, or mobile device. You're looking at a Bring a Trailer auction car on Daily Turismo. We like to think we don't compete with BaT - they are clearly in the business of making large sums of cash, and we are more about entertainment - so why not analyze one of their exclusive auctions? Not to mention, this one is the most interesting of their recent auctions to me personally, by far.  Find this 1993 BMW E34 M5 Touring for sale in Knoxville, TN with bidding near $30k and over 4 days to go on BringaTrailer.com.

S197 Fever: 2005-2009 Ford Mustang GT Market Update

Ever since I got to get close/personal with Ford's 2015 Mustang at the LA Auto Show a few days ago, I've had a touch of pony fever.  Truth be told, ever since the 2005 restyle, I've craned my neck when one drives by and soaked in the retro-styled design.  Of course the idea of spending $30k+ on a car (that wasn't a depreciated $150k classic) is completely foreign to this tightwad, but I knew it was only a few years before prices dropped. Time marched on, and with the release of the new Mustang, the time couldn't be better to pickup an early S197 generation Mustang -- but we are going to focus on basic V8, manual trans examples and see if we can find a Bullitt, (GT/CS) California Special or Shelby GT in the mix. 

20k: Vainity Vair & Hot Air: 1966 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa Turbo Convertible

While still scratching our heads over the admittedly great looking, but incredibly over-bid Volvo 122S we featured the other day (which closed yesterday at an amazing price of $36,100) we came across this beautifully restomodded 1966 Chevrolet Corvair Turbo Convertible for sale on Ebay offered for sale in Dallas Texas by Starwood Motors, for a market high price out of $22,888. Read on for more ranting about the market.

Carfaxfauxpas: 2003 Volkswagen W8 Passat 4MotionWagon

Like us, You probably spend most of your working day looking for cars on the internet busting your hump for an unappreciative boss, so it's only natural that you'll occasionally find a car worth pursuing.  You've read a million ebay, craigslist, Traderonline and Turbobricks ads which has given you a certain confidence. You now believe that you know how to spot a scam.  Besides, even if your own training lets you down, you know that you have the ultimate firewall between internet scammers and your wallet; the paid experts at CARFAX! If you're a frequent DT reader, you can already smell the unhappy ending to this. This is not about the car, it's about what we discovered about the car, so don't deprive us of the opportunity to tell our story...read on past the break, please.

ONCE UPON A TIME, You've just spotted this 2003 VW W8 Passat 4Motion wagon listed on Cars.com, for $6,995 at a used car dealership in El Cajon, CA (a suburb of San Diego)....but the saga has only just started on this one...

10k: Pulmonary ///Mbolism: Market Watch 1990-1993 BMW M5 E34

In our regular search for a good e34 M5 we found a veritable cornucopia of M5 goodness and decided it was worth a full e34 M5 market update posting.  The e34 generation M5 was the last of the 'hand-built' BMW M-cars and was only sold in the US market from 1990-1993.  Today the entry price to the e34 M5 couldn't be lower and while nice e28 M5s are starting to command high prices, the e34 generation is nearing the bottom of its depreciation curve...or so it would seem.

Roadkill Roundup: Mining For Gems At Ruby's Redondo Beach

We hope that the Daily Turismo is frequented by car nuts like us: always on the lookout for something weird, cool, powerful, and cheap (or all of the above) to tool around town in and have a bit of fun with. Also if you're like us, you too check out local cruise nights and car shows every once in a while...but you are not the lawn-chair show goer who spends all week polishing their '57 Chevy only to spoil it with a fake "crying kid" leaning against the bumper wearing a crocheted sweater. What we mean to say is, in our roundabout way, that a local low-stress casual car show can be a good place to find your next Daily Turismo, if you know what to look for...and what to steer the hell clear of. Follow along as we check out the cheap classic car market at our local Ruby's Diner "Cruise at the Beach" in Redondo Beach, California located steps from the Hotel Portofino, site of the finish line for the infamous Cannonball Baker Memorial Sea-To-Shining-Sea Trophy Dash.

10k: Blue Targa Special: 1978 Porsche 911SC Targa, Market Watch

Editor's note: I want point out that there is a very bad pun in the tag line for this feature.  See if you can 'get it' before you finish reading.  Like most internet pundits, we spend our days surfing the web for good stuff, polishing our rock collections, fixing broken tools from Harbor Freight and generally maligning the over-inflated state of the classic 911 market.  It only seems like yesterday when a good SC could be found for about $10k...and...hang..on, did Hunsbloger perfect his time machine?...Is it 1998 again?  Find this 1978 Porsche 911SC Targa for sale in Boiling Springs, SC currently bidding on ebay for the bargain price of $11,211 with 3 hours to go.

Value Vette Follow-up: 1964 Corvette is sold!

We featured this "Value-Vette" earlier in the week because we thought that it represented a great category of car for someone who wants to own a classic, but would rather not pay full price for the pleasure. The car in question captured the essence of our favorite axiom "There's no better money spent on a car than the previous owner's!"

GoldK: 1964 Value-Vette: The Most Elusive Of All The Corvettes

This is a 1964 Value-Vette. The Value-Vette wasn't a special Chevrolet model in 1964. However, it is a very specific model that can only be created by a series of owners and used car dealers who have handled the car in the 49 years between its original assembly and arrival here on ebay. This is one of those cars that exemplifies the DT Axiom "There is no better money spent on a car.... than the previous owner's!"  According to the seller's feedback, he has sold a couple of Corvettes and other, similar types of cars, to what appears to be a group of satisfied and appreciative buyers.  Some commented on receiving great bargains and values.

A Value-Vette isn't for everyone.  It's a special car for that discriminating buyer who just wants a driver; as opposed to the Bloomington Gold Certified 1967 Marina Blue with Blue interior, factory air, telescope wheel and electric windows equipped car that he's been dreaming about for decades.
1964 Vettes are nothing special (to me).  They carried over the side strakes of the '63's, but did not have the big chrome fake vent panel inserts in the hood.  The 1964's were more significant for the coupes, as they were the first without the split rear window.

15k: Simplify, Then Repeat; 1974 Lotus Europa Failed to Meet Reserve...Again

We keep an eye on the Lotus Europa market for signs of 911-esque appreciation, but so far they seem to be staying consistently reasonable given the rarity and sweetness of character. This 1974 Lotus Europa Twin Cam John Player Special was featured on this site 5 months ago but (again) failed to meet reserve on ebay at $15,200.

5k: Back to the Futura; 1966 Ford Falcon Wagon

This 1966 Ford Falcon Futura Wagon is currently being offered up on ebay by SportsCar LA.  We at DT enjoy closely examining ebay trades and are listing this car because of a couple of classic catches.



Catch #1......this car was offered on Craigslist by Chequered Flag International of Marina Del Ray back in early December.  At that time, they were asking $7500.  We featured the car here on DT because we like these midsized wagons and believed it would probably find a nice home in the $5-6K range.  The ad was eventually pulled, with no sale.

Market Watch: 1970-73 Mercedes-Benz W108 280 SE 4.5: Update on the Bull, the Bear and the BS!

As mentioned in our post of a great looking 1971 W108 280 SEL 4.5 last week, ebay frequently serves only to confuse market watchers, rather than bringing any clarity to car prices. The reason for this is simple; auctions are put up by sellers who are fishing for unrealistically high prices, hoping to catch an overly emotional buyer. As their reserves are never met, the more prudent 'watchers' are left wondering what it would have taken to actually buy the car.

In the case of the (1970-1973) W108 280 SE and SEL 4.5's, it appears that because these are great cars, their sellers have high expectations that these cars will sell in the upper reaches of Daily Turimo's range (at $12-15K) when, in reality the nice ones appear to be in the $6-7K range. While this makes them great candidates for DT daily drivers, many of their current owners may still be hoping to pull a rabbit out of someone else's hat.

So, let’s try this again, but this time with the shorter wheelbase version 1972 W108 280 SE 4.5 which opened up on Ebay with bids of just $1,125 with a week left to run. This is DT, so you know there's a catch...Catch #1 of the day is ... This is at least the second time this car has been offered on ebay. I noticed this car awhile back, just before its auction closed at $6600 on Dec 16, 2012, which failed to meet its reserve. Let's first consider this car, then consider the actual market price for W108's with the 4.5 liter V8.

5k: 2000 Volvo V70R AWD Wagon

There's no hiding the fact that we keep our eyes out for sporty-type haulers at DT and this 2000 Volvo V70R AWD Wagon has popped up on both Ebay and Craigslist.  The Ebay bids are currently at $2,000 and the Craigslist asking price is $4,900.

2000 Volvo V70R AWD