The E46 generation M3 was built from 2001-2006 and BMW sold a staggering 85,000 of the screaming coupes around the world. The sedan versions of the M3 seem to skip generations and the E46 was only available as a coupe or convertible, but it was equipped with a screaming 8,000 rpm capable inline six cylinder engine and a six speed gearbox. Find this 2002 BMW M3 E46 equipped with SMG trans for sale in Fairfax, VA for $14,000 via craigslist.
Recent hype has surrounded a camper conversion once owned by Steve McQueen, and while he certainly was a legend, the car is just another Chevy pickup with a camper conversion. Nothing to see, move along please. Move right along to the strangest camper you'll find on the web. This is a 1935 Graham Housecar, for sale in Mohawk, NY for $5,500 buy-it-now or best offer on ebay.
Between 1989 and 1997 BMW sold only 7,000 of the shark nose E31 8-series in North America, a luxury grand tourer meant not to just supersede the E24 6-series, but to also eclipse it in performance, price and prestige. It was available in base configuration with a V8, but real ballers splurged for the V12, something your Porschephile neighbor couldn't get in his 928. Today buying an 850i is similar to finding a good used circus lion. They are cheap, your friends will want to come over to see it, it will drink lots of fuel and someday it will bite your head off. Find this 1991 BMW 850i 6-spd for sale in SF Bay Area, CA for $9850 via craigslist. Tip from Eric R.
1977 was a complicated year for well-to-do buyers who arrived at a Porsche dealer showroom. One could buy a previous model year (but new) mid-engine 914, a new to the market front-engine 924, a classic rear-engined 911 or put a down payment on a front-engine 928. Likely the 911s aged looks lost many buyers to the new 924/928 and Porsche leadership fully intended to mothball the iconic Beetle descendant into obsolescence. Obviously that didn't happen, because for every 911 spun backwards into a telephone pole, another new 911 was sold and it outlived the 924/928/944/968 like a House of Windsor monarch. Find this 1977 Porsche 911S for sale in SF Bay Area, CA for $14,000 via craigslist. Tip from KBZ.
We’ve all been
there – you’ve found a car on Daily Turismo that looks great, but you know that
the vague descriptions and out-of-focus photos in many car ads can easily hide
potentially expensive and time-consuming issues. You want to know more but you're not
ready to ask the seller to take the car to a mechanic for a full-blown
inspection. What you want is someone knowledgeable who can go look at it, check
it out, and report back. That's where Jewel or Jalopy comes in. (Ed Itor: This is a guest post from Ian and Kim Lomax @ jewelorjalopy.com. No money exchanged hands, no tit-for-tat, JorJ didn't buy us a t-bone steak, an autographed picture of Amanda Bynes or a box of matches...nutthin...but I keep checking the mailbox each day.)
The Count of Monte Cristo is an epic novel by Alexandre Dumas that chronicles the life of Edmond Dantès, a young man wrongly imprisoned, who disguises himself as the title character and enacts a stunningly complex revenge on those who had him locked up. It is long and complicated novel that requires complex flowcharts to understand who is who and is considered a classic piece of literature. Crisco is a oil based shortening marketed by J. M. Smucker Co, used by Southerners to make pie crusts, cookies, sculptures and to slather on toast. Combine them and you get a Chevy Monte Carlo; a big luxury coupe with a French name, but pure 'Merican crust on the underside. Find this 1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for $11,000 located in Point Loma, CA via craigslist. To the peanut gallery in the comments sharpening pitchforks: I know that Edmond Dantès wasn't a pirate, but damned if it's hard to find a good excuse to use the Pirate Powered badge...so....today just for fun, we'll pretend he was a pirate, no arrrrguments please.
The E30 generation yuppie mobile solidified BMW's reputation for building clean looking, relatively quick, manual transmission equipped sport sedans. We prefer the plastic bumper post 1990 look but it is getting hard to find an original clean example. Most E30s have been neglected (bad), crashed (worse) or stanced out (worst) and it is refreshing to find one for a decent price that simply needs a new owner. Find this 1990 BMW 325i 2-door 5-spd for sale in Redwood Shores, CA for $4990 via craigslist. Tip from Kaibeezy.
Before the Honda Civic became another Corolla/HyundaiKia competitor, it was really something special. The combination of thin 22-gauge sheetmetal, light and rev-happy 4-cylinder engines, the slickest shifting manual transmissions in the business and pure chassis dynamics made for an entertaining, useful and affordable option that millions of consumers found very hard to turn down. The EF and EG Civic Sis from the late '80s / early '90s were some of the best; sadly, they have mostly been "riced" into oblivion by now and either A) have been crushed and recycled into Taiwanese washing machines, B) have been modified at a cost well past their value, or C) are still stock, but priced like Faberge eggs because of their rareness. One of our readers has managed to find a 1989 Civic Si that fits nonexistent option D: it's still mostly stock, intact, one color, and...can still be used as reasonably priced yet fun transportation! Find it here on craigslist for $3500 in Elk Grove (near Sacramento), CA. Thanks to Jeffrey L. for the tip!
For some strange reason the biannual smog check requirements in California do not apply to pre-1998 diesel powered cars. So, the smoggiest, most oil belching piles on the road don't need to be tested...probably because they'd ruin the exhaust gas analyzers at every smog station. Whatever the reason, it is a boon for power hungry lunatics because those diesel title vehicles can be equipped with all manner of carburetor equipped de-catted high octane fueled power plants. Find this 1982 Volvo 240 
Johnny Cash in his final album sings a particularly stirring rendition of the folk song Cowboy's Lament, also known by part of its first line as "Streets of Laredo." (Side note: The Kingston Trio sings a decidedly more whimsical version, but Cash's version is better). The song chronicles of the life of a Cowboy who "used to go dashing," but "got shot in the breast" and is "dying today." It is a fitting name for the mid-level Jeep Comanche as it embodies a certain degree of Cowboy cool and also died young. Find this 1987 Jeep Comanche Laredo 4X4 5-spd for sale in Shawsville, VA currently bidding on ebay for $5,101 with 3 days to go. Tip from IgnatiusReilly.
The Alfa Romeo Alfetta coupe was a front engine rear-transaxle equipped fastback built in Milan from 1972-1987. The Alfetta replaced the successful and gorgeous GTV, big shoes to fill for the Giorgetto Giugiaro designed coupe. The Alfetta will never be as collectible and cool as its Giulietta predecessor, but today's values are depressed and the time for picking one up couldn't be better. Find this 1979 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT (Sprint Veloce) for sale in Sunnyvale, CA for $6,000 via craiglist. Tip from Nicolas B.
The Reptune GT is a kit car based on the Austin Mini and the brainchild of a designer by the name of Dennis Prophet. It isn't often that you are able to buy a car from its designer, but this gullwing equipped kit car is being sold by the original designer/builder. Find this 1976 Reptune GT is for sale in Ajax, ON via Kijiji.ca. Tip from Peter R.
The G in G-Wagen is short for Geländewagen and put an Ehrfürchtig in front makes this an "Awesome Terrain Vehicle" or ATV for short. The G-Wagen is a brick styled SUV built by Steyr-Puch in Austria for Mercedes-Benz with minimal changes for a remarkable 32 years. Find this 1985 Mercedes-Benz 300GD G-Wagen for sale in Vancouver, BC for $13,000 CDN via expeditionportal.com. Big thanks to Sam P. for the tip!
Often when buying a car you may be willing to ignore the condition of the current engine because you plan a swap or budget a rebuild into your price. Seldom do you buy a car specifically for the engine, but that should be the case for this lowly Maverick powered by Ford's legendary and rare Boss 302 V8. Find this 1969 Boss 302 engine wrapped in a 1973 Ford Maverick currently starting on ebay for $5,500 reserve-not-met with 2 days to go, located in Houston, TX.
The term secretary's car is tossed around in automotive circles to describe a car that is particularly likely to be driven by a secretary. But secretaries in name have all disappeared from the modern work environment and now are called things like administrative assistant or personal assistant. What this means is that a secretary's car now also brings with it a connotation of being driven by a blue-haired secretary...which is exactly what we've got today. Find this 1967 Mercury Cougar V8-auto currently bidding on ebay for $6,300 reserve-not-met with only a few hours to go, located in Yorktown, VA.
It is a well known fact that certain makes/models attract piles of parts cars much to the dismay of nearby neighbors. Triumphs are well known to have successful results in captive breeding programs but we've only recently discovered that the Mitsubishi Starion/Chrysler Conquest twins also grow like mushrooms in your yard. Famed Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises predicted this free market mechanism in his treatise on "Rasenflächen und wie sie wachsen wie Unkraut Kutsche ohne Pferde" (Lawns and How Zey Grow Zee Horseless Carriage Like Zee Veeds). Find this pair of 1986/87 Mitsubishi Starions for sale in Yosemite, CA for $2000 obo via craigslist. Tip from KBZ.
The Ford Capri followed the life cycle of an '80s women's tennis star. It started from obscurity in 1961 and by the age of 15 (1975) was a star, winning accolades and awards, but peaked early and petered out in a string of back injuries and misdemeanors. Today the Capri can be found at your local tennis club living on the millions it made in its youth but struggling to teach kids lessons on a regular basis. Find this 1972 Ford Capri 4-spd for sale in San Jose, CA for $6,000 via craigslist. Tip from Jeffrey L.
