E30 Roadkill: 1987 BMW 325E
Roadkill is a DT special feature where we post cars that are seen on
the side of the road by our readers and staff. Just be sure to include
contact info for the seller if you submit some roadkill. Today’s roadkill comes from Sean S who writes: Remember when there was no internet but we still loved finding cars? AutoTrader, Hemmings, the Recycler or the corner on Sunday that everyone selling would park their cars. I wonder if we could do a old school throwback before eBay and CL? Too bad this little e30 is a Autotragic, I bet it could be had for $2,000.
The E30 was designed by famed German born auto designer Claus Luthe (NSU
Prinz/Spider/Ro80, Audi 50/100 and BMW E28/E30/E31/E32/E34/E36) and
offered a clean/simple approach to baby executive cars. This is an early pre-facelift example with the eta engine mated to a slushbox, but it would make a decent cheap commuter/beater.
Under the hood is a 120 horsepower of the 2.7 eta engine, not the sportiest thing BMW ever put in 3-series, but it puts out a decent amount of low end torque and gives good fuel economy. Compare it to an NA diesel engine and you’ll love it.
Contact information of the seller as of 9/21/2015. If you are reading this in the 22nd century, please do not call the seller.
See another piece of roadkill? Take a few pics and send it here: tips@dailyturismo.com
Thanks for putting this up guys.
I remember as a kid my father and I would pour through the Recycler and the Quick Quarter ads looking for deals.
Our imaginations would go wild thinking about the possibilities in the tiny news text. (your fingers would blacken with the ink)
We found Panteras, Ferrari Dinos, and so many muscle cars all for fractions of what they sell for today. It was so much fun to talk about what it would be like owning the cars. We never pulled the trigger on anything great.
The other fun way we would look at cars was on street corners. There was one especially great corner that would have an eclectic variety ranging from a 917 kit car to a 1970 gto convertible. Everything was $1,500 to $3,000 for something really nice.
Ah, glory days!
Hey Sean, what part of Ventura County are you in? I used to live in the fallout zone…I mean I lived close to the Ronald Reagan Library.
Hey Bill,
I am in Ojai (Oh Hi!)
Pretty much stoked to be in the 805
How did you like Simi? Crazy that Audi/VW studio use to be there. Just went to Simi last week to buy my son a vintage Mongoose Race BMX bike
It's an interesting place. I had no idea it had so many connections to the movie and TV industry. (Little House on the Prairie, Poltergeist, etc…)
It's a nice bedroom community for Burbank, Van Nuys, West Hills, Northridge, etc… The 118 Freeway is one of the least congested I've seen in southern california.
It was nice living there, but I would not move back.
I miss the days of driving/walking along certain streets that were known for large groupings of cars for sale. There was a quarter mile stretch no too far from my house that used to be that way every weekend. Good stuff all bumper to bumper. But then the state (or at least the city) changed the laws and claimed you could no longer park a car for sale along a highway. The street really isn't a highway, but because it's 3 lanes each direction, they classify it as a highway. Something like that. Now there are only a few cars here and there in surrounding neighborhoods. The internet has made it easier to find cars, even locally, but nothing beats finding one on the street that you can walk around and look inside.
I still own my first car, which I did find in the newspaper classifieds back in 1996. Every car I've bought after that was found on the internet or in person. It's funny to think that I called on the ad and went to drive/inspect it without ever seeing a photo or reading more than 10 words about it. I don't know that I'd be tempted to do that again today.
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Interesting, I still own my first car, which I found the same way in 1991. It was in a special section in the San Jose Mercury News for cars under $2500 that was like catnip for me at the time. Hmm, that's $4400 in today's dollars, I still like that price range.
I remember the SF Chronicle had a similar section. That was the first place I looked. I agree on liking the price range. I believe (as many here do) that if you know what to look for, you can still find a very good car for $2500 or less. And that's in 2015 dollars. For $4400 you can find a great one. I regularly search CL with the criteria of $2500 or under. Something about that price reduces the guilt factor. And if I find something under $1500, it's practically guilt free.