The seller’s agent was clueless, thinks he’s a renaissance man.
BaT: Euro 1973 BMW 3.0CSi 5-Speed
- Thread starter Stevehose
- Start date
Just imagine--red-handled screwdrivers and no front amber reflectors and this car sells for at least $180K PLUS the $5K buyer's fee.....well,not really. I buyer has the means to buy these cars and I hope he enjoys them.
Eh, price is great for E9s in general............its interesting how close these cars are becoming to CSL prices and yet CSL's have stayed pretty consistent for the last few years, at around $200k -$400k depending on which CSL and condition of course.
Merely an observation on my part, I have no interest in selling, but it will be interesting to see if the market notices and CSL's start to move or the gap remains as close as it has become today.
Congrats to the seller
Merely an observation on my part, I have no interest in selling, but it will be interesting to see if the market notices and CSL's start to move or the gap remains as close as it has become today.
Congrats to the seller
Probably would have cleared $200K if it had red screwdrivers in the toolkit.....
I think the people who care about red handle screwdrivers would pay more than $85K for this car.
World record for a non-CSL E9???
Auction record for certain.
Definitely a world record for a car with very little restoration photos and not on a rotisserie w/the bottom all black.
Looks like the buyer of this CSi could pour $100k in the restoration and STILL come out ahead:
Always thought that was a good buy.
1974 BMW Other | eBay
Up for sale is my 1974 BMW 3.0csi. I bought this car in 2002. It has a four speed and a sunroof. It has a mid eighties 3.5 liter engine. It has rust in trunk and rocker panels and a few spots on quarters.
www.ebay.com
Always thought that was a good buy.
Looks like the buyer of this CSi could pour $100k in the restoration and STILL come out ahead:
1974 BMW Other | eBay
Up for sale is my 1974 BMW 3.0csi. I bought this car in 2002. It has a four speed and a sunroof. It has a mid eighties 3.5 liter engine. It has rust in trunk and rocker panels and a few spots on quarters.www.ebay.com
Always thought that was a good buy.
Have to agree, that does seem like a great buy. Sunroofs are fairly rare for CSis plus it's a great color.
I know of two non-CSL coupes that went for more in private sales.
There were quite a few E9 owners adding their comments on the BAT auction. Does anyone know if some of them are Forum members?
I recognized quite a few.
No secret I wasn't a fan of this particular car. Just too many unanswered questions with zero documentation. I think the buyers of these types of cars just want a ready to drive coupe and are not concerned with the originality details. They really couldn't care less as long as it looks nice. They have money, and just want immediate gratification. The fact that the buyer also bought the nice Mercedes coupe some minutes before for 160k speaks to that type of buyer. Can't blame them for that. Most likely not E9 freaks but just part of the wealthy cars and coffee crowd. Juxtapose that to someone looking for a CSL. Details, documentation and photo documented restorations are what will bring the dollars. Pretty pictures and mismatched parts (no matter how nicely done) won't get it done. It's arguable that from an bang for your buck perspective, a nicely modded coupe will be easier to sell, funner to drive, and provide more freedom to personalize. All my 2 cents!
I've just gone through the entire set of images, and I am amazed by how much things can be not perfect and still get this high price.
Just to be clear; I'm happy for the seller and the purchaser; they reached an agreement, and both come out well: one with a nice E9, the other with funds to do other things.
What price would it commend if the following things were perfect: :
Body comments:
- passenger floor repair section- what a botch job! (pic330) Used just a flat sheet, not even a Walloth&Neesch panel or anything close! And poor weld finishing; just see the lumps left behind.
- Pic 330 also shows buckling around the shifter opening; no proof if and how that was remedied.
- and worthy of a repeat: Rust is already poking out in pic 375. I think the rockers are quite crusty on the inside but ofcourse i cannot be sure. but what a gamble for 100.000+ USD without further info!
- rust is visible in the seams of the right front strut mounting plate, on pic 420; no proof what they did with that; was the seam openened up? was it even sandblasted? Or just painted over?
- trunk shut line to tail panel- right corner; trunk lid passes beyond tail panel in the corner (pic 95)
- (not sure) is there something funny in the paint just between the trim line and the rigth front indicator? either funny reflections, or a serious paint/prep defect.
trim section:
- something is not quite right on the left rear bumper section. The top line of the bumper should be perfectly straight, as is the right bumper half. But the left bumper half isn't (pic 35 and 65) ; looks like it might have a bulge just below the reversing light.
- waist line trim is not aligned; pass door to right front fender (pic 81)
- a not closing fuel door? (pic 67)
- The rear bumper ends on the left and right sides are set a different height compared to the undercoating split line; left rear bumper end correctly set at the undercoating split line; but on the right side the bumper is set above the undercoating split line (or the undercoating split line is set too low) Compare pic 83
- pitting in chrome of left front indicator base
Interior:
- reupholster only the right side center console panel, but not the right? And even when you recover, they forget the faux stitching line...(pic 161)
- black paint on steering column covers is scratched
- chip in black paint on left gauge cluster ring
- what's up with the glovebox door? It has a depression on the left top edge, as if to provide access for a hand grip? (pic 163) Pic also shows that a plastic plug is missing in the door covering the hex head just visible through the hole. Same on drivers door (see pic 206 &217 -> also a dent!)
- a funny horizontal line in the large wood dash part, perhaps a split? It is running left to right on either side of the speaker grille (pic 165)
- Do I see delamination on the passenger side end of the wood dash panel ? It is a bit lighter where i wouldn't expect it. (pic 163)
- missing the plastic chromed covers between the seat and sill, under the slide -release lever. So simple to solve as they are still available. Even available in stainless hoe on this forum!
- missing door welts on driver door. (pic 206)
- screws through door wood panel, on both driver and passenger door (pic 204 and 210)
- wrong hose clamps on fuel filler neck (pic 239) and wrong colour on hinge stops (should be body colour, they look to be greyisch)
- rust on the wiper arm rods (pic 271)
- i can personally fix that little red screwdriver problem (pic 465)-> if you're the new owner then PM me....
- is it missing the alu trim part between the trim panel and the door jamb? (pic 233)?
( i consider myself a nitwit on engine things, so no sensible comments there from me)
I myself am aiming to get all of these tings correct in my resto; when I'm there i will put it up here for the same scrutiny. But that might be another 20 years away....
Just to be clear; I'm happy for the seller and the purchaser; they reached an agreement, and both come out well: one with a nice E9, the other with funds to do other things.
What price would it commend if the following things were perfect: :
Body comments:
- passenger floor repair section- what a botch job! (pic330) Used just a flat sheet, not even a Walloth&Neesch panel or anything close! And poor weld finishing; just see the lumps left behind.
- Pic 330 also shows buckling around the shifter opening; no proof if and how that was remedied.
- and worthy of a repeat: Rust is already poking out in pic 375. I think the rockers are quite crusty on the inside but ofcourse i cannot be sure. but what a gamble for 100.000+ USD without further info!
- rust is visible in the seams of the right front strut mounting plate, on pic 420; no proof what they did with that; was the seam openened up? was it even sandblasted? Or just painted over?
- trunk shut line to tail panel- right corner; trunk lid passes beyond tail panel in the corner (pic 95)
- (not sure) is there something funny in the paint just between the trim line and the rigth front indicator? either funny reflections, or a serious paint/prep defect.
trim section:
- something is not quite right on the left rear bumper section. The top line of the bumper should be perfectly straight, as is the right bumper half. But the left bumper half isn't (pic 35 and 65) ; looks like it might have a bulge just below the reversing light.
- waist line trim is not aligned; pass door to right front fender (pic 81)
- a not closing fuel door? (pic 67)
- The rear bumper ends on the left and right sides are set a different height compared to the undercoating split line; left rear bumper end correctly set at the undercoating split line; but on the right side the bumper is set above the undercoating split line (or the undercoating split line is set too low) Compare pic 83
- pitting in chrome of left front indicator base
Interior:
- reupholster only the right side center console panel, but not the right? And even when you recover, they forget the faux stitching line...(pic 161)
- black paint on steering column covers is scratched
- chip in black paint on left gauge cluster ring
- what's up with the glovebox door? It has a depression on the left top edge, as if to provide access for a hand grip? (pic 163) Pic also shows that a plastic plug is missing in the door covering the hex head just visible through the hole. Same on drivers door (see pic 206 &217 -> also a dent!)
- a funny horizontal line in the large wood dash part, perhaps a split? It is running left to right on either side of the speaker grille (pic 165)
- Do I see delamination on the passenger side end of the wood dash panel ? It is a bit lighter where i wouldn't expect it. (pic 163)
- missing the plastic chromed covers between the seat and sill, under the slide -release lever. So simple to solve as they are still available. Even available in stainless hoe on this forum!
- missing door welts on driver door. (pic 206)
- screws through door wood panel, on both driver and passenger door (pic 204 and 210)
- wrong hose clamps on fuel filler neck (pic 239) and wrong colour on hinge stops (should be body colour, they look to be greyisch)
- rust on the wiper arm rods (pic 271)
- i can personally fix that little red screwdriver problem (pic 465)-> if you're the new owner then PM me....
- is it missing the alu trim part between the trim panel and the door jamb? (pic 233)?
( i consider myself a nitwit on engine things, so no sensible comments there from me)
I myself am aiming to get all of these tings correct in my resto; when I'm there i will put it up here for the same scrutiny. But that might be another 20 years away....
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Good luck to the buyer of this car, he/she and somebody else really wanted it, so good for all.
I made a comment recently on a 2002 Turbo for Sports car market and it applies to many wanted BMWs of late.
We have reached that magic point in collecting, please understand its merely a generalization, but like all history it teaches us the future "people that know these cars can no longer afford them and people that can afford them, don't know them - yet" .
We have seen this many many times over the years - a beautiful car is worth a handful of beans and none of the big collectors care, all the knowledge is with people who truly care and can afford a handful of beans.
The big collectors come along, make some mistakes for many different reasons, but one is, they dont know where the knowledge sits. Like all the other cars, eventually they find out the facts and search out the experts, in private sales as Chris mentioned above, we are starting to see that evolution.
Nothing new here guys, just history repeating itself
I made a comment recently on a 2002 Turbo for Sports car market and it applies to many wanted BMWs of late.
We have reached that magic point in collecting, please understand its merely a generalization, but like all history it teaches us the future "people that know these cars can no longer afford them and people that can afford them, don't know them - yet" .
We have seen this many many times over the years - a beautiful car is worth a handful of beans and none of the big collectors care, all the knowledge is with people who truly care and can afford a handful of beans.
The big collectors come along, make some mistakes for many different reasons, but one is, they dont know where the knowledge sits. Like all the other cars, eventually they find out the facts and search out the experts, in private sales as Chris mentioned above, we are starting to see that evolution.
Nothing new here guys, just history repeating itself
Impressively thorough analysis, Erik. very useful.
PS: remind me to never let you see my car.
I kind of checked out after the tail panel bondo photo, but said “well it certainly looks nice”. It does look nice, but your observations are spot on. The interior needs some finishing that doesn’t cost much, but you would expect to see at $175K. Reminds me of the golf CSL that was RNM a few months ago.
Incidentally the door bolt under said “missing white cover” shouldn’t be a hex head. Just sayin...
For some reason I just thought of a friend of mine, a car guy, who was in a very bad car accident years ago. T-boned in his door, knocked out and taken the hospital. He said he woke up in the hospital bed and everyone seemed overly excited and worked up about it even though he said it felt like just a few minutes. He had been in a coma for seven years. Imagine missing the last seven years of coupe values.