E9 Owners Age Group

[Stan]

58

Just turned 58 last month. Has the coupe since Sept 2002.

Long lusted after and finally had the money and circumstance to allow purchase.
Never regretted a moment!

 

[Nicad]

I'll be 53 for a bit longer.

 

[blumax]

Really long of tooth and now face----

I had just turned 43 when I bought the BLUMAX in early February 1972--and if you add the 40+ years passing since, I'm rapidly closing in on my 84th birthday.

Trust me, that love affair with BLUMAX has never waned!!

My recent health changes have now confronted me with a challenge that I had not expected so soon. That challenge is no longer being able to experience the sheer joy and pleasure of saddling up, turning the key, and going out for a spirited drive in the BLUMAX--other than as a passenger--has now become and is a reality.

I'm now faced with the serious and personally most painful task of considering the matter of finding a very special home for him in the near future. A home that will compliment its first 43 years since delivery to its original owner on October 1, 1969.

Ed G. has really put his finger on it--the Coupe ownership experience will cross many boundaries and will initiate personal relationships that will reach way beyond your now or recent expectations of owning a "pretty car". I'm now a living example and beneficiary of that truth well beyond any expectation I ever held !!

 

[CHRIS]

I just turned 27!
Bought my first at 24 (74 3.0 CSA) and the second two monts ago (72 3.0 CS).
Love at first sight!!!

 

[TodB]

Age

53 next month (sigh)
Coupe purchased when I was 40
Still drive like I'm 16

 

[rsporsche]

saw my first coupe when i was 14 - loved it and never forgot it. finally bought one when i was 53. now 55. will keep a coupe for a long time to come.

 

[Sparky]

[FONT=&quot]62 now. Three years ago I acquired my 71 2800 CS although I have known about this specific car since 1974. I bought my first BMW (a new 72 Sahara Beige tii) when I was 22, my second (a 74 tii) at 30, and my third (a 78 Euro 635CSi) at 43. I let the 72 tii go after 25 years, 290k miles, lots of Miller and Norburn tuning modifications and then a flood. With this experience and the knowledge that came with it I felt appropriately qualified to take custody of the CS. Two weeks after I brought it home, the door brake shattered and fell down inside the door with a clank. My thoughts were that some things just never change and then I knew I was finally home again.[/FONT]

 

[craterface]

43. Remember seeing the e9 in some used car classic articles in Road and Track when I was in high school. At the time I convinced my mom to buy a new Audi Coupe GT and I later got a Sirocco of my own. Been through two e36 m3s, a 318ti, an e30 M3, etc, but the coupe is a keeper, unless I find the CSL of my dreams and the stars align just right. It is so reliable and well made. The Ferrari is a neat piece, but the quality is very poor.
I live in Florida, so almost all car guys here are a lot older.

 

[RogerB]

I'm 69. I bought my first coupe when I was 54. I've owned about ten, but my now one and only (CSL) is a keeper.

 

[duane_sword]

Great thread! I prefer to get to know folks over a beer, but this is cool too!
* 38 years old, though prematurely grey
* bought my coupe when I was 30
* first car was a used 1983 Mazda RX-7
* first saw an E9 when I was 8
* feel very lucky each time I drive my E9
* hope fuel will still be available 40 years from now so I can have long-term ownership and driving enjoyment like Murray and Blumax
* this forum enhances the ownership experience immensely!

 

[loloe13]

I'm 38 now
Wanted a e9 since I was 20, when the local BMW dealership had a nice Polaris CSL for sale in the showroom at only $30,000aus back then. But for a 20yo, raising even $200 can be difficult.
Finally bought my first CSA at 28
Lucky enough to find a CSL this year

 

[verde2002]

I have always loved uniqe cars and have never been one to care to have a brand new car. My wife gets to drive the brand new cars we get. My first car in high school (1994) was a 1976 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT. No one knew what it was and it didn't bother me one bit that I did not have a new car like most of the kids in my high school. In my last 19 years that I have been driving I have owned over 30 cars. There are many cars I love but can't afford to have them all so I tend to go through cars rather quickly selling one to get the next car on my want list. Some of my favorites I have owned have been my first Alfa followed by a Milano Verde 3.0, Datsun 2000 Roadster, 1971 BMW 2002 and 1976 BMW 2002 with an original Zender Widebody kit, Honda S2000, Mitsubishi Starion, Toyota Sarlet with TRD widebody conversion, The Lancer Evolution VIII I drive now and finally my 1971 2800cs I have owned for over 5 years now that I will be keeping for a very long time. All my other cars I have owned for an average of one year or less and sold. The couple of cars still on my want list are the E30 M3 and the BMW M coupe.

 

[KHB]

I'm 49. I acquired the car from my father when I was 40 (wanted one since I was 10). He purchased it from the original owner in 1977 and I plan on keeping it as long as I can drive.

 

[afeustel]

47. Disassembled my first 67 Mustang at 15 before I could drive. Met a buddy a few years later who owned a 2002 and I thought it was a great car. Fast forward to 1997 and I purchased my first BMW, the 73tii. Since then I just keep trying one after the other. Looking forward to having my coupe in the garage this year to begin reassembly. In the meantime, I'm loving the Bav...

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

Never too old

Great thread! I'm 52, and saw my first 3.0 outside Bruno's restaurant in Venice CA when I was 25, it was a faded red color if I remember, but it's been 27 years and over 100 Dead shows since then so I could be wrong-about the color. I remember saying to my girlfriend, now wife, look at that car- that is the coolest car ever made, I don't think she paid much mind to it, so when I was 51 I was looking for a car for a friend on craigslist and saw my baby for sale. Went down to see her with some tools and found an incredibly rust free CS automatic. She's now a 5 speed, completely rebuilt and just started her up for the first time in a year since the restoration began, ran her through all the gears and she' looking promising. I've owned a few BMW's in the past, my favorite was a 72 Bavaria, the '98 740il was beautiful, but plagued with issues. Daily driver is a '07 Shelby GT, and when the weather here in TX cools down the Porsche Targa Carrera comes out. Also, just for kicks stripped down an 87 Scirocco 16v for the track. Not as fast as the Shelby but sure stops allot quicker. Hey, if there are any folks in the Austin area, I know some people in low places that can get us on a private track for an afternoon of fun- just drop a note.

 

[JMinPDX]

52. Bought my first BMW, a 71 2002, when I was 19 in 1979. Got my first up close look at an e9 while in Key West on spring break in 1982. Bought my first e9, a 72 3.0csa, off the lot of San Francisco BMW in 1994. Since that first 2002 I've owned 15 BMW's. The one I wish I had back is a 69 1600 baur full cabrio that I sold to a guy in San Rafael in 1992. Bad idea.

 

[adawil2002]

I am 44.25

Seeing the Alexandrer Calder LeMans CSL at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh in 1978 captured my imagination. That race car was bold and exciting just standing still, the menacing scowl, the huge flared fenders, sweeping low air dam, rear roof mounted spoiler and enormous rear wing, even without the paint it was a work of art. That chance meeting started a love affair with the E9 CS Coupes and BMW in general.

Bought Athena July 2011.

 

[mario1017]

love knows no age

I'm 29 years young, and bought my coupe from the orignal owner this last year. he was 85 years old. He was older than me when he bought it new in 1971. the age gap between us is remarkable, but we were one of the same type, die hard car junkies. I hope to own my coupe for the rest of my life. I better stock up in visor clips and sheetmetal

 

[kasbatts]

Repost with amendments --- 43, I'm not sure when I "fell in love" with the coupe, but I can remember in my teenage years, whenever I saw a coupe on the road it would take my breath away. My dad also had a 3.0s (Bavaria) when I was about 12, a very rare and exotic car here in NZ in the early eighties with import restrictions etc we had at the time. it was the first car that I was driven at 100 mph in, I can still remember the sensation of acceleration and the noise of the Big Six, accelerating flat out up through the gears from a standing start as we left the toll booths on the Auckland Harbor Bridge motorway!!!

 

[ohio2800cs]

I'm fast approaching 60.

Pretty new to E9 ownership, but loving it and trying to absorb as much knowledge about them as I can. It's only the 2nd BMW I've owned, my 1st being a 1981 320i. At the time I couldn't convince my wife that getting an old 1972 2002 was a better idea than getting a brand new BMW. Our BMW ownership experience was great though, fun car to take long drives in and was very trouble-free. Sold it to get my 1st V-12 Ferrari, two more vintage ones followed that one. Took over 25 years for my Ferrari fever to subside (sickness still not completely gone though), driven in part by other more important life events...kids

Stepped away from sports car ownership for a number of years, but earlier this year I got the bug again. I didn't really want to get back into Ferrari's as the ones I wanted, 1960's vintage, were priced way beyond my reach. BMW's seemed like a logical choice, so I began to search for a nice roundie 2002 driver. Always like the looks of the E9's though, but for all the car shows and vintage sports cars races I attended I never got the chance to see one in the flesh, let alone drive one. Spotted one for sale in the BMWCCA classified that was close enough to drive to, so I decided to check it out. Fell in love when I saw it parked on the street in front of the owner's home. Passion only increased as I inspected it and saw how well cared for it was. Driving it just sealed the deal, it was exactly the car I was looking for. E9's have many of the same styling cues that I've always been fond of in 1960's Ferrari's, the engine even looks like half of a Colombo V-12. Fortunately, the great care the previous owner get her, meant that there's been nothing to get in the way of driving it every opportunity I can. I can't help but stop and stare at her everytime I step into the garage...seem to be spending a lot more time in there too.

Even though I'm a newbie owner, as I read your stories I understand and feel the same passion you have for the E9. Maybe I should have posted this in the new member section.