Intro & (perhaps) returning to an E9?

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CamayroZ

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Hello to this forum!
Long-time lurker, and read the comments with enthusiasm. I have come to appreciate many of the usernames based on their contributions.

I have been a life-long auto/truck/motorcycle enthusiast, engineer by (initial) trade and DNA. Now semi-retired at 60, worked the mouse wheel really hard for 40 years.

I bought my first car in 1982, a used 1979 242 DL which I immediately turned into an autocross car and became a lifelong IPD customer; later I put a 350 Chevy in it out of an IROC-Z Camaro. My second car was a 1972 2002 which I turbocharged after visiting Callaway in 1986... Later I bought a new 1988 M3 which I still own today. Many other cars and BMWs came and left, including what I consider the last "good" BMW which was my E39 M5.

Today I own ~10 long term cars that I maintain in my own 1-man shop, which gives me the opportunity to apply my fanaticism. I know some car/motorcycle/truck brands extremely well due to length of ownership, club membership, and having done 100% restorations/rebuilds by myself. For example, I will be happy to help you spend your money on almost any (pre-991) 911!

As far as E9, I am naive, and I can use this groups help. Regarding E9: About 30+ years ago, I bought a 73 CS project (w/fake CSL trim). It was an absolute disaster! I had every intention to restore, but I had no time and the project fell behind other cars and I ended up selling it. I am hoping to get a CSI or even a CSL, but I will want a nice one, even though, I often find other folks' work unsatisfactory and end up redoing everything.

Is BAT, or Oldenzall, the only "public" places to find these cars? Generally, I try to avoid car dealers, unless if there is a recommendation by a trusted person.
 
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Hello CamayroZ - There are two ways to acquire a coupe. (1) the capital intensive way or (2) the labor intensive way. If you need a coupe now, the capital intensive way is the only alternative. Spend what it takes to buy someone's car on the open market. BAT and Oldenzall are aimed at this component of the market. Note too that some of these cars are aimed at people who want to rely on someone else's restoration work, but don't really know how to evaluate whether that work was well done. Another capital intensive approach is to work with one of the shops mentioned in our compilation https://e9coupe.com/forum/threads/what-are-the-top-sources-for-parts-and-service.33895/post-295995. These guys are great and will give you a good quality product, but because they are good they have long backlogs (2 years or more), so dealing them is both capital invensive and requires a long wait. Then again, you have a lot of input into the work and can get what you want.

If alternative (2) interests you, here's what I did:

-Lurk on the forum for a year, paying particular attention to the classifieds.
-Develop a set of criterion for what you want - for me, I wanted the more rust free & complete car I could find. A key question you need to address is your view on originality
-Take notes on the comments people make to get a feel for how to evaluate a coupe, for the market, and for who might be willing to help a rookie.
-Begin going to local car gatherings, and if you can, travel to car shows were e9s appear. Talk to people who own e9s. Learn what you can about how to evaluate a car and ask everyone if they know of one for sale. Give them your number in case they see a coupe for sale in the future.
-Continue to monitor the classifed ads here to learn not only about cars advertised here, but also where cars that are discussed and evaluated are being offered for sale.
-Go and test drive some of the coupes that are for sale. Kick the tires and get some hands on experience at actual potential selling prices.
-If you find coupes you might be interested in, find someone to help with the evaluation. I had several people on the forum help me buy my car out of the goodness of their hearts, and also developed a relationship with Mario Langston at VSR when I paid him to evaluate a car for me.
-Be patient.

Oh, and I have never seen anyone have their deal swiped by a forum member. But I have seen a forum member loose their entire purchase price in a scam in part because they didn't reach out to anyone here to look at the car for them.
 
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Oldenzaal has some e9's and does restorations, though sometimes a bit quick.
Some e9's are on the open market in NL. ("Marktplaats" is like your craigslist)
An example:
BMW 3.0 CSi (E9)
€ 83.950,00
link.marktplaats.nl

≥ BMW 3.0 CSi (E9) — Oldtimers — Marktplaats

Deze BMW 3.0 CSI is nieuw geleverd in Belgie. Op een zeker moment is ze in een schuur beland en daar is 2 jaar geleden uitgehaald door een Nederlandse
link.marktplaats.nl link.marktplaats.nl

We also have Germany Exclusive, having this wonderfull 3.8l motorized e9 :
BMW E9 CS Malaga Rood met 3.8 Liter motor
N.o.t.k.
link.marktplaats.nl

≥ BMW E9 CS Malaga Rood met 3.8 Liter motor — BMW — Marktplaats

Te koop:BMW E9 3.0 CS MALAGA ROOD, deze wordt momenteel volledig gerestaureerd met aangepaste injectiemotor (3,8 liter) – schuifdak, vernieuwd airco
link.marktplaats.nl link.marktplaats.nl

In germany there is Scuderia Sportiva Colonia, who specialize in e9's.
scuderia-sportiva-colonia.de

Home - Scuderia Sportiva Colonia

Die Scuderia Sportiva Colonia bietet Ihnen nur sportliche und geschichtsträchtige Oldtimer aus dem eigenen Bestand an. Ständig haben wir ca. 100 hochwertige und
scuderia-sportiva-colonia.de scuderia-sportiva-colonia.de

Do come by in the forum every now and then; the US e9's on offer , and often the International e9's as well, get scrutinized here.
 
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I really appreciate the feedback thus far! I had never heard of Scuderia sportiva colonia before. I imported a Moto Guzzi from England once, the process was not so easy even though the whole thing was inside a single "box"

I know Mario at VSR as well as Don at The Werk Shop for a long time, although it has been 10 years since I called Don. These are good phone calls to make as they are good people in the know.

@Ohmess I appreciate the detailed thoughts for this E9 rookie. I have done the time and capital before, it is satisfying and wallet draining, not sure about it this time. I will keep an eye on the various listings and post the groups wisdom here.
 
Ohmess said:
Hello CamayroZ - There are two ways to acquire a coupe. (1) the capital intensive way or (2) the labor intensive way.
Click to expand...
Be aware that even (2) will inevitably turn into (1) sooner or later. The only difference is that you don't realize it right away
 
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I am also an engineer, also owned a Volvo 240 DL, still own the E39 M5, but less hands on as still have an intense day job...
DQ sent me some pictures of a great looking E9 for sale in Madrid, bringing it from Europe is smooth in my limited experience.
Do not forget SFDon's wisdom, read the obituaries and buy it from the widow :)....
 
Arde said:
I am also an engineer, also owned a Volvo 240 DL, still own the E39 M5, but less hands on as still have an intense day job...
DQ sent me some pictures of a great looking E9 for sale in Madrid, bringing it from Europe is smooth in my limited experience.
Do not forget SFDon's wisdom, read the obituaries and buy it from the widow :)....
Click to expand...

wouldnt this be one of the best epitaphs ever ?

read the obituaries and buy it from MY widow
 
CamayroZ said:
Hello to this forum!
Long-time lurker, and read the comments with enthusiasm. I have come to appreciate many of the usernames based on their contributions.

I have been a life-long auto/truck/motorcycle enthusiast, engineer by (initial) trade and DNA. Now semi-retired at 60, worked the mouse wheel really hard for 40 years.

I bought my first car in 1982, a used 1979 242 DL which I immediately turned into an autocross car and became a lifelong IPD customer; later I put a 350 Chevy in it out of an IROC-Z Camaro. My second car was a 1972 2002 which I turbocharged after visiting Callaway in 1986... Later I bought a new 1988 M3 which I still own today. Many other cars and BMWs came and left, including what I consider the last "good" BMW which was my E39 M5.

Today I own ~10 long term cars that I maintain in my own 1-man shop, which gives me the opportunity to apply my fanaticism. I know some car/motorcycle/truck brands extremely well due to length of ownership, club membership, and having done 100% restorations/rebuilds by myself. For example, I will be happy to help you spend your money on almost any (pre-991) 911!

As far as E9, I am naive, and I can use this groups help. Regarding E9: About 30+ years ago, I bought a 73 CS project (w/fake CSL trim). It was an absolute disaster! I had every intention to restore, but I had no time and the project fell behind other cars and I ended up selling it. I am hoping to get a CSI or even a CSL, but I will want a nice one, even though, I often find other folks' work unsatisfactory and end up redoing everything.

Is BAT, or Oldenzall, the only "public" places to find these cars? Generally, I try to avoid car dealers, unless if there is a recommendation by a trusted person.
Click to expand...
Contact SFDON on this forum. He is the guru, does restorations and often has cars for sale.
 
deQuincey said:
read the obituaries and buy it from MY widow
Click to expand...

I had a chuckle when I read this.
My wife keeps up on my hobbies (to a point). She does so, not for her enjoyment, but for 'knowing who to call' for when would be time to dispose of all my stuff. She actually had me give her the contact info on everyone she should talk to with for dealing with my activities should I not be around.

E23 and E9 - Yep, she'll call Don (actually - she knows Don well already. So much so that she has threatened to banish me to Alameda if I get another old car - not a bad gig - LOL).
E38 and other newer cars - A friend up here in WA who is a 'car guy' I've known for a while.
997 - A friend in Oregon
Stereo, signs and tools and... other things - that same WA friend.

I started adding up the values (in general form) of all the stuff I have. I need to pare down my collection. Way too much $$ just sitting out in the shop..... (seriously actually - not the cars, but stereo and signs and other odds and ends that are just gathering dust. WAY Too much $$ not doing me an y good... LOL)
 
lip277 said:
I had a chuckle when I read this.
My wife keeps up on my hobbies (to a point). She does so, not for her enjoyment, but for 'knowing who to call' for when would be time to dispose of all my stuff. She actually had me give her the contact info on everyone she should talk to with for dealing with my activities should I not be around.

E23 and E9 - Yep, she'll call Don (actually - she knows Don well already. So much so that she has threatened to banish me to Alameda if I get another old car - not a bad gig - LOL).
E38 and other newer cars - A friend up here in WA who is a 'car guy' I've known for a while.
997 - A friend in Oregon
Stereo, signs and tools and... other things - that same WA friend.

I started adding up the values (in general form) of all the stuff I have. I need to pare down my collection. Way too much $$ just sitting out in the shop..... (seriously actually - not the cars, but stereo and signs and other odds and ends that are just gathering dust. WAY Too much $$ not doing me an y good... LOL)
Click to expand...

wise one !

my wife also has the phone number of my close petrolhead friend, as to pack the bike in the trunk of the e9 and call a hoist and send all the pack in his direction expecting good money in return
 
I have received some PMs from helpful members - thank you so much!
I have also received some opportunities from members to buy their cars, and I appreciate that immensely.
Very good group of folks here.

I have not yet reached out to Mario, Don Dethlefson, SFDon, or anyone else, but I will...I will own a nice E9 CSI/L.

Regarding the morbid subject of what happens to your cars and car stuff @lip277 and @deQuincey when the big guys comes for you? This is a big deal. I know of several car collectors whose spouse or loved ones were screwed $0.25 on the dollar. What I have done is to get all my cars appraised and documented, and a clear understanding with 3 trusted car friends, already informed of what to do and how to help my wife or others when the day comes. Spare engines and exotic parts are of course much harder to deal with.
 
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