Looking to get a e9

B

Bejoe16

Well-Known Member
Messages
259
Reaction score
116
Location
Albany Ga
I've been looking for a e9 for a while and cannot find anything in my price range. I have about a 10k budget for a car that's structurally sound and pretty complete. Not new to Bmws I've had 10 Bmws ranging from 2002s, e21s, many e30s, e34 m5 etc... I've always wanted a e9. Please help. Located in Albany ga thanks! Joseph
 
coupes

The most crucial part of an e9 is its structure (body, rust, trim,etc...)

Therefore you will be hard pressed to set a budget when trying to attain these items in reasonable condition. Prices have risen and money is not worth as much as it used to be....

It is possible to find a car using a limited budget, but a reliable daily driver that needs work will not be cheap.

There is a guy in FL that has luck finding these coupes, but he does not sell on the forum, if you need his contact info feel free to pm me.

-Mo
 
Last edited:
I think a structurally good coupe for 10K will be very, very difficult to find. It will take finding one being sold by someone ignorant of the current market. I'd suspect such a vehicle will be located in a rural setting where the climate preserves metal. I think your best bet is to look for two cars. A rusted out eastern car with good trim and a dried out Western car with good metal.Maybe you can find these two for 15K. Probably 20K with transpo.
 
$10K for what you are looking for does not exist any more. That budget has to be at least doubled if not tripled. Look in the cars section of the forum, ebay, Hemming's and craigslist, you'll see.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    27.8 KB · Views: 130
A shiny and pretty E9 might be the worst car of all to purchase. You have to look under the bodywork to assess what you are buying. Hidden pockets are hard to repair.
 
Thank you all for the replies and info. That 10k is just what I want to start at. I'm not actually looking for a daily driver or nice paint. Something that I can do a bit of a budget restoration with. I've talked to the guy in Florida and the guy with the car in Atlanta. Guy in Atlanta renigged on another e9 he had that we had a deal on then changed his Mind the day I was driving up to pick it up. (After I rented a trailer) I bought a e34 535i looking to do a swap. The e9 I get doesn't have to have a engine as long as it has the trim, interior bits and is structurally sound(some rust is fine) floors, rockers etc.. Are okay and I don't mind replacing. It's the frame rails, towers and the rear subframe mount areas that I worry about. Thanks! Joseph
 
Joe, this is a great way to get started- if anyone sees a coupe that matches your needs we'll shout out. I have my sister looking at a coupe in Albany NY, she said it's the most beautiful car she's ever seen but she can't tell what color it is because it's covered head to toe in rust. She says it's driven because it's in a different spot every time she sees it in the parking lot she drives by. I can't wait to post the shots when I she sends them:-)

And... welcome to the hunt!

Peter
 
I'm also considering a project car. I've been working on my Datsun recently and find it rewarding to bringing back a car to life.
 
Think you'll need to start around $15k for a project w/low amounts of rust.

Very hard to find. I got lucky few months ago finding my 2800 for that.
 
Bejoe16

Patience is what it is all about (and the great folks on this forum) Cars like your looking for do exist! Especially if you work on cars yourself. I got the same speech your getting now but didn't let it deter me from searching for something in my budget. There are non rust buckets in the range you are looking for contrary to what some may say. By putting the word out you may also get some offers from forum members that have not been advertised yet, I know I did.

About 6 months ago I finished up a 73 240Z it took a week of driving it to remember what a tin can they were...so I went looking for an affordable E9 ....Sold the Z for $8700 and I got lucky and was able to buy a 71 2800CS with a 3.5 motor and 5 speed on ebay from a fantastic forum member for $200 more than the Z sold for (probably not as many bidders since the car was in Hawaii ). Sure it needed a little attention and it's not a 100% rust free acid dipped example as it had some minimal rust (now rememdiated) but it will work great as a daily driver which is what I was after. It helps that I enjoy working on cars so any money I spend on a less than perfect car is always "Cheaper than Therapy" (although original parts for these cars ain't cheap)...Also I didn't need another Sunday driver (have a 79 Ferrari 308 GTB for that which has been the most enjoyable/visceral car to drive I have ever had)

Bottom line be patient and keep searching and you will find what your looking for at a number that works with your budget. The old adage "Buy the most expensive example you can afford" does apply to these cars, as your desired outcome is going to dictate what you have to spend to get there. Just try and not spend your $10k on a car that is really a $7k car trying to ride the increase in prices that the 100 point acid dipped cars with proper head light cover knurled thumb screws are enjoying.:-D
Good Luck in your search!
 
viphoto said:
Bejoe16

Patience is what it is all about (and the great folks on this forum) Cars like your looking for do exist! Especially if you work on cars yourself. I got the same speech your getting now but didn't let it deter me from searching for something in my budget. There are non rust buckets in the range you are looking for contrary to what some may say. By putting the word out you may also get some offers from forum members that have not been advertised yet, I know I did.

About 6 months ago I finished up a 73 240Z it took a week of driving it to remember what a tin can they were...so I went looking for an affordable E9 ....Sold the Z for $8700 and I got lucky and was able to buy a 71 2800CS with a 3.5 motor and 5 speed on ebay from a fantastic forum member for $200 more than the Z sold for (probably not as many bidders since the car was in Hawaii ). Sure it needed a little attention and it's not a 100% rust free acid dipped example as it had some minimal rust (now rememdiated) but it will work great as a daily driver which is what I was after. It helps that I enjoy working on cars so any money I spend on a less than perfect car is always "Cheaper than Therapy" (although original parts for these cars ain't cheap)...Also I didn't need another Sunday driver (have a 79 Ferrari 308 GTB for that which has been the most enjoyable/visceral car to drive I have ever had)

Bottom line be patient and keep searching and you will find what your looking for at a number that works with your budget. The old adage "Buy the most expensive example you can afford" does apply to these cars, as your desired outcome is going to dictate what you have to spend to get there. Just try and not spend your $10k on a car that is really a $7k car trying to ride the increase in prices that the 100 point acid dipped cars with proper head light cover knurled thumb screws are enjoying.:-D
Good Luck in your search!
Click to expand...



Thanks everybody for the kind words and awesome response. I went to look at the e9 in Atlanta yesterday with the intention of buying it but it had rusty rear subframe mounts and bondo filled rockers and some other poor repairs. Non the less I picked up a solid e3 3.0s that's the same guy had. my buddy promised to buy from me. So my hunt for a e9 continues
f4be072ec3d8163b4fc1ea8bf525ba36.jpg
 
Sweeeeet.......... a 73'.

Barefoot E3 hunting is the way to go these days, you need to sneak up on those suckers and catch them off-guard!!!! :shock: You must have been downwind.....Nice job.... Interesting racing stripe, haven't seen that before.
 
Last edited:
viphoto said:
I got lucky and was able to buy a 71 2800CS with a 3.5 motor and 5 speed on ebay from a fantastic forum member for $200 more than the Z sold for (probably not as many bidders since the car was in Hawaii ). Sure it needed a little attention and it's not a 100% rust free acid dipped example as it had some minimal rust (now rememdiated) but it will work great as a daily driver which is what I was after.
Click to expand...

I would love to see a build/maintenance thread on your car. Based on what I saw I think that your car was one of the top 3 value purchases of 2015. The other was the $30K Restored Ceylon from BC. I'm also still of the opinion that my car was a good deal, albeit a ton of work.
 
Chrome Translation

Philippe db said:
Here is one for 10 K but you'll need to add shipping costs, currently located in Holland.

A '74 Cs with manual gearbox. Car in need of a full restoration. Engine isn't running and left part of the floor is already removed.

http://www.kapaza.be/nl/bmw/bmw-e9-3-0cs-handgeschakeld-met-werk-105466976.htm
Click to expand...

For those of us not blessed with fluency in multiple languages, there's a Google Chrome extension called Google Translate that does a pretty good job of automatically translating foreign pages. It makes looking at European sites easy.

Ian
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top