Nice E3 on Ebay

E3 on each bay

Any info on what the car sold for last time or a guess at what it may bring? At 10 k the reserve has not been met.
 
Tierfreund said:
Been featured on Bringatrailer as well. The second time in 12 months. Time for someone with the proper attitude to pick it up and give it the home it deserves.
Click to expand...

The only folk who'd spring 10k for an E3 have never owned one.
And I reckon those who HAVE paid that kind of money for an E3
(often their first BMW) generally sell them within a year
 
dp said:
The only folk who'd spring 10k for an E3 have never owned one.
And I reckon those who HAVE paid that kind of money for an E3
(often their first BMW) generally sell them within a year
Click to expand...

Please, elaborate.
 
I paid 7.000 Euros (about 10.000 USD) twice for an E3. The first time for a 73 3.0Si that I sold within a year :) (Reason=Rust, of course)

So far the theory holds...


But then:
It wasn´t my first BMW. Had two E46 Coupes (328Ci,330Ci) one E90 330i and a series one 71 E3 2800 before (now that was a zombie in way more ways than one). And of course an array of VWs and Audis before I saw the bavarian light.

The second time I spent that on an E3 was the third E3, a 71 3.0S that I´ve kept since then (3.5 years now and more than 70.000mls).

Please don´t ask me what I´ve spent on the 3.0S since. But the way I see it, I would´ve spent as much or more on the lease for a modern car that would not nearly have been as much fun (been there, done that).

The 2800 E3 got me hooked and I´ve been building my perfect version ever since. Gave back the E90 at the end of the lease (the most universally competent car I´ve ever had) and never looked back.


The E3 has the unfortunate distinction of beeing probably the most neglected BMW of all times. Thus any E3 you can buy these days (especially in the US where their values still are at rock bottom) will leave the impression of beeing a car that´s not very nice to drive and very unreliable. There are no nice, cared-for, driveable survivors as there are in the E9 world. Only beaten to death zombies (The possible rare exception beeing the topic of this thread - and even that is certain to have serious needs)

Once completely sorted (and that means replacing absolutely everything bar the engine block) it´s one hell of a car (and no, I´m not trying to justify my investment or my choice, I´m quite unsentimental when it comes to both).

It´s got that 70s style going for it, is one of the prettiest 4 door BMWs ever (second only to the E34), technically it´s the blueprint for anything BMW built the following 25 years and it drives like a dream. Comfortable yet very fast. Even better than the E9 (less wind noise, more chassis stiffness, better rear axle, more relaxed handling thanks to a longer wheelbase). It´s even only about 80 pounds heavier than the E9. And you can take 4 friends for the ride. Plus at least two "Luca Brasi" in the trunk (take them fishing...)

the biggest problem the E3 has is the E9. The E9 is so pretty, nobody ever notices that her brother is quite handsome in it´s own right. And probably smarter and more interesting....

Anyone who can´t see the light when it comes to the E3 is hereby invited to a test drive in mine... :mrgreen:

GO flame!
 
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BavariawithE38Wheels.jpg


I paid $2K for mine - a lot more miles but pretty much rust free.
 
careysd said:
Please, elaborate.
Click to expand...

Okay!

First BMW I ever bought was an E3, a '69 2800...1100 dollars in 1987 (I know it was a long time ago.) 2 years later and a week before college final exams it was creamed by a drunk driver, its replacement was a '72 Bavaria. Sahara, and tabacco interior (lovely caramel-colored vinyl.) 300 bucks from a CCA chapter member out at the old Alameda Base in CA. Drove that car off and on til it was sideswiped by a merging driver in 1995. In the meantime bought a 68 2800 with new paint but a dead automatic and trashed interior & suspension for 600 bucks, then in 8 days swapped the trans, rebuilt the suspension and brakes & replaced the interior (I'd saved the black leather interior & Getrag that was in the first car) and drove it to my first BMW Corral in Monterey in '92 or 93.

Thats a very brief taste of my time with E3's, there was the tomato soup colored 68, there's the grey 2500 I still have (whats that color, bristol?) and of course THE golf yellow racer. I've had probably 3 times as many E3's as I've had coupes, all in less than 25 years. I'll hesitatingly say that I totally know these cars. E3's are more toss-able and infinitely more affordable to work on. They don't rot like coupes. You can go to the airport and pick up the relatives and have room for ALL their luggage in the trunk. And after you drop them off you can head for the hills and blow out a little carbon in the twisties. They are GREAT cars. And they have always been GREAT BARGAIN cars for driving enthusiasts. But the asking price of this car is over the top, regardless of the claimed mileage. I saw it last year, at the same time there was a silver one in SoCal at some stealers lot, just as clean, also claiming low mileage. The dealer was asking 6-7k when this white one went for 10k. I thought they were both high (the sellers AND their asking prices) and the buyer of the white one even higher than the first two! Here it is a year later, the white one's back on the market. Not only is it not always easy as you'd thing to tell the difference between a 30k mile car and a 130k mile car thats been well-kept (and there ARE well-kept E3's stateside) the facts are there is a limited number of folks who find appeal in these cars and that is why that 10k-not-yet-met-reserve number is high. Maybe it DOES only take one person to pull the trigger and flip their credit card, but that one data point does NOT establish market value, especially when the only readily-retrieve-able recent sale with close to a 10k asking price is when the same car sold the year before!
 
Now that´s an explanation with merrit. Well written too.
:cool:

Still: times move on, some of the worst cars get weeded out and E3 prices have no where to go but up.
I don´t really see the E3 in the listing as that desirable (colour, options, history, condition), but I do think that a well restored or well kept (no I don´t mean mine) E3 can and should be worth more than 10k. For a really nice one even substantially more.
I know of nice E3s that have been sold for (not on the market for) more than 20.000€, know of a recent restoration of a 77 2.8L that certainly cost more than 20.000€ and of a complete rebuild (better than new, starting with a bare shell, only new parts) of a 71 3.0Si that cost more than 70k€.
I know, what someone is willing to spend on a rebuild or a restoration has nothing to do with market value. But it does show that some people like the E3 enough to spend that much. Just not on the unknown of a used car.

I guess what I´m trying to say is: the E3 is a great car. Pick on up while they´re still affordable...
 
Fair enough. I think with a lot of these cars, E3s in particular, they can come at such a low entry fee that people think they're disposable. Or moreso, they get wrapped up in mods and don't baseline the car by fixing 40-year old suspension parts. Discouragement follows and the car is sold off cheaply with problems.

I will say that I have had my car for over a year. When I bought it from the second owner, the car had been sitting for 15 years. Fortunately in a garage! Unfortunately, it does have a few love dents from being used as a shelf for so long. It's not bad at all, though. The interior is practically mint, but it is pacific Blue, so I do have my trade-offs.

After 15 years of sitting, I brought it home and fixed a couple of the calipers and replaced the brake hoses. I also ended up R&Ring some of the suspension pieces. It fired right up and I drove it for a while. But, a leaky water pump and the raw fuel odor from the carbs when parked in the garage was enough impetus to put a B35 and G265 in it. It also received ST springs and Billies.

It runs well, but is a long term project for me. Like most, I cut my teeth on a few 2002s ('69, '68, and a parts '74), followed by an E28, E34, and E39. FWIW, other than the '02s the Bav is the most raw and fun to drive, yet it is still very well behaved and a pleasure except for the lack of A/C.

And yes, the hood is on now:
https://picasaweb.google.com/senorcarey/FatherSDayPresentToMyself?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Scott
 
Thanks for the compliment!

I drilled a 2" hole through the firewall and ran the harness through there. With the A/C lines, there is really not a lot of other places to run it through. There is a space behind the glovebox where the ECU fits perfectly (really). At first I used industrial strength Velcro to attach it to the firewall, but the heat of the engine and Phoenix kept it from sticking long. So, right now I have it zip tied to the cross bar that holds the vinyl flap for the glovebox. It sounds scarey, but it is secured very well.

Since I don't want to run screws through the firewall for the ECU, I am considering making some wood strips and epoxying or Gorilla Glue(ing) them to the inside firewall, then mounting the ECU to it. That is, if it sticks.

Scott C.
 
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