What's it worth...'73BMW 3.0 CS

[tmason]

A parts car goes 2K+ so get it for as little as you can and drive the Hell Out of her.Looks like a good find for the right price.
PS Please wait for Arde advise after he views your youtube before sealing the deal,could save you $ + add a smile!

 

[jmackro]

It is located north of Baton Rouge, La. (not sure why this matters???)

The location matters for two reasons:

- My sense (and this may be purely prejudice) is that there is more interest in European/classic cars on the coasts, so the demand is higher and consequently prices are higher. I'm guessing that in Baton Rouge you aren't competing with as many prospective buyers for a '70's BMW as you would be if this were a 70's Chevelle.

- Humidity and rust. By looking at the underhood shots of that car on your YouTube video, I can see how rusted the aircleaner and other engine accessories are. This car has spent time in a humid environment (how could it not in Louisiana?). I know you don't want to hear it, but you will be dealing with corrosion.

From the video, I noticed that the trunk lid liner + tool box are missing.

If the car runs and drives pretty well I'd start at around $3-4k and see how she reacts.

That seems like a reasonable starting point to me.

 

[rsporsche]

north of baton rouge ... up around baker or zachary? or further to st. francisville? there used to be a coupe (fjord i think) that i would see around false river in the late 70's / early 80's. having grown up in the area, there was a ton of rain in this area every year and extremely high humidity. neither is good for the future of a coupe

closest knowledgeable coupester is Steve in NOLA. i won't be in the neighborhood until christmas (on my way to lafayette) ... which will probably be too late. unfortunately i don't know a good shop in the baton rouge area.

 

[Arde]

Eppur si muove! like Galileo said. I saw the car move in the video, impressive after 5 years.

That is good, you have a fair idea of the rust condition, I think you can have it real cheap as it is not very marketable without investing in the car. You can learn about the car, drive it until it is no longer safe and then decide if you want to restore. A restoration is so dominated by its own costs that the acquisition cost is noise (unless you do your own body and paint work). If you decide to part it you may get $2k for the sum of the parts albeit over a period of time not in one shot.

Interesting find, wish we knew the story behind the car.

 

[todd j]

The story of the car is this. It was sold new from O.E. Haring, Inc . in New Orleans, La. on September 11, 1973. The purchase price with tax and license was $14,600.00. ( The lady has a copy of original invoice). It has had the same husband and wife owers since. The car moved with them from New Orleans, to Houston, to Lafayette, La. and back to Baton Rouge.
It did spend some time in storage while they were in Japan. The husband passed away 5 yrs. ago and the car has sat in the garage since. The lady would like to restore it but, that is not possible on a teacher's retirement.
She needs the space in the garage so the car needs to go.

I may be close to a price with her. Still trying to decide to restore or sell as is.

Keep the replies coming.
Thanks
Todd

 

[sfdon]

That wet weather......

I lived for 5 years in Baton Rouge. I was the last person to live in the Caldwell Mansion on Highland Road.
There is a good shop there and a really bad one. Be careful!
Wedge Kyes is a good guy.
If you need some good eyes there I still have some BMW buddies that could take a look with you.

 

[rsporsche]

back in the day - o.e. haring was the only dealer in louisiana. most BMW's (not in new orleans) were serviced by small independent european shops. probably few had any experience w/ coupes. there was a BR dealer on airline hwy (just north of I-12) ... they opened in '77 or so, as i remember. they did sell early 6 series.

there were 1 or 2 coupes in lafayette ... probably the same in baton rouge ... a handful in new orleans. there were mostly 2002's and a reasonable number of bavarias. new orleans did have a couple of 2000cs and some NK 1800 / 2000

the point is, there isn't a lot of coupe experience

 

[Stevehose]

PM me - I am ready for the road trip! I am in Houston until Sat afternoon but could go see it with you on my way back to NOLA then or maybe on Sunday if you'd like, depending on exactly where it is...