Why buy an e9?

Arde said:
My son took Verona to work last week, a small startup in Palo Alto, and struck up more conversations with the car than if he had brought Elvis himself to the job.

It is a different car and it is getting more different every day.
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And Verona smells better than Elvis... Unless you mean Elvis Costello, and then I am not sure
 
johanaxelson said:
I would go for love at first sight too, saw my first one when I was maybe 12? and it stuck with me.

There are many sports cars out there, old and new, but this is what I (we) fell for. I like it for many reasons:
- it is not too expensive
- it is driveable
- good performance and comfort
- still possible to find parts
- its classic beauty


And one less tangible reason, the car feels more personal than many other vintage sports cars. Don't know why but it strikes a different chord than say, a Porsche, from the same era. You notice that with us owners and as some mentioned above, the reactions from people see it. If you pull up in an equivalent Porsche pretty much no one would even notice. But people do notice the E9.

And that leads to a conundrum, why then is it still relatively cheap?



Ohmess - I do not know where you live but if you tell us I am sure there is an E9 owner nearby who would love to show you his car and give you tips on what to look for when buying one.
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I'm just outside Washington DC. There is a NCC BMWCCA member living near here, whose first name is Doug I believe, who owns a beautiful dark green e9 with a upgraded engine Korman dropped in and Alpina wheels. I've seen it a couple of times at the annual Deutsche Concourse and it is just gorgeous.
 
You could also ask:
So why would you want a really hot girlfriend?

I consider owning an E9 is like having a really hot girlfriend.
She does not need to be the strongest, fastest, or smartest.... she could be, but not necessary.
She is stunning to look at, from any angle, and is great fun.
She is unique from other hot girlfriends (Porsche, Ferrari etc.) and is classy and charming in her own way.
People look at her and not you in public, then wonder how you got so lucky.

But, like any hot girlfriend that knows she is hot, they can be high maintenance.
You can shower her with gifts, but they need to be the right gifts, thoughfull and important, and she will perform bueatifully.
You can buy her bling (nice wheels, etc.), but she also looks great all-natural.
If you treat her right she will stick around.
Constant attention will eventually become routine.

Or you will tire of the exhaustive struggle to keep her happy and move on..... but you will always remember how hot she was.
 
Ohmess said:
I'm just outside Washington DC. There is a NCC BMWCCA member living near here, whose first name is Doug I believe, who owns a beautiful dark green e9 with a upgraded engine Korman dropped in and Alpina wheels. I've seen it a couple of times at the annual Deutsche Concourse and it is just gorgeous.
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That is a start. Now find where he lives, when he goes out to work, and what kind of dogs and alarms might be there. You can repaint it Polaris and he will never recognize it :).
Then again it may be cheaper to come to California and buy a solid driver. Heck, most of our taxes already go to DC, why not our cars?

(Apologies if it is not even November and politicians already make me sound so cynic).
 
Having owned/driven a variety of BMW products over the years, the E9 feels like a much more modern vehicle than it is. It drives like a very light E34 535 with more steering feel.
 
waynesie said:
You could also ask:
I consider owning an E9 is like having a really hot girlfriend.
She does not need to be the strongest, fastest, or smartest.... she could be, but not necessary.
She is stunning to look at, from any angle, and is great fun.
She is unique from other hot girlfriends (Porsche, Ferrari etc.) and is classy and charming in her own way.
Click to expand...

i met a guy last night that has 5 porsches - 1 356 / 4 911 ... wants to sell a late 70's 911 and buy a 3.0cs. his older 911's and 356 are perfect. i will do my best to help him find a great coupe.

cheers
s
 
lol... i think its more like 'pouting' from rockstar Stan :-o

but gee, after reading and following this thread for the last few days, I just can't wait to go and 'pout' in my e9 over this weekend

like others on this forum.. I just never get tired of driving the coupe around all day long

iconoclast6 said:
Uhm Stan...you have to make sure your grin does not obscure the coupe...lol!!
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Why buy an e-9 ???--the story is long----

In 1970 I had read about about BMW's beautiful new flagship model--the e-9--in a Road and Track article--and inquired as to price--a new one was beyond my budget. While disappointed I set out to find a used one. What a challemge--kind of the proverbial needle in the haystack as they had only been available about a year!!

Then I spotted a beautiful dark blue E-9 sitting in front of a neighbors house--had to stop and inquire as to who owned it--turned out it was the brother of the lady of the house. I asked if he might be interested in selling it. "I dont know but you can call him"--and proceeded to supply me with his phone number. "Yes I'll consider", but again the price wasn't within my budget. Disappointed again!!

Approximately a month later a small add appeared in our local newspaper--1970 BMW 2800 CS For Sale $6,000--I grabbed the phone and called--it was avaiable. This was the start of an over 40 year ownership and love affair with e-9's--two others passed thru my hands, including the first one I had tried to buy from my neighbor--but the BLUMAX was my first love and remains so even when having shared garage space with my M-1 for 5 years.

Today at 421,000 loyal miles--and still going strong--BLUMAX is being prepped for the Legends of The Autobahn in Monterey in two weeks where he will celebrate his 38th anniversary of his first trip to Monterey and also be judged in the Concours class. Not really concerned as to winning a trophy as there are plenty round our modest abode but likely to be honored once again as the highest mileage BMW in attendance at that event.

Now 40+ years have passed since that first drive in February 1972, many articles in car mags, a short subject in 2010 by BMW-AG and this last month another online article @ www.driving-line.com--scroll down to the 2nd story. Our journey continues and the love has not diminished.

One last thought--at Cars 'n Coffee our weekly gathering of fine cars in Irvine, CA I have been acquainted with the co-sponsor for several years--he is a noted American automotive designer having spent severa years in Germany designing Porsches and is now head of design for Ford's premier Automotive Group--he has a collection of several fine classics-- from time to time he has dropped by to look in on the BLUMAX sharing this insight--"the e-9 is in my opinion the most overlooked and drivable classic out there and remains woefully underpriced!

I AGREE!!!!
 
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blumax said:
In 1970 I had read about about BMW's beautiful new flagship model--the e-9--in a Road and Track article--and inquired as to price--a new one was beyond my budget. While disappointed I set out to find a used one. What a challemge--kind of the proverbial needle in the haystack as they had only been available about a year!!

Then I spotted a beautiful dark blue E-9 sitting in front of a neighbors house--had to stop and inquire as to who owned it--turned out it was the brother of the lady of the house. I asked if he might be interested in selling it. "I dont know but you can call him"--and proceeded to supply me with his phone number. "Yes I'll consider", but again the price wasn't within my budget. Disappointed again!!

Approximately a month later a small add appeared in our local newspaper--1970 BMW 2800 CS For Sale $6,000--I grabbed the phone and called--it was avaiable. This was the start of an over 40 year ownership and love affair with e-9's--two others passed thru my hands, including the first one I had tried to buy from my neighbor--but the BLUMAX was my first love and remains so even when having shared garage space with my M-1 for 5 years.

Today at 421,000 loyal miles--and still going strong--BLUMAX is being prepped for the Legends of The Autobahn in Monterey in two weeks where he will celebrate his 38th anniversary of his first trip to Monterey and also be judged in the Concours class. Not really concerned as to winning a trophy as there are plenty round our modest abode but likely to be honored once again as the highest mileage BMW in attendance at that event.

Now 40+ years have passed since that first drive in February 1972, many articles in car mags, a short subject in 2010 by BMW-AG and this last month another online article @ www.driving-line.com--scroll down to the 2nd story. Our journey continues and the love has not diminished.

One last thought--at Cars 'n Coffee our weekly gathering of fine cars in Irvine, CA I have been acquainted with the co-sponsor for several years--he is a noted American automotive designer having spent severa years in Germany designing Porsches and is now head of design for Ford's premier Automotive Group--he has a collection of several fine classics-- from time to time he has dropped by to look in on the BLUMAX sharing this insight--"the e-9 is in my opinion the most overlooked and drivable classic out there and remains woefully underpriced!

I AGREE!!!!
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Hi Bluemax -- Thanks for contributing. From time to time I pop in to a store on K Street in DC and pick up either newspapers or magazines from outside the US. I mention this because I have had for several years sitting in a basket in my bathroom a copy of a Total BMW magazine from August 2007 which, starting on page 42, has an article on your car. Your car is amazing.
 
A basic question (I should have thought about earlier), how do those of you hunting for cars do long distance evaluations?
 
My Uncle purchased a 320i in 1980 and from the 1st drive I was hooked on BMW!Had a few 2002 and than saw a CS and had have one. It didn't take to long to discover that it was out of my range. So stayed with the 02 and found at the time my dream car a 73 tii. Surfing on CL found a CS here in Reno. Took one look and knew I wanted it. I thought I could talk my wife into keeping both but that didn't happen so after having the tii for 15 yrs. it was time for a change and to not look back. As most here know a 74 in a tii or CS is not the best year to own but after seeing a couple of CS in the late 80's for over 12k and this one for under 4k I purchased and went on to sell the tii. Like all here you try to collect all the right pieces to make it something special and over this past weekend picked up a 265 to go with pedal box in the garage so my next project is well on the way! If you are single,get the ONE you want because after marriage and college funds there is not a lot left for our toys. And this is after 23 years yesterday so Ohmess good luck in what you choose because there is a lot of toys to pick from out there but there is only one with this type of style and you will see it every time we drive!
 
Ohmess said:
A basic question (I should have thought about earlier), how do those of you hunting for cars do long distance evaluations?
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An excellent question. After looking at photos of a dozen or so cars you should be able to weed out the worst stuff on your own if you know what you’re looking for. The first thing I want to see is photos of the strut towers, fender skirts and the fender’s rain gutters where they meet the skirts. Any rust holes or undercoating in these areas and you know you are probably looking at very expensive repairs. Make mental notes of what the factory sound deadener looks like in these areas as well as what the sheet metal looks like and you will see that many coupes are poorly repaired. I have posted 3 photos of a mint coupe in these areas.
!1acoupe11.jpg
!1acoupe12.jpg
!1acoupe13.jpg

Next I like to inspect the faint horizontal mid body highlight line that runs from front wheel opening flair to the same in the rear. Quickie body men absolutely murder those lines. The lines should run straight and maintain the same degree of sharpness with fade out just before the flairs, if not or completely missing would make me suspect Bondo in the panels. Understand some colors and lighting do not show those lines real well.
!1acoupe21.jpg

Some sellers post underside photos of the car. I like to inspect the bottom edges of the rockers for jacking damage, many times the drains are crushed & closed or in the worst cases the edges are folded over.

These are things I looked for in photos when I was buying my coupe, there are many other rust prone areas that must be inspected in person. The unfortunate bottom line is these coupes are very beautiful rust buckets that have a charm that has sucked many a buyer into a far bigger & more expensive project than expected, BUYER BEWARE. ~ John Buchtenkirch
 
Thanks John. I mentioned in another thread that I grew up in WI, and know rust well. I had to part with my beloved Datsun 280z when the floor rusted to the point that I could feel it flex when I sat in the passenger seat.

Your pointer on the mid-body highlight is particularly helpful.
 
If there is one you have your eye on, someone local can look it over for you. I have done this for several prospective owners in the Atlanta area over the last few years.
 
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