Why do we dream… especially of our dream cars? So we can have aims to aspire to. Maybe we genuinely want to learn about the current car market by informing our knowledge in preparation for a future purchase (or sale) we’ll make. Or we exercise our creative minds simply to entertain ourselves with gloriously unquantifiable fantasies. Knowing the week’s forecast of upcoming auction sales serves as the paramount timely measurement of today’s automotive values in a noble effort to satisfy the insatiable curiosities we live for.
After all, while a car’s value can be worth as much as the caretaker determines, it’s a universal certainty that its true price only ever is the value its sellers and buyers mutually agree to exchange when transferring ownership of the former’s ride. Whatever your reasons may be for burning time in your perusal of automotive classifieds, check out this top-five selection of some of the coolest BMWs going under the countdown-clock gavel by week’s end on your favorite online vehicle auction site stomping grounds… between now and Saturday, January 25th.
5. “2003 BMW 325i Touring”
- Auction website: Cars & Bids
- Bidding closes: Thursday, January 23rd, 2:12 PM EST
- Car’s location: Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
Everyone loses their minds (and comes close to losing their licenses) over all the truly-awesome E46 M3 Touring builds out there. But how often do you see a 330i ZHP wagon? Yup, thought so. BMW never officially launched any E46s with their hottest M54 (the B30, specifically), and this Touring rectifies that by having a full (ECU-tuned) ZHP drivetrain (plus the exhaust also) swapped in. That elbow grease end-result gives you well more than the 38-horsepower bump an original ZHP lorded over any bone-stock 328i you’ll meet at the next stoplight, and with plenty of E46-body meat left over to shuttle passengers and packages in speedy style and stylish speed.
This not-so-sleepy sleeper is coated in a fiery red paint job, a contrasting Natural Brown interior, and a list of interior touches you have to see the listing to count, like Alcantara on the steering wheel and boots, M door sills, and BAVSOUND speakers. Upgrades spill outside to include ZHP wheels, front/rear Mtech2 bumpers, and black Shadowline-like trim (must-have visuals on this build); E46 M3 sway bars (smart period choice), ABC brake pads, Bi-LED headlights, and tens more. As far as E46s go, this is far rarer than an M3, or an M3 Touring build, let alone any other Touring of course. Doesn’t the exclusivity speak for itself?
4. “2013 BMW 135i Convertible 6-Speed”
- Auction website: Bring a Trailer
- Bidding closes: Thursday, January 23rd, 3:10 PM EST
- Car’s location: Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Buyers, be happy! You can appreciate the depreciation here on this sans-reserve, former $51,000 MSRP, fully-loaded, and future-classic 135i drop-top. Sporty, subtle, and svelte, this is the most reasonably dailyable one on this list (though you can technically daily anything). The lil’ E88 is formally cloaked in Jet Black over Savanna Beige and black Boston leather, you’ll enjoy all the Premium/Technology package perks of Heated & Power-Adjustable Front Seats, Dual-Zone Automatic Climate and Rear Park Distance Controls, and for a nostalgic trip back to the 2010s, iDrive with Navigation.
Besides the creature comforts is the animalistic 300-horsepower 3.0 N55, mated to, yes, the dependable six-speed stick. For the somber news, there was some documented damage to the front bumper ten years ago… but at least it’s on record, and light dings mean good deals, right? Look at it this way: 300-horses in a 3,600-lb convertible (you rarely find this power-to-weight in anything like this anymore), and especially at the price you can bet on. Rescue this practical and practically-stealable cabrio, and you’ll find this to be a serious bargain whatever it hammers for… and hammer it will for any bid you make.
3. “1974 BMW 3.0CS 5-Speed”
- Auction website: Bring a Trailer
- Bidding closes: Saturday, January 25th, 4:08 PM EST
- Car’s location: Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Could the E9 possibly be one of the most recognizable BMWs – and maybe even of all cars ever – of all time? No one can forget a face like that! This metallic silver sharknose sports bloodred leatherette (say that one 3.0 times fast), and a wisely-chosen MOMO Gritti steering wheel that absolutely complements the car with graceful taste. The 70s-BMW-reminiscent upholstery and wood-rimmed wheel catch your attentive eyes, as the aftermarket Audio Shoppe speakers captivate your ears, and although all those aren’t original, the hallmark-of-a-classic trim veneers are – and notably without visible cracks, peeling, or decay.
Everything knits together in a harmonic blend of both preservation and modification to honor yet uplift one of the best (pre-driver-tilted) center stacks – and that’s in any category, against any vehicles. On the outside, the trademark turbine wheels form four (of the numerous) cornerstones of the indefatigable E9 aesthetic. As for the real upgrades, those sit under the clamshell hood that flashes that vaunted M30 which so many dozens of successive (and successful) BMW sixes owe so much to, and this one wears an aftermarket fuel-injection setup, cold-air intake, and exhaust. The culmination’s a lightly-souped E9 that won’t break any records, or banks… so say sell on Saturday, win on Saturday, because the car’s certain to go home with someone new – as it’s up without a reserve.
2. “Single-Owner 16k-Mile 2001 BMW Z8”
- Auction website: Hagerty Marketplace
- Bidding closes: Wednesday, January 22nd, 3:00 PM EST
- Car’s location: New Port Richey, Florida, United States
507 styling + E46 M3 handling + E39 M5 S62 drivetrain + Z3 spirit = The 1998-2003 BMW Z8. This fine 2001 example wears the timelessly popular Titanium Silver/Nappa Black leather; an unsurprisingly identical combo to my buddy’s car, and of The World Is Not Enough and The Tuxedo fame. With 16,202 miles on the odometer over 24 years, that’s an annual average of 675 miles on a car that looks and’ll feel brand-new.
And with all that museum quality comes all the accompanying artifacts: owner’s/radio/cell phone literature with boxes/documentation; window stickers; tutorials demonstrating Audiophile/Onboard Navigation Systems on compact discs(!). The car-key quartet and painted hardtop are all packaged correctly in their Z8-labelled leather pouch and fitted fabric cover. This bogglingly correct originality’s all courtesy of the original owner, of course. Bonuses include the hardtop’s customary rack stand, aftermarket-installed LoJack, and those of you who like to read about cars (everyone, right?) even receive a collection of car magazines featuring/reviewing the Z8! Clock’s ticking on this blue-chip millennium-turn modern classic, but expect that to certainly double or triple in the last hours… and crack 200K.
1. “36k-Mile 1990 BMW 325i Convertible 5-Speed”
- Auction website: Bring a Trailer
- Bidding closes: Wednesday, January 22nd, 1:54 PM EST
- Car’s location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
As an E30 owner myself, and though I’m biased having placed this lot in the best-for-last place, it’ll (probably) win First/Best in Show/Fan Favorite at your local car meet. Here, we’ve a cabrio that’s excellently clean by E30 standards, and even those of 3-decade-young-plus Bimmers. Speaking of counting, how about 36,000 miles in that 35-year eye blink? Only one of those numbers makes sense when you’re checking out that deeply-philosophical Calypso Red Metallic deliciously drizzled over the introduction-snubbing Natur bison leather (E28 M5 vibes, anyone?)
Two of my (many) all-time favorite BMW color palette offerings, and on the same car… wow! And this 325iC is guaranteed to drive as good as it looks—not just because of the healthily low mileage, or the smooth-sailing hinted at by those meticulous service records—but that mandatory five-speed stick! Dust off your cassettes, and plug in your phone, because the tape stereo and Bluetooth adapter are ready to form a chorus with that incomparable 2.5 liter I-6. Jump in the action for this investment-grade investment cabrio you can tangibly jump in… but you’ll likely hang on to it for 36,000+ reasons you can think of.
