A Rare Bird: The E30 Baur

[THEPOOLEMAN]

It's pretty impressive he's the original owner and actually picked it up in Germany.

Yes, 7k sounds high but we should not discourage -- indirectly, it raises the value of all Baurs!! (said with some sarcasm)

I agree 100% with you Tom , I paid close to that for mine in 04 and it was pretty bad condition however, Mike Cooney from Concord Motor Sports a well know and highly respected independent BMW dealer apprised my car in the condition you see below for $17.500 ( 21k in it's currant condition ) Now we all know Baurs do not sell for that kind of money. I wouldn't sell mine EVER ! but if push came to shove and I had to i would not take a penny under 12K for it.
E30's in general are increasing in value a regular vert in good condition are selling for 6-10k in the north east.
So the guy is asking 7k I'd say you could negotiate price down to 6k or lower. it doesn't sound too bad to me, if I had 8k that Hartge would be sitting in garage ( I thought about selling my 67 Mustang to get it )




this is what it looks like today

[BMWtyro]

Guys,

I was actually able to see Lothar's black 328 at the 2010 Euro Auto Festival in upstate SC; it is as nice as you think it is if not nicer. My shop restored its Solex triple carb set-up, and I have done other work for Lothar before and since.

I guess I did pretty well when purchasing my Baur, then; I paid $4,500 for a car in far better condition than the Colorado car -- it even had a NEW rear top! Best of all, I found it within 50 miles of my home. But because of some of its mechanical issues (due mostly to benign neglect), I had started to wonder whether I had overpaid . . . I'm glad to learn that isn’t the case.

Jeff

[Sammy7]

Mike Cooney from Concord Motor Sports a well know and highly respected independent BMW dealer apprised my car in the condition you see below for $17.500 ( 21k in it's currant condition ) Now we all know Baurs do not sell for that kind of money. I wouldn't sell mine EVER ! but if push came to shove and I had to i would not take a penny under 12K for it.
E30's in general are increasing in value a regular vert in good condition are selling for 6-10k in the north east.
So the guy is asking 7k I'd say you could negotiate price down to 6k or lower. it doesn't sound too bad to me, if I had 8k that Hartge would be sitting in garage ( I thought about selling my 67 Mustang to get it )

If they're really worth that much, Craigslist is not the place to sell Baurs.

I guess I did pretty well when purchasing my Baur, then; I paid $4,500 for a car in far better condition than the Colorado car -- it even had a NEW rear top! Best of all, I found it within 50 miles of my home. But because of some of its mechanical issues (due mostly to benign neglect), I had started to wonder whether I had overpaid . . . I'm glad to learn that isn’t the case.

I paid about the same, and then spent another $4,500 to make it presentable with thousands more on the to do list. I still think I overpaid. I knew it at the time and I really didn't care; but I don't feel quite as guilty about it now.

[BMWtyro]

Sammy,

I suppose that it is all relative. It is possible that these cars are currently in a "twilight zone" wherein no one really knows what they are worth. In otherwords, they could go up or down from here . . . and what they will actually do is anybody's guess.

Jeff

[Htay9500]

It's pretty impressive he's the original owner and actually picked it up in Germany.

Yes, 7k sounds high but we should not discourage -- indirectly, it raises the value of all Baurs!! (said with some sarcasm)

Hey by any chance, were you driving around Western ave in the Chevy Chase neighborhood in DC a month or 2 back? I remember seeing a baur with MD historical tags.

[BMWtyro]

Htay,

You were posing your question to TomDC here at the same time I was posing the same possibility to you on another thread.

Great minds think alike . . . and apparently do so simultaneously . . .

Jeff

[Htay9500]

Haha, yes indeed.

[THEPOOLEMAN]

If they're really worth that much, Craigslist is not the place to sell Baurs.



I paid about the same, and then spent another $4,500 to make it presentable with thousands more on the to do list. I still think I overpaid. I knew it at the time and I really didn't care; but I don't feel quite as guilty about it now.

Sammy the appraisal I spoke of was a stated value for insurance. if you look around at what e30's are selling for I personally think Baurs are sold for far less then what they are worth. Like I said I see vert's all the in 6-10k price range and I recently saw a 1989 325i with under 90k sell for 12k ( local )
Baur s are perhaps the best e30 to purchase for the long term investment.
I also felt as if I paid too much for the car as well.I had a bad case of "buyers remorse" two days later when I look at the mono chromed mess in garage. I am happy I bought it however !

Jeff I think they will only increase in value. however with the economy the way it is who knows

[tomscat1]

Hey by any chance, were you driving around Western ave in the Chevy Chase neighborhood in DC a month or 2 back? I remember seeing a baur with MD historical tags.

I have attached pics of two of the known Baurs in the DC area. There could be more.

Both are TC2s (E30s). The highway pic is a South African Baur, Teal or blue/green in color and right hand drive.
http://baurspotting.blogspot.com/2012/02/south-african-built-baur-spotted-in.html

The second is TomDC's Bronzit Baur.

I am curious to know if you saw either of the above..... or could there be ANOTHER Baur in the area?



We do know of another TC1 Baur, the white wide body, in northern VA, but I don't believe that is on the road at this point.
http://baurspotting.blogspot.com/2011/03/establishingsome-unofficial-provenance.html
http://baurspotting.blogspot.com/2011/03/followup-on-wide-body-baur-in-va.html

[Htay9500]

It was certainly an E30 Baur, very likely to be the bronzit one, though IIRC, it had its top down so I wan't sure of the color.

Anyhow, TomDC's baur seems like the one I've seen lately. I'm hoping to see it more often as the weather here is perfect this time of the year.

[tjmonsen5]

The weather is nice enough now, I will be driving my baur pretty soon.

[Baur]

A rare bird?




Gr Jeroen

[tomscat1]

A rare bird?




Gr Jeroen

A rare bird, except in Jeroen's garage.



Zero, zip, nada ... 325ix's in the US!

gosh darn it!

[THEPOOLEMAN]

A rare bird, except in Jeroen's garage.



Zero, zip, nada ... 325ix's in the US!

gosh darn it!

Makes me sick just thinking about it....
I want an E21 Baur

[tomscat1]

Makes me sick just thinking about it....
I want an E21 Baur

I made a typo in my earlier post.... that should have referenced the fact that there are NO 325ix BAURS in the US. There are a lot of 325ix's.... I have two of them myself.
It is the 325ix Baurs that we cant find!

Day um.

[Cheyne]

This sad example has just popped up for sale here.
It's a 1985 320i. Looks like it has been sitting for at least 4 years judging by when it was last registered.








It's VIN 7522951 if that means anything.

Currently at NZ$200 with the reserve met.

[Baur]

Hi Cheyne,

Thanks for the pics + VIN. It's the B44083-14. Sad that it is rusting that bad underneath the Baur-frame.

Anyone who wants to know why TC2's rust that bad in that particular area? When they placed the frame on the car, they drilled two holes in the body, where normally (with a normal 2-door saloon) the window is placed upon. And those two holes aint rust-protected (or at least not good enough).

Gr Jeroen

[BMWtyro]

Jeroen,

Yes . . . and as I believe that you have pointed out to us, part of the factory "Baur prep" package was to omit the corrosion-proofing step during the car's assembly at BMW.

Jeff

[Baur]

Hi Jeff,

Indeed. This was done because otherwise they first had to clean of the rust-protection before welding.

Gr Jeroen

[TomDC]

Hi Htay,

Sorry I did not respond earlier.

That was most likely me on Western Ave. Was the car smoking?!?! If so, it was for sure me! But hopefully those days are over. I will pick up my Baur today from the shop (after 2 weeks...).

Tomscat: I am sure there are more Baurs in the DC area. I haven't seen one in a long time, but if I do I will be sure to point them to your website and check in here.

Getting back to prices of Baurs, it really is a crapshoot and probably all depends on how bad the buyer wants it. It's not like a 2002 or Bavaria where you kind of know that if you find one in very good condition, you will be paying a pretty penny. I think I mentioned before, I had the option to buy a "mint" e30 red vert that had nearly all the work done to it that should be done for less than $ 5k -- I declined and waited to find a Baur. Not to dis the e30 convertible.

[tomscat1]

Baur project anyone? This is a TC1 Baur. Ok, it may need a little more than a good buffing.

1982 320i. 17 hours left in auction.... no bids.

Thanks to Chris M. in Facebook E21 Legion for this link:
http://www.autobidmaster.com/carfinder-online-auto-auctions/lot/20724411/COPART_1982_BMW_320I_SALVAGE_CERTIFICATE_VALLEJO_C A/

Baurspotter of the Week Award to Chris M! Thanks, Chris! This appears to be one of the few US Spec 320i Baurs! Baurspotting is on the case!
http://baurspotting.blogspot.com/2012/05/wrecked-baur-at-auction-1982-bmw-320i.html

[tomscat1]

5/9/2012 Craigs list Westminster Colorado

Hot off the press!

1985 BMW Baur TC 323 I - $6995 (Westminster)

Date: 2012-05-09, 1:42PM MDT
Reply to: kdjhg-3005895028@sale.craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]


Purchased new in Germany in 1985. Toured Germany for 5000 miles then brought the car to the US. Exterior in good condition and interior is excellent shape. Currently has 131,000 original miles. Asking $6995 obo. Call Dale @ 720-319-1679 No emails please.











http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/3005895028.html



Always more Baurs here:
http://baurspotting.blogspot.com/p/baurs-for-sale.html

UPDATE 5/19/2012 PRICE REDUCTION! $4250!
CHECK THE NEW CRAIGS LIST AD:


http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/3005895028.html

[Htay9500]

Hi Htay,

Sorry I did not respond earlier.

That was most likely me on Western Ave. Was the car smoking?!?! If so, it was for sure me! But hopefully those days are over. I will pick up my Baur today from the shop (after 2 weeks...).

Its cool.

Lol I can't remember if yours was smoking, though you probably had your top down IIRC. Nice to hear that its getting fixed.

[tomscat1]

Bimmerfest 2012 was held yesterday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena CA. Several folks have posted pics, and it looks like there were 3 Baurs present on the field!

Did anyone in here attend? There could have been other Baurs present, but I haven't seen any others in the pics posted so far.


Here are the three Baurs I have seen:
1) Koko's red TC1;
2) the red E30 TC2 in the background. It is not a good pic, and I believe that there are two similar red TC2s out there. I am not sure which one this is. Anyone have any better pics of this car? I may have a pic of this car from previous bimmerfests. I will take a look.
3) and Sevan G.'s TC1 316. We have seen Sevan's car for two years in a row at bimmerfest, but we haven't been able to make contact until yesterday. He is on Facebook, and in Baurspotting, and we hope that he will soon join us in bimmerforums. A 316 Baur is an extremely rare car in the US!

UPDATE: I found it. the 4th and 5th pics below are the red TC2 E30 noted in #2 above. These pics are from the SoCal Vintage show last year, pics taken by amir K. Thanks Amir! If you look carefully, you will see the same decal on the front windshield of this widebody E30 Baur in pic #5.

[Htay9500]

Awesome! Looking forward to Bimmerfest East here in MD.