Now that I'm looking for these cars (and don't worry, 5 Series fans, I'll get some of your cars too), I'm seeing them all over the island. This '84 has seen shinier days, but it still gets its owner to work every day.


The list price for one of these babies? $36,335, or $76,510 in 2008 dollars. For that, you got BMW's 181-horsepower six, leather, and an instant credit line with your local retailer of white powder.

The BMW E23 745i was quite a machine, with the 252 horses churned out by its turbocharged/intercooled 3.2 or 3.4 liter I6 representing a very impressive figure for its era, but they weren't sold in North America. BMW shoppers had to make do with the naturally-aspirated 733i and 735i over here… that is, unless a buyer was willing to brave the wilds of the gray-market import jungle and bring one over from Europe. Many were willing, surprisingly enough, and you can get one for yourself if you're willing to do a little digging… and a lot of wrenching. If you're in a penny-pinching mood, you can find a cheapo 733 and a trashed 745 and join the two in unholy matrimony, like the seller of this '83 745i/'78 733i combo (go here if the ad disappears) was attempting to do before he or she ran out of time and money. The 745i was allegedly running when parked in March (the year isn't specified, but we'll be charitable and assume the seller means 2008 and not 1995), and it "still needs some love, but what 4dr 600hp classic luxury sedan doesnt." Hey, this must be one of those rare 600 horsepower E23s that BMW offered to its really special customers back then! There's no price given, but given the impossible somewhat challenging nature of this project and the tough economic times, we figure you'll be able to pick up both cars for the price of a 15-year-old Nissan Sentra.

Turbocharging is fun and all, but a big V8 directing mountain-moving torque loads through all four wheels is even better, yes? Yes! The early Audi V8 was a real monster, with 276 horses harnessed to the Quattro all-wheel-drive system in dauntingly complicated perfect harmony… but you couldn't buy one in North America! What is it with those damn Germans, keeping all the good stuff for themselves? Not to worry, though, because some Americans were willing to tread ink in the paperwork lagoon long enough to get themselves a shiny new V8 Quattro back in the early 90s, and- can you believe it?- now they've become fairly affordable. Think we're joking? Then take a gander at this here '91 Audi V8 Quattro (go here if the ad disappears) for the '92 Mazda 323-esque price of just $1,295. That's right, you can buy this car for a tiny fraction of the customs fees its original owner handed to the feds to get the car into the country in the first place! Isn't depreciation a wonderful thing? It seems to be in perfect condition, too… oh, wait, there's that bit about "Tiny oil leak, airbag and antilock lights are on." Well, how hard can a gusher out the rear main seal valve cover gasket leak be to fix, eh? And those warning lights- they're almost certainly just symptoms of total and catastrophic ECU failure minor glitches in the wiring; you'll have 'em sorted out years minutes after you tow drive your new white elephant daily driver home!

Driving one of these things back in the 80s showed that you were serious. At $36,880 list (well over 75 grand- and climbing- in today's inflato-dollars), you could have bought nine brand-new Yugos and had enough left over for a couple of pretty clean used Datsun B210s. Tough decision!


Nowadays, these cars have depreciated down to about 2-3% of their original purchase price. Pretty good bang-for-buck, in terms of how much German engineering and sophistication you get for your money: a 182-horsepower six-cylinder engine, big brakes, leather, the works.