If you like all the cars, then you’ll love the ad for today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Bimmer as it pretty much lists every one that’s ever been made. Let’s find out if this 735i’s rare manual gearbox can make up for that faux pas, and more importantly, make its asking price.
It is my sincere hope that wherever it is that you are hunkered down during this global pandemic, it’s a safe and comfortable space. Even if you are a member of an “essential group” and have to go out, it’s a relief to know you can return to a place of comfort and quiet.
One such comfortable and appreciably quiet place was represented by yesterday’s 2002 Cadillac DeVille. That capacious cruiser was described by many of you as a cosseting couch on wheels and was envisioned by quite a few as a perfect way to get to the Hometown Buffet or other “dinner-all-day” eating establishment once the current lockdown has eased up. That Caddy’s $3,995 price tag was just as comforting as well, earning the car a laudable 74 percent Nice Price win.
Have you ever heard of Delahaye? Well, of course, you have. How about Pegaso? That’s a Spanish marque that once made Bugatti-esqe sports cars but is perhaps better known in its later years as a maker of trucks. Over the course of the automobile’s century and a half existence, there have been hundreds—make that thousands—of makes and models offered to the buying public. Some of those are still well known today, while others have faded from existence.
Fortunately for us, the Craigslist ad for today’s 1988 BMW 735i seems to list all of the most well-known—and many few not so well known—makes and models as a handy reference. Yep, it’s got you, fam.
Okay, so I don’t really get why someone looking for a Facel III or Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Dual-Cowl Phaeton would cross-reference a late ‘80s E32 Bimmer, but then this looks to be a pretty nice one and it has a rare and perhaps even more than modestly desirable five-speed stick making it laudably unique.
BMW long offered manual transmissions in their big cars, although the E38 generation—the one that followed this one—would be the last to do so.
Here in this E32, the rarely-optioned five-speed stick is bolted behind the standard 208 horsepower M30 inline-six. That 3430cc SOHC mill also offers up 229 lb-ft of torque and hails from an era from before BMW engines got all fiddly and overly complex. You can wrench on one of these without a degree in electrical engineering or quantum physics.
Not that you’d necessarily need to do so with this 735i. The ad is long in reference makes but short in detail as to the car’s condition. That being said, the seller does note “Some records pre-dating my almost 5 years of ownership” and claims that the “Dash and interior is amazing for its age.”
The pictures tell a story of a car that looks to be clean and without any major visual issues either inside or out. There are 141,000 miles on the clock, and the title is said to be clean.
The car comes in Delphin over a light grey interior and rocks chrome-plated M-Sport double parallel wheels. Those are wrapped in low-profile Continental tires that look fairly fresh.
There’s no road rot, nor any missing trim evident, and it all looks pretty well-kept. As the seller notes, the interior does look really nice. In there you’ll find a solid dash, clean wood trim and intact leather on the seats. This car is appreciably old school, and hence lacks any of the fancy big screens that over time tend to get funky on later German cars.
No engine shots are made available, nor is there any info given on clutch life, the last oil change, or even if the interior still sports its new-car smell. I guess there will be much to discuss with the seller once the tire-kicking part of the negotiations start.
Of course, for many of you, that will never happen. You’re already pissed off about that egregiously long and questionably relevant list of reference models in the ad. Because of that, you aren’t going to give the seller the time of day. Hey, that’s your right. You do you.
For everybody else, or perhaps those with an aversion to scrolling past the first screen’s fill on any ad, there’s the question of this big Bimmer’s price. That’s a sizable $8,500, which naturally reflects the car’s condition and that unique bit of kit. The question for you is: could this car be worth that?
What do you think, could this manual-equipped 735i E32 command that $8,500 asking? Or, does that price mean it just doesn’t make the list?
You decide!
Los Angeles, CA Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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