I did a couple of trips to Germany late last year, and some of the activities we did with my petrolhead friends was to see some used cars that we had scoured up on Autoscout24 and mobile.de. I didn’t have my car-buying pants on then, but it was interesting to see what the market looked like in the metal, and how the cars measured up to the way they were advertised.
After I got myself to the Düsseldorf International Airport and was picked up by a friend in a ratty E30 at the departures door, off to the autobahn we went.



The first thing we went to see was a Volkswagen Lupo 3L TDI in Wuppertal. My friend, Joe, had been considering one of these for quite a while, and for a couple thousand one could get a decent one with valid inspection. They’re very frugal, and while they don’t offer much in the way of driving excitement, the idea of a 78.4 mpg city runabout is difficult to resist.

Unfortunately, the one we were eyeing first was crammed in the back of the lot, and the dealer couldn’t offer us temporary plates to take it for a spin. So, all we could do was to crank it to life and try to see if it was in any way healthy.

Doing that meant we had to juice up the battery with a booster, as it had gone flat. Then, the three-pot diesel sprung to life with a very characteristic clatter.

Inside, it was decent: not ultra-clean, but not terribly beaten. The service book was somewhat up to date, but the car could have used an oil change by now. And the timing belt wasn’t far from being due.

With only 80k town kilometers on the odo, it might have still had some drive left in it.

Although these cars aren’t eager to rust, the roof rail on the other side was bubbling heavily. Perhaps it had been damaged earlier and the passenger side had been resprayed.

But since we couldn’t really drive this one, we had to give it a rest and move on.

Later on, we went to see a different beast: a 2001 Mazda MX-5 advertised in Krefeld. It had been at the dealer for quite some time, and the ad photos showed the convertible top had cracked. They wanted 1500 eur for the car, which is not terrible for a 1.9 one such as this.


However, for one that had stood outside for a little too long, I wouldn’t have paid that much.

The interior was a swamp by now, as everything inside was very, very wet.

With the battery hooked up, the thing started first try. The engine sounded like a pulley was whining every now and then, and while it revved well, I couldn’t vouch for the internals’ condition.


The wildlife had already started to claim the Mazda. And as for us, we bid half price but that took us nowhere. The interior would have had to be binned, anyway, and the car would still have to be driven home.

A couple days later, near Euskirchen we found a Lupo that could actually be driven.

The test drive left Joe cold: the car worked fine, but again it would have needed a cambelt service in the nearish future. This one was a better example, but it didn’t sell itself to Joe.

As he was out testing the Volkswagen, I kept myself busy. This BMW 320i sedan with some sport trimmings was available for a steal-it-now-price of 1200.

There’s something about E36:s right now that makes sense. They’re priced very low currently, but there are still examples on the market that haven’t been beaten to death or haven’t rusted through. Given some time, the good ones will appreciate and the horrible ones will just vanish.


A test-drive confirmed my feelings: the 320i’s 24-valve six has enough poke at 150hp to feel adequate in this body. The E34 needs more power to move, but in the smaller car it’s fine. This black car didn’t come with a service history, and it pulled somewhat to the right, but it ran well and was well appointed.

The cloth sport seats were unripped, and looked good. They also hold you in place decently well.

I couldn’t take the E36 home right there and then, and it was priced to go: it had arrived the day before, and it never even got online as someone did the deal on it rather quickly.
So, what did Joe end up getting for his Lupo money?

Miata is always the answer!
[youtube width=”720″ height=”480″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRVP72Y3WE0[/youtube]
[Images: Copyright 2015 Hooniverse/Antti Kautonen except for the first and last images]