What Classic German Sports Sedan Would You Buy for Under $25k?

Or an Alpina B10 er B11…

E34 540i/6 M sport.

1979 Mercedes Benz 6.9 in black! See the original north American MBZ sales brochure. Some times referred to as the banker’s hot rod! Even though its heavy its a wolf in sheep’s clothing and was named the fastest sedan in the world at that time. Its the grand father of them all for me.

1971 Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 4.5. You can find this baby at or below $25k on ebay autos or craigslist. I would prefer the 6.3, but you would need double the budget. Those cars are so amazing and will probably last as long as cockroaches after the apocalypse.

Saab 9000 Turbo

The Lancia Thema 8.32 would be high on my list. But I’d probably end up with a Mercedes W116 6.9

AUDI S4. I just bought a ’95 (S6)–pretty much the same as an S4 (92-94). Great Driver! Pretty fast with tons of power potential and a rich aftermarket. 5-sp only. Basic car will drive well into the 200K miles range, while nicking you regularly with smaller items on the way. Buy in is modest. Best car ever in slippery conditions! Experience Turbo Lag! Smooth revs to 7K, Very comfortable with great seats.
I also had a ’91 200 20V (only model year for that) & a 90 Audi V8–both very nice drivers.

W124 500E!!!

E3 2500 BMW.

The Audi 200 turbo 20V. Compared to its BMW counterparts at the time, it was overpriced and underpowered, but a decent one can be had for much less than a near-junk M5 today (in Europe at least). If you can find one; they are very rare.

BMW M635 csi (while they are still under $25K…)

Mercedes 6.3 or 6.9.

Simple question, prior to 1990, BMW! Although, I should extend a “Thank You” to Mercedes, if it wasn’t for that brand in particular, paying for my flight training would have been more difficult. One after the other would enter our shop with a myriad of issues. My boss paid time and a half, and it was nothing but the three pointed stars lined up, one more screwed than the next. Anyway, my pick would be a first generation M5.

A W108/109 (S-Class pictured above or any S-Class really) was never and will never be a ‘sports sedan’. No, not even in 6.9 form. It just didn’t have the chassis to start with. Apart from one exception: the beautifully brutal AMG 300SEL 6.8 race (!) car (http://www.oocities.org/motorcity/downs/Downs/9323/w109amg.htm)

And a Ford Scorpio can not possibly be on a list with ‘sporty sedans’, can it? Come on it’s all sorts of things but not sporty.

[u]But in order to answer the question: [/u]
BMW E30 320is (Italy- and Portugal-only version of the E30 M3 with a lower capacity M3 engine (to fit under the 2 litre tax limit) available in a four-door body -> very stealthy, very rare, all the M3 qualities!

Also-ran: Euro-spec M3 E36 in four-door guise (may not be a classic yet, but will be and combines M3 traits with inline six sound and four doors), Mercedes 190 E 2.5-16V (IMHO only sporty mercedes sedan apart from recent C63), E30 325i, E28 M5, E34 M5 (1st turbine wheel model) and indeed Audis are a difficult one but the RS2 build by Porsche should qualify even if it’s an estate. Alpinas yes please! Older BMWs always welcome, 1800 TISA would be the obvious choice but probably way beyond 25k.

Turbo M20 BMW 2002

I bought a 1984 533i late last year, and for the money I spent, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. The E28 may be the best chassis ever made.

Guest(Guest ) But … perhaps what you meant to type in was the Merkur Scorpio ( Ford Granada Scorpio in Germany ) … not the Taurus ?

Now that ( the Scorpio ).. was a German sedan . Ford of Germany … but German never the less .

And if thats what you meant to say … well now …. that is a worthy consideration for this list

Hmmn … errr .. Guest(Guest) … Ahhh … errr … not to be pedantic or anything … but ahhh .. how does one say this tactfully … especially when tact is not one of my strong suits . Hmmn … lets try this ;

The original Ford Taurus SHO is an American Car … with a Japanese derived motor [ Yamaha ] under the hood … thats not even sold in Germany .. nor has ever been sold in Germany … never mind any solitary aspect of it having been made there

Making the classic SHO in fact ….. anything BUT .. German

Phew ! Y’all have no idea how much effort that takes on my part ..

BMW 3 series M3 if possible.

1989 Ford Taurus SHO

OK … right out of the gate .. lets eliminate any and all VW’s tarted up in Audi party dresses . Fact is … there’s nothing in the slightest that can be considered ‘ Classic ‘ about any of them

So that leaves us with BMW and Mercedes . Which of those two depending on whether your main objective is ‘ comfort ‘ or ‘ sport ‘ BMW’s being ‘ sport ‘ with comfort . Mercedes being comfort with ‘ sport ‘

So then to narrow it down to a model or two each . Hmmmmn . If .. it was a Bimmer I was wanting … it’d have to be one of the many M5’s .. or perhaps if Mid Life crisis were to take over … an Alpina M5 . Mercedes ? Sanity and reason dictates either … a 190E … or say one of the mid 70’s S-Class . Insanity and lack of reason pushing me towards an AMG ‘ Hammer ‘ … assuming I can find one … perhaps a 190E 16V … or one of the classic 6.9 Sedans

My choice brand wise ? Mercedes . Hands down . Love BMW’s but prefer to drive a Mercedes . Model wise … that’d depend on my state of mind at the time as well as what was available .

2000 TI tho might be hard to find, especially here in the US.