Window Shopping for Cars

"lorem ipsum" (nothing123456789)
08/02/2013 at 12:01 • Filed to: Jalopnik

Enthusiasts dedicate a lot of their time to perusing the internet, looking for material goods that will guide them on their quest to eternal happiness. Someone who loves clothes will trawl the pages of Mr. Porter or Net-a-Porter , someone who loves art will peruse the Sotheby’s or Christie’s online catalogue, and for those of us who love cars, we are happiest combing through eBay Motors, Bring a Trailer, or Craigslist to find the hidden gems. While a Spencer Hart suit may be what a clothes-lover pines for, and a Caravaggio what an art-lover lusts after, a car enthusiast gets more of a kick out of window shopping for cheap and obscure cars rather than window shopping for Type 57s or 300Sls. We are thrilled by what other people think is normal, mundane, or garbage.

I’ve gone through several phases of online shopping in the past few years. I used to be obsessed with Camaros from the early ‘90s, until I moved on to American SUVs from the late ‘70s to mid ‘80s (Ford Bronco, Chevy Suburban, etc.). That left off when I discovered American luxury vehicles from the same period (Cadillac Fleetwood), which left off when I went through the requisite E46 M3 period. From that, I moved onto the W123 generation of Mercedes wagons (get the ones with the 3 liter turbodiesel). That ended once I discovered the ‘80s 6 Series, which ended quite recently upon my discovering the E28 M5. Right now, though, I’m busying myself with finding ‘80s BMW sedans with straight sixes for under 10 grand.

Window shopping for cars is, from what I’ve discovered, the only kind of window shopping that doesn’t make me sad that I can’t buy everything, and I’m not quite sure why. What sort of cars do you guys have your eyes on at the moment?

On a side note: if you’ve not yet visited, go to bringatrailer.com, a website of the highest order.

DISCUSSION (4)

Mosqvich > lorem ipsum
08/02/2013 at 12:26

Another great site is Barn Finds .

lorem ipsum > Mosqvich
08/02/2013 at 12:35

Thanks for the tip, I just checked it out and found myself sorely tempted by a 1966 911.

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > lorem ipsum
08/02/2013 at 13:20

Now I am mostly looking at a good first car.

There is a law here that if you own a car from before 1986, you don't need to pay road taxes.

This is very tempting, so I am mostly looking at cars before that age...

BarryDanger > lorem ipsum
08/02/2013 at 17:46

I look at everything, my current budget of $15k is absolutely torturing me.

Currently looking at 70s I-Scout IIs, blazers and brocos (4x4 manual v8 convertible??) or the well maintained cherokee/comanche for the Denver winters.

For summer I am trying to replace the void my Datsun 510 left with e21 bmws, e39 M5s, 04+ GTOs, 1st gen cts-v and e46 m3s.

Now this is barely do-able but Im thinking about getting the summer car first and worrying about the winter car come Nov-Dec when I get extra cash coming in.