E36 Alpinas at Auction

[Scooter]

Start with a B6...Not very clean and I don't know why anyone would ever switch out the Alpina rims. Maybe not the best start to a thread, but it's a wagon so it earns some point there :)

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-14&auct=10&bid=20262&number=1

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-14&auct=10&bid=20262&number=2

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-14&auct=10&bid=20262&number=4

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-14&auct=10&bid=20262&number=5

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-14&auct=10&bid=20262&number=3

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-14&auct=10&bid=20262&number=6

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-14&auct=10&bid=20262&number=0

[Scooter]

Debating if I should bid on this one...It's an auto though....

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-18&auct=8&bid=77064&number=1

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-18&auct=8&bid=77064&number=2

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-18&auct=8&bid=77064&number=3

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-18&auct=8&bid=77064&number=0

[jrsmitchell]

That white one looks good. You could always do a manual swap... :D

[Scooter]

Here's one you could steal the transmission from. Looks like it might only be good as a parts car anyway :(

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-25&auct=8&bid=5153&number=1

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-25&auct=8&bid=5153&number=2

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-25&auct=8&bid=5153&number=3

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-25&auct=8&bid=5153&number=0


Above is R grade, now showing up as Grade 4....

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-26&auct=37&bid=10090&number=1

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-2-26&auct=37&bid=10090&number=0

[Stirling]

Does it say what's wrong with the car?

[Scooter]

If the car doesn't run, it just gets that stamp on it which I believe basically says "not running." It doesn't specify what is wrong with the car.

[Lord Vader]

The Touring was running in the first set of pics though. You can see the exhaust in the rear picture.

[Scooter]

The Touring was running in the first set of pics though. You can see the exhaust in the rear picture.

The black coupe is the one that was a non-runner.

[Lord Vader]

Ops. My bad! Thought we were referencing the Touring for some reason. Shouldn't stay up so late I guess

[Scooter]

I gotta get me one of these at some point.

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-3-6&auct=5&bid=70060&number=1

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-3-6&auct=5&bid=70060&number=2

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-3-6&auct=5&bid=70060&number=3

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-3-6&auct=5&bid=70060&number=0

[Stirling]

Agreed. Maybe now that there is a baby on the way my wife will be excited to get a wagon.

[Scooter]

Congrats on the baby! :)

I can't seem to win that battle with the Mrs. She doesn't seem to like wagons :(

[jrsmitchell]

@Stirling, congrats! It's a fun ride. :D

I am literally sitting at the hospital having just popped out our second (4 weeks early, surprise!). He will be coming home in my E91 Touring :). Perfect baby haulers, IMO

[Lord Vader]

Agreed. Maybe now that there is a baby on the way my wife will be excited to get a wagon.

Congrats! I would go for an E39 wagon personally. More room.

[Scooter]

A couple up right now. A B3 and a B6.

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-3-27&auct=5&bid=70280&number=1

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-3-27&auct=5&bid=75682&number=1

[jrsmitchell]

Interesting that the black one doesn't have a sunroof which some find a desirable non-option (lighter, less complicated, etc)

I have no idea which is which but the Japanese B6s tend to be pretty low spec.

[Scooter]

The blue one is the B6 and it hit a pretty high price...895,000 JPY and it didn't sell :eek:

The B3 sold for 585,000 JPY.

I'm in the group that prefers not to have the sunroof. I never use the things. I've had my B8 for about three years now and I haven't opened the sunroof even once.

[Scooter]

Same one as last week

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-4-3&auct=5&bid=70215&number=1

[Scooter]

Accident grade, but it looks like it comes with service history, so I'd bet it's been well taken care of and repaired properly. Might be a chance to get it a bit cheaper than they've been going for lately. It's an auto though :(.

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-4-10&auct=5&bid=70735&number=1

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-4-10&auct=5&bid=70735&number=2

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-4-10&auct=5&bid=70735&number=3

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-4-10&auct=5&bid=70735&number=0

[jrsmitchell]

Their photographer is getting worse. :D

Do they ever post engine bay pictures? Seems like you'd want to know you were getting the Alpina bits if you bought one of these.

[Scooter]

These photos are actually pretty good. Some of the auction houses are a lot worse. No, they never post engine bay photos. Each auction house has thousands of cars passing through each day, so they only take basic photos. The camera is fixed and the cars just drive through and their photo is taken. I'm not sure what they do with the interior photo though.

Inspectors go through the cars, so most of the time if something is missing from the car it will be noted on the auction sheet. Depending on the location of the car, the exporter and the person bidding on the car, sometimes an exporter will arrange for someone to physically go and look at the car before the auction happens.

[Lord Vader]

This is up for sale this weekend. Im not a huge Touring fan but I would love to bring this one over. Its the red that speaks to me. :D

http://s19.postimg.org/h5v1cgp2b/cars_024.jpg

[Scooter]

I like that too :) I bet it will be too expensive for me though. My guess is it'll sell for about 500k JPY. All the prices for these European cars have gone up so much with the Euro and GBP increasing a lot in the past year.

[Stirling]

Lovely, but too many cars already. Sigh.

[jrsmitchell]

Looks like my car's Touring doppelganger. Wouldn't mind owning that.

[Lord Vader]

Looks like my car's Touring doppelganger. Wouldn't mind owning that.

Not even joking, thats one of the first things I thought too.

I was like "me and JRSMitchell can have semi-matching Alpina's" :D

[Scooter]

Well it looks like my estimate was only off by 50%...It sold for 745,000 JPY :eek:

[jrsmitchell]

Not even joking, thats one of the first things I thought too.

I was like "me and JRSMitchell can have semi-matching Alpina's" :D

Haha, twinsies! :p Small community us Canadian Alpina enthusiasts :)

Well it looks like my estimate was only off by 50%...It sold for 745,000 JPY :eek:

More than I expected too, but still a great buy for someone IMO.

[Lord Vader]

Highest ive seen an Alpina Touring fetch for yet. The green one in Calgary sold for $4,400 CDN. However red is WAY sexier! I can see why it fetched what it did.

[Scooter]

Wow! Only 12k kms!!! :eek:

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-5-21&auct=38&bid=8013&number=1

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-5-21&auct=38&bid=8013&number=2

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-5-21&auct=38&bid=8013&number=3

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-5-21&auct=38&bid=8013&number=0

[Stirling]

What do people do with their cars over there??? Not even close to 1,000 km a year?

[jrsmitchell]

Seems crazy to me to buy a car and just let it sit like that.

Those Recaros are the best Alpina seats of that generation. Better than the Sport seats and much better than the M3 "Vaders" IMO.

[Scooter]

Yeah, I don't know why you'd go out and spend a bunch of money on a car and then never drive it. With kms that low it's probably still with the original owner as well.

B6 touring....really wanting to put a bid on this but I REALLY don't have any space and the prices for Alpina's and M3's have been really high the last while, so I probably wouldn't be close to winning it anyway :( Although I think the Euro has been falling, so maybe that will help prices.

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-5-23&auct=12&bid=80002&number=1

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-5-23&auct=12&bid=80002&number=2

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-5-23&auct=12&bid=80002&number=3

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-5-23&auct=12&bid=80002&number=0

[Scooter]

Both cars ended at basically 700k JPY. The sedan didn't sell and the wagon did. The wagon is a nice car, but that's getting pretty high. I might pay that for CIF price but not just for the car. Maybe with a manual trans I would...

[JJJames]

Both cars ended at basically 700k JPY. The sedan didn't sell and the wagon did. The wagon is a nice car, but that's getting pretty high. I might pay that for CIF price but not just for the car. Maybe with a manual trans I would...

I'm new to this world, so excuse my ignorance - I assume the price would rise once landed and federalized in Canada - any idea what a car like that touring would go for once all that was taken care of?

[Lord Vader]

Are you asking what the total cost would be once everything was paid for once landed and registered to be Canadian Legal? Or are you asking the resale value of it once landed in Canada?

I can tell you that if you want a Touring, don't ever plan on trying to sell it. It will be a nightmare. Theirs only two E36 Tourings in Canada and I know the original importer of the first one. He ended up trying to sell it for over a year before giving up and trading it for an E46 330ci. Now the current owner is also trying to sell it.

[JJJames]

Are you asking what the total cost would be once everything was paid for once landed and registered to be Canadian Legal? Or are you asking the resale value of it once landed in Canada?

I can tell you that if you want a Touring, don't ever plan on trying to sell it. It will be a nightmare. Theirs only two E36 Tourings in Canada and I know the original importer of the first one. He ended up trying to sell it for over a year before giving up and trading it for an E46 330ci. Now the current owner is also trying to sell it.

Yeah, basically curious what the value would be for one that had been imported and federalized and was ready to go, in Canada. Point taken regarding resale

[Lord Vader]

I don't know if he has moved, but its a green B6 2.8 Touring. Chassis #41 of 136.

[JJJames]

I don't know if he has moved, but its a green B6 2.8 Touring. Chassis #41 of 136.

Ok cool. So assuming it was in good shape with under 100k kms, in Canada and ready to go, what would be your estimate of its value?

[Scooter]

You don't get a car from Japan federalized once it lands. You just have to take it though a provincial inspection.

As Lord Vader mentioned the market here seems to kind of suck for selling these cars. My guess is that to buy one at current prices it will cost you about $12,000 to import a car like you have mentioned. I believe the one Lord Vader mentioned is advertised at around $10,000 and he is having trouble selling it at that price, but I think the kms are a bit higher too (going from memory though).

[Lord Vader]

I will tell you again, do not import one with the intent to flip it. You will not be happy.

The value here is impossible to determine. Tourings were never sold here during the E36 production run and are such very rare. However the number of people who actually know what an Alpina is here is very low. The number of people who want an Alpina Touring? Substantially lower. Their is a reason their are only two in Canada. Sedans are easier to sell should you need too. Importing an Alpina is should be considered a permenant investment.

[JJJames]

I will tell you again, do not import one with the intent to flip it. You will not be happy.

The value here is impossible to determine. Tourings were never sold here during the E36 production run and are such very rare. However the number of people who actually know what an Alpina is here is very low. The number of people who want an Alpina Touring? Substantially lower. Their is a reason their are only two in Canada. Sedans are easier to sell should you need too. Importing an Alpina is should be considered a permenant investment.


Thank you - I realize the challenges of the market, and have no intention of flipping one. I would just not want to overpay for what is out there.

[Lord Vader]

If you want a Touring your only option is to import one. If your looking at another E36 Alpina that's already here expect to pay a decent amount. You can't compare the value of a non Alpina car to an Alpina one. Wait till one comes up for sale and pay what you feel is right based on its condition.

[jrsmitchell]

I assume this is the same JJJames with the nice Dakar euro spec M3? You can't have that and an Alpina ;)

I mostly agree with what LordVader is saying, although that particular B6 probably isn't a good indicator of Alpina values overall. At least to me it wasn't the most desirable model. The B6 2.8 was a bit of a lower spec model to start with. And it was also Auto (but not switchtronic), regular seats, no digital gauges, etc. It did sell about a week ago, but no idea for how much.

One other thing I'd caution you about if you're thinking about picking up an Alpina is insurance. I had trouble getting insurance on mine here in Ontario, ended up with specialty insurance through Hagerty which isn't a viable option if you want to daily the car.

[Scooter]

One other thing I'd caution you about if you're thinking about picking up an Alpina is insurance. I had trouble getting insurance on mine here in Ontario, ended up with specialty insurance through Hagerty which isn't a viable option if you want to daily the car.

Even though it's LHD? ON is getting to be worse than Quebec for imports.

[Stirling]

I haven't had too hard a time getting insurance through Wawanesa. Sometimes they want pics, but generally straightforward.

I agree Alpinas are generally unknown in Canada which tends to drive down prices, which is one of the reasons I started this website - to raise Alpina awareness.

What this means though is Canada is one of the cheapest places on the planet to buy an Alpina, with the exception of Japan.

So go for it!

Now, what's this I hear about a Dakar E36 M3?

[JJJames]

I haven't had too hard a time getting insurance through Wawanesa. Sometimes they want pics, but generally straightforward.

I agree Alpinas are generally unknown in Canada which tends to drive down prices, which is one of the reasons I started this website - to raise Alpina awareness.

What this means though is Canada is one of the cheapest places on the planet to buy an Alpina, with the exception of Japan.

So go for it!

Now, what's this I hear about a Dakar E36 M3?

I didn't think about insurance - thats a very good point. Before I move forward with anything I'll be sure I can make that work. Do you daily yours?

Regarding the dakar m3 - my summer car at the moment is #25 of the 45 eurospec E36 M3's imported to Canada in '94...dakar on anthracite m-cloth...thinking a B6 2.8 Touring would be about the perfect daily to pair it with..

http://i.imgur.com/YsFO1Rs.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8qiQil0.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/zQ4ZCte.jpg

[JJJames]

I assume this is the same JJJames with the nice Dakar euro spec M3? You can't have that and an Alpina ;)

I mostly agree with what LordVader is saying, although that particular B6 probably isn't a good indicator of Alpina values overall. At least to me it wasn't the most desirable model. The B6 2.8 was a bit of a lower spec model to start with. And it was also Auto (but not switchtronic), regular seats, no digital gauges, etc. It did sell about a week ago, but no idea for how much.

One other thing I'd caution you about if you're thinking about picking up an Alpina is insurance. I had trouble getting insurance on mine here in Ontario, ended up with specialty insurance through Hagerty which isn't a viable option if you want to daily the car.

Yep, thats me - if the insurance thing is a deal breaker then you may be right!

The B6 Touring has some advantages which suit me - I'd want to daily the car, and the fact that its an auto makes that easier, plus the fact that the the engine size remained relatively small, and so many of the components (at least those that wear out) are shared with a standard 3 series mean it wouldn't necessarily be a particularly expensive car to run. Plus, though its not as highly spec'd as some other Alpina's out there, cams, exhaust, software, pistons, suspension, brakes, wheels and the various cosmetic touches is enough for me!

The insurance thing worries me though - would you mind elaborating on what the problem was with insuring your car?

[jrsmitchell]

Plus, though its not as highly spec'd as some other Alpina's out there, cams, exhaust, software, pistons, suspension, brakes, wheels and the various cosmetic touches is enough for me!

The insurance thing worries me though - would you mind elaborating on what the problem was with insuring your car?

I'm not sure the B6 has the things you mentioned (cams, pistons, exhaust, brakes, ...). I'll see if I have some info in one of my books. You'd get the wheels at least :)

As for the insurance, I'll admit that I didn't do an exhaustive search. But basically they don't have a risk model for the car so they don't know what to do with it. They can't even run the Alpina VIN. So all the brokers I called said they wouldn't touch it. Generally for insurance anything that's outside the norm is a "don't bother", except for specialty insurers like Hagerty. You might be able to register / insure as a 328.

Others here seem to have had more success so maybe I just called the wrong people.

[Lord Vader]

That's actually one of the reasons why the new Alpina's imported to NA have a BMW VIN and not an Alpina one. The Alpina VINs don't show up in searches by insurance companies so they don't know what it is. Explaining that its a BMW and showing pictures may help. The issue for insurance companies is the rarity of parts and the exorbant cost. The front air dam costs $1,200+ depending on model. Their are only two authorized Alpina parts dealers (that I know of), one of them being Alpina themselves. Even a minor fender bender can turn into a $5,000 repair on an Alpina very fast. The pinstripe kids are over $400 plus shipping from Germany.

[JJJames]

I'm not sure the B6 has the things you mentioned (cams, pistons, exhaust, brakes, ...). I'll see if I have some info in one of my books. You'd get the wheels at least :)

As for the insurance, I'll admit that I didn't do an exhaustive search. But basically they don't have a risk model for the car so they don't know what to do with it. They can't even run the Alpina VIN. So all the brokers I called said they wouldn't touch it. Generally for insurance anything that's outside the norm is a "don't bother", except for specialty insurers like Hagerty. You might be able to register / insure as a 328.

Others here seem to have had more success so maybe I just called the wrong people.

I've done a fair bir of rearch and I'm pretty sure it does (see, for example, the "Alpina Archive":
http://www.alpina-archive.com/?page_id=56&nmt=Alpina-B6-2.8

Note link at the bottom of the page re the 2.8 touring (based on the technical specs of the 2.8/2).

Also see here: http://youbmw.ru/manuals/Alpina/Engb628.pdf

[Stirling]

Somebody sure wanted this E36 cabriolet... $32,000!

It's not even in North America yet.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-Other-E36-/221557298738

[Lord Vader]

I wouldn't want to pay that much for a car and then not be able to really drive it. Being not of 25 years of age it can only be registered under their "Show and Display" rules. Somebody must have liked Dakar Yellow though.

I also found the link for the Touring in Burnaby BC. Its not the one originally from Calgary (Chassis #041) so I don't know anything about this one:
http://m.ebay.com/itm/121449237612?nav=VI

Says chassis is #074 of 136. Also says it has a ton of recent work done. I'm guess maybe just imported and work was done to legalize it?

[Scooter]

Says chassis is #074 of 136. Also says it has a ton of recent work done. I'm guess maybe just imported and work was done to legalize it?

Hmmm...It makes me a bit suspicious that the seller would only have it up on ebay and not try and sell it locally. I'd guess most people who would be interested would want to come and have a look at the car. Not everyone is adventurous/risk taking as those of us who have purchased our cars from Japan without seeing them in person.

[jrsmitchell]

I'm guessing the bidding for the Dakar 3.2 was bogus. Unfortunately bids on eBay motors are non-binding so sellers get jerked around quite a bit. I think it's more useful as a marketing tool than anything else.

But hey, if someone wants to buy mine for $32k just let me know. At that price I'll even throw in the B6 touring. :D

[Lord Vader]

Saint was asking $29k for his B8 4.0L which is technically way more rare then that Dakar Cabrio.

JRS did you buy a Touring??? When did I miss this?

[jrsmitchell]

Saint was asking $29k for his B8 4.0L which is technically way more rare then that Dakar Cabrio.

JRS did you buy a Touring??? When did I miss this?

Saint's car is the big reason I don't think the 3.2 went for $32k. Anyone with knowledge of Alpinas and any sense at all would buy his car instead. A B3 at that price seems crazy.

...and no I don't actually own a B6 touring. But if someone is willing to buy my B3 for $30k+ I'll buy that one on eBay and throw it in. :D Anyone, anyone... ?

I do have an E91 Touring that I love though! https://www.flickr.com/photos/86636247@N08/9250008158/

[jrsmitchell]

The Dakar one is back up on ebay: 221567790471

[Scooter]

A 3.2 with 6 speed is up right now. I'm interested in this since I haven't seen many 3.2's go through. Most are the 3.0's. I can't place a bid though. Too many cars already :(

There's an auto 3.0 as well. 3.2 shown first.

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-10-8&auct=38&bid=7083&number=1

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-10-8&auct=38&bid=7083&number=2

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-10-8&auct=38&bid=7083&number=3

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-10-8&auct=38&bid=7083&number=0



http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-10-9&auct=5&bid=77085&number=1

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-10-9&auct=5&bid=77085&number=2

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-10-9&auct=5&bid=77085&number=3

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-10-9&auct=5&bid=77085&number=0

[Lord Vader]

JRS, I l quite like your E91 Touring. My wife wants to get a small SUV or was considering going down to a car so I'm trying to convince her a Touring would be way more practical. I was thinking an E39 or E60 would be best. However she hates the idea of a "station wagon", so Im gonna show her the X1 and X3


I like that 3.2. Probably will sell well with the manual.

[Stirling]

The 3.2 sold for about $5000.:eek:

Either the thing was a wreck, or someone got a steal.

[Scooter]

Huh? What I saw was highest bid was about $5000, but it didn't sell

The 3.0 though...Such a low price! There was a E46 B3 last night too and it sold for almost a million JPY. If you bought that E36 B3 3.0 you'd have it on the road (on the west coast) for less than $7,000 :eek:

[Stirling]

The site I'm looking at indicates they both sold...cheaply!

Maybe the 3.2 didn't actually sell though. I guess we'll know next week if it comes up again.

[Scooter]

I stand corrected! Maybe I was just wishing it said unsold so I could have a chance to bid on it next week :) I did somewhat contemplate bidding on the car even though I have absolutely nowhere to keep it. The thing that really held me back was the 'R' grade. They can be completely fine or they can be a disaster. With a B grade interior it was probably ok, but i guess I'll never know for sure :(

[jrsmitchell]

JRS, I l quite like your E91 Touring. My wife wants to get a small SUV or was considering going down to a car so I'm trying to convince her a Touring would be way more practical. I was thinking an E39 or E60 would be best. However she hates the idea of a "station wagon", so Im gonna show her the X1 and X3

Funny, my wife also hates station wagons. :) But I love my Touring - just the right blend of sporty and function for me. Although mine is lowered on coilovers and larger wheels / tires. Also a 6 spd manual and x-drive for the winter.

The downside to the Tourings is they are really expensive when new, so resale is higher than it should be. The X1/X3 is probably the better buy for the $

Huh? What I saw was highest bid was about $5000, but it didn't sell

The 3.0 though...Such a low price! There was a E46 B3 last night too and it sold for almost a million JPY. If you bought that E36 B3 3.0 you'd have it on the road (on the west coast) for less than $7,000 :eek:

Definitely a good buy for someone, even if it needs some reconditioning.

[Stirling]

Scott gave me a translation on the 3.2:

7083: Trunk floor is bent, undercarriage scratched, no "interior finishings" in the trunk, wood paneling cracked, dash has glue marks on it, ceiling cloth loose. Bilstein coilovers.


Yup, looks like somebody did ok.

[Lord Vader]

Yikes. I'd be worried about that trunk floor. That might not be easy to fix.

[Scooter]

Not a good sign, but the 3.2 is back at auction if anyone wants a second chance. I'm guessing it will sell for more. It's at HAA Kobe which I've had terrible luck with. I wouldn't recommend bidding on it unless you have someone go look at the car.

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-10-11&auct=75&bid=80771&number=1

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-10-11&auct=75&bid=80771&number=8

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-10-11&auct=75&bid=80771&number=0

[Lord Vader]

Sorry, but why would this have been re listed so quickly? What problems did you have with Kobe?

[Scooter]

Because someone is trying to sell it for more than they bought it for. It seems to happen a lot at this particular auction house. Someone buys a car at a small auction house and gets a good deal. It shows up again at a bigger auction house with more exposure and will sell for more. I think it sold for 46x,xxx JPY, so I expect the seller will now have a reserve around 600,000 JPY.

HAA Kobe is a big auction house, so it seems that they don't go as detailed on the auction sheets as other places (eg. items that should be noted are not). Of course when I bought cars from there in the past I was using a different exporter. Brave Auto is much more detailed than my old exporter.

[Lord Vader]

Thank you for the detailed explanation. What auction house did it first sell at?

[Scooter]

I don't remember...JAA something.

Hey, I wasn't far off the selling price for once. It sold for 615,000 JPY this time.

[Stirling]

Still seems like a bit of a bargain given recent prices though. Must not show well.

[Scooter]

Manual 3.0....I'd prefer the blue interior over the red...

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-10-16&auct=5&bid=70651&number=1

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-10-16&auct=5&bid=70651&number=2

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-10-16&auct=5&bid=70651&number=3

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-10-16&auct=5&bid=70651&number=0

*Edit: Maybe it's a purple/violet interior. I don't see any other cars listed with a red alcantara (or however you spell it) interior.

[jrsmitchell]

The variety in the interiors on these cars is really interesting. The door cards and steering wheel and seats and center consoles really varied car to car and year to year. Somewhere in the high 2xx build #s for the 3.0s they built a bunch of cars like this one above that had generic wood trim above the glove box instead of the numbered plaque, and some serious questionable interior fabric choices. They must have run out of Alpina cloth for a while.

I'm also surprised at how few of these cars have the Alpina gauge cluster with the extra gauges. I thought that was part of the Alpina special sauce but based on recent auctions less cars had it than I expected.

I'm quite happy with how mine was speced but I'd love to have the earlier Recaro seats instead. ;)

[Lord Vader]

I believe interiors like that were usually custom ordered by the original owners. Like the Individual program, Alpina would do any color you wanted. Case in point the E31 B12 in Techno Violet and Techno Violet...

[jrsmitchell]

I believe interiors like that were usually custom ordered by the original owners. Like the Individual program, Alpina would do any color you wanted. Case in point the E31 B12 in Techno Violet and Techno Violet...

Oh I agree they offered that. But for this range of E36s they must have offered it as standard. If you click through the Alpina Archive it's hundreds of cars with mostly Alpina cloth and some leather, then all of a sudden every single car has purple, blue or seafoam green Alcantara. Then it switches back to clotch / leather for the final several cars. I've always found that strange.

http://i.imgur.com/ZRUGXXv.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ydK2rrn.jpg

[Scooter]

I noticed that as well. It seems the ones they offered as "30th anniversary Editions" had the coloured interior like that. I prefer the "normal" Alpina cloth myself.

Well that Technoviolet B3 sure wasn't cheap. Sold for over 900k JPY. I had a bid in around 600k, but obviously that wasn't even close LOL!

[Lord Vader]

Well one thing I learned was in the 90's BMW offered the full range of the European Individual Program in North America and soon many cars were ordered with ridiculous color schemes. BMW NA eventually turfred it because people were ordering ridiculous colors as a lease or not taking delivery of them. I had heard color schemes like this was semi common in Europe for a period, so it must have been a fad for a few years.

[tekazgtr1984]

New to forum... So, newb question but how rare is the 4.6 sedan?

There seem to be quite a lot of E36 Alpinas at auction at Japan. I'd love to scoop up one of these, preferably a manual 3.2 or 4.6. :D

[Scooter]

New to forum... So, newb question but how rare is the 4.6 sedan?

There seem to be quite a lot of E36 Alpinas at auction at Japan. I'd love to scoop up one of these, preferably a manual 3.2 or 4.6. :D

VERY I've been watching auctions for 5 years and I've only seen three B8's go through auction in Japan. Mine :) One other sedan and one convertible. I think I've seen three 4.0 B8's (maybe just two). I don't remember how many 3.2's I've seen, but they aren't too common either.

[Lord Vader]

New to forum... So, newb question but how rare is the 4.6 sedan?

There seem to be quite a lot of E36 Alpinas at auction at Japan. I'd love to scoop up one of these, preferably a manual 3.2 or 4.6. :D
Apparently they made 93 Sedan and Touring B8 4.6's. I thought they were less, but German Wikipedia confirmed it: http://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpina_B8


The B8 4.0 is even rarer:

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/16/7a14de5e8df78b228add639ca42f0bb3.jpg

[tekazgtr1984]

I didn't even know there was a 4.0... That's incredible!

[Scooter]

There's actually 5 (or maybe 6) 4.0 B8's. Check Alpina archive for more information on the cars :)

http://www.alpina-archive.com/?cat=399

Check out the totals for the 4.6's as well. There were less than 93 tourings. The sedan (limo) is the most common with 93 made. A total of 221 4.6 B8's were made.

[Scooter]

B6 wagon, but it looks a bit rough. At first glance I was considering a low bid, but with D grade interior...no thanks.

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-11-14&auct=10&bid=20509&number=1

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-11-14&auct=10&bid=20509&number=5

http://p3.aleado.com/pic/?system=auto&date=2014-11-14&auct=10&bid=20509&number=0