Lagoon green E36 B2.5 coupe looks an honest motor 0892026

[hap]

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1325764

[Bob]

I like that, but that interior is a bit past it.

Also, odd it has a different reg to the build sheet

[Bob]

There's a few oddities with this one, the build sheet is for reg: K726LOU with reg date of 25 Aug 1992, whilst the car pictured is K701OHU which has a reg date of 30 Dec 1992 on the MOT History and 25 Aug 1992 on a history checker. There is also a mileage irregularity on the MOT History but it does look like a typo.

B2.5 COUPE [E36] #892026; 266 - Lagoon Green/* Parchment Cloth; 1992_K; £7.8k; 131k; Private

[James_G]

This looks right up my strasse, in that I'd like another Alpina and I've never had a green car before.

Definitely worth a phonecall to establish the information behind the registration inconsistencies though.

Meanwhile, what's with the 80s carphone aerial? I always wonder why people don't remove them - is it impossible to do?

[Loplop509]

Meanwhile, what's with the 80s carphone aerial? I always wonder why people don't remove them - is it impossible to do?

I have one in the drivers side rear wing of my E34 and it's more hassle than it's worth it remove it.

Looks suitably period too imo.

[Bob]

Meanwhile, what's with the 80s carphone aerial? I always wonder why people don't remove them - is it impossible to do?

Looks like you will need a replacement rear screen to get rid of the hole if you removed the aerial, or an 'orrible rubber bung. Keeping the period/kitsch aerial seems the best option to me.

[Charles]

Looks like you will need a replacement rear screen to get rid of the hole if you removed the aerial, or an 'orrible rubber bung. Keeping the period/kitsch aerial seems the best option to me.

I think they work by induction through the glass so there will be a little box on the interior aligned with the aerial and the wiring runs from there to elsewhere in the car. The outer aerial mount should just peel off.

[James_G]

Has anybody spoken to the vendor about this one?

I've phoned a few times at different points on different days but always got voicemail. I also sent an email but it has never been replied to.

It's still listed on Car and Classic so I assume it remains for sale, perhaps because they are proving so hard to get hold of...

[Bob]

Has anybody spoken to the vendor about this one?

I've phoned a few times at different points on different days but always got voicemail. I also sent an email but it has never been replied to.

It's still listed on Car and Classic so I assume it remains for sale, perhaps because they are proving so hard to get hold of...

Now listed as a classified on eBay so looks like it is still for sale.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274849142837

[James_G]

Now listed as a classified on eBay so looks like it is still for sale.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274849142837

Thanks Bob, at least I now have another route for contacting them.

Any views on the price based on past B2.5 sales or have there not been any recently, do you know?

[Bob]

Unsurprisingly, there haven’t been too many other sales to my knowledge.

There have been a couple of saloons offered recently:
- the blue one on a CAT C marker for between £7-10k E36 B2.5 #0493051
- green non-runner from eBay and Copart auctions E36 B2.5 #0793055

Seems very much like a buyers market for a B2.5, the regular E36 world will laugh you out of town for asking more than £5k for any E36, other than an M3, but as an ALPINA fan I’d love to see it preserved since there really can’t be many decent B2.5’s left.

Of the 37 B2.5's I've heard of over the years:
- only five currently have a valid MOT
- five there was good evidence they've been dismantled
- five haven't passed an MOT in more than 5yrs
- three haven't passed an MOT in 2-5yrs (one is being restored)
- nineteen I've lost track of/don't know the current or last registration (one is the 20k mile car for sale a couple of years ago)

[Loplop509]

the regular E36 world will laugh you out of town for asking more than £5k for any E36, other than an M3,

I would beg to differ...

My friend managed to bag a tidy one owner from new 328i SE Manual coupe last year for £3k, did absolutely nothing to it and sold it within a day of it being up for £3500 6 months later. It had over 140k miles on it, needed quite a few interior bits and bits of paint.

I see this car being somewhat of a bargain as a 328i Sport Manual in good condition would likely be the same if not more. I understand that with the usual 2.8 mods of intake, remap you'd likely have a car faster than this B2.5, but it still wouldn't be an Alpina.

[Bob]

the regular E36 world will laugh you out of town for asking more than £5k for any E36, other than an M3,

I would beg to differ...

My friend managed to bag a tidy one owner from new 328i SE Manual coupe last year for £3k, did absolutely nothing to it and sold it within a day of it being up for £3500 6 months later. It had over 140k miles on it, needed quite a few interior bits and bits of paint.

Not sure I follow, isn't your example agreeing with my point about £5k?

[James_G]

Unsurprisingly, there haven’t been too many other sales to my knowledge....

Thanks for all the extra info above Bob, I appreciate it.

I see this car being somewhat of a bargain as a 328i Sport Manual in good condition would likely be the same if not more.

I agree that a good 328i Sport would be a similar price, but they seem to carry a lot of kudos that even a normal 328i SE doesn't have. A blend of looks and spec I suspect.

I've always thought that Alpinas should be about 25% more than the car they are based on. Since a tidy 325i seems to be about £4k - £5K that would put this one at £5k - £6K to my mind. But it's academic what I think, as it will be down to the seller.

[Loplop509]

Not sure I follow, isn't your example agreeing with my point about £5k?

I'm fairly certain my friend could've gotten £4k for his far from desirably specced 328i SE, whereas Sports regularly go for in excess of £5k, so I disagree that people laugh at anything less than an M3 being put up for more than £5k, the market has certainly shifted. An ex-colleague couldn't shift his 3.0 M3 Saloon for £3k about 4 years ago.

I agree that a good 328i Sport would be a similar price, but they seem to carry a lot of kudos that even a normal 328i SE doesn't have. A blend of looks and spec I suspect.

I've always thought that Alpinas should be about 25% more than the car they are based on. Since a tidy 325i seems to be about £4k - £5K that would put this one at £5k - £6K to my mind. But it's academic what I think, as it will be down to the seller.

Yeah they do, and I'd have to drive one because from my experience of an SE 328i Manual I don't understand the fuss... An E46 330i is a far better car in any way that isn't subjective or nostalgic imho...

On the 25% I'd usually agree, but the car in question seems far more likely to attract a prospective 328i Sport buyer than a 325i, though I imagine to an even smaller set of people a proper, early, 325i Sport would be a more desirable car than the 2.8.

Pricing is bizarre on all ends of the market currently and with Alpinas in particular. I've been looking for one since the start of the year essentially and if I didn't already have my heart set on an Alpina or E39 M5 by 30 (3 years left yet!) because I've experience of both, but outside of the circle there seems to be wildly varying opinions of Alpinas that make you understand why some sit for so long, but also question how others move so quickly.