- With fall right around the corner,
that means we are going to start seeing things
such as leaves turning,
the air starting to get a little bit cooler,
and I can finally break out my flannels again.
Things like Oktoberfest,
just giving us another excuse to drink some more beers.
And for some reason, nothing else seems to go better
with all of this than some good old European cars.
What's going on everyone?
Gels from Fitment Industries,
and today we're going to talk about some European cars
and more specifically some of the best Euro cars
that you can go and pick up for under $10,000.
Before we go ahead and get right into today's video,
please don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already,
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and we can keep making videos just like this.
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on our Rotiform giveaway.
So if you haven't picked up some gear
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hop on over to fitmentindustries.com
or click the link down in the description to do so.
Anyway, the BMW M models have been
dominating the world of motor sports
in the hearts of many enthusiasts for years and years.
With M models being available
in most of their series of cars,
there really is something for everyone.
But there are generations of M3
that I guess you could say just hit a little bit different.
First and foremost, the E30 generation of the M3.
And I wish you could tell you that the E30 M3s
were on the first of the list
to be picked up for under $10,000,
but that would be an insane lie.
With those cars fetching well over 100K
it has us picking up our jaws from the ground
and adjusting the search filter to a few years later,
to where we get to the E36 generation of the M3.
The E36 M3 was first introduced to the world
in November of 1992 and brought over to the States in 1995.
And had an MSRP right around 38 to $40,000
depending on the package.
Featuring a three liter inline six,
that produced 240 horsepower.
But guess what?
Just like any other trade deal
in the history of bringing cars in the United States,
we got (beep).
Because instead of having the European S50B30
that produced 282 horsepower,
we got the watered down version
specifically labeled the S50B30 US.
Right.
A few years down the road in 1996
the E36 got a facelift and a heart transplant,
which swapped the original three liter S50B30 US
with the 3.15 or 3.2 liter S52
which still made 240 horsepower.
We also never got the six speed manual transmission either,
but even with all that the E36 M3s
are some pretty fantastic cars.
Insanely fun to drive, they sound amazing.
(engine revving)
And they just have that heritage of being a '90s M car.
Today, you can see some E36 M3s popping up
anywhere between seven and $10,000
for one that's got, you know, some miles on it,
but it's still in pretty decent condition.
Most of them coming across as coupes,
but you will find some convertibles
and even a sedan sprinkled in there, here and there.
The biggest thing with these cars is going to be
the cooling system, making sure that that's all good,
just seems to always be a hotspot for these BMWs.
And that was a pun there if you didn't catch it.
But other than that, keep an eye on the Vanos.
And just like every nineties car it seems,
you know, just keep an eye on oil
because they like to either leak it or eat it.
One or the other.
But if you can deal with that,
you can get a car that has a strong heritage,
a lot of respect and will be a ton of fun to drive.
Crossing the millennium into the 2000s,
Audi seemed to release like three generations
of like the same car in a matter of five years,
it was kind of crazy.
Starting with the B5 S4 that was later
replaced by the B6 in 2003.
And then that being replaced by the B7 in 2005.
And that's the one that we're going to be
talking about today is the B7 S4.
What is actually the fourth generation of the Audi sedan,
the B7 S4 is like, the chonk of the S4 family
with previous generations and even post generations
featuring some sort of boosted engine.
The B7 took the same engine from the B6 generation,
which was a 4.2 liter naturally aspirated V8,
which produced right around 339 horsepower.
Classified as a BBK, this engine is kind of
a controversial topic among European car enthusiasts.
On one hand, it's a 4.2 liter V8.
It makes a decent amount of power, sounds fantastic.
(engine revving)
But on the other hand, had kind of one major flaw.
When engineers paired that 4.2 liter V8
with the S4 chassis they said,
"Hey, you know what? These engines have timing chains,
"and they're never going to be replaced
"because they're timing chains,
"at least not for a long time.
"So what are we going to do?
"We're going to turn that engine 180 degrees
"so that the chain is in the back of the engine Bay."
Which would have been, you know, not so bad
if the chain guides didn't wear out prematurely.
So our suggestion would be to, you know, find one
that has those chain guides already replaced
so you don't have to drop the all wheel drive system
and then drop the engine
just to change out the chain guides.
But other than that, I mean, they're some pretty cool cars.
Even though they may look big and bubbly from the pictures,
they are actually not as big as they seem.
Compared to the B5 S4, you're only looking at
about a one inch longer wheelbase.
Meaning that you're getting a smaller car
with a 4.2 liter V8 engine with a mid 300 horsepower range.
With the last production here being in 2008,
meaning they're available in 2009,
looking for a used B7 give you a few years to pick up
as far as options and packages.
With the original MSRP, right around $58,000,
they have depreciated hard.
They're gonna be picked up right around below $10,000,
as of right now.
Giving you a pretty good bang for the buck
when it comes down to it,
just gotta remember those chain guides.
How about a mid-engine car to throw in the mix?
I mean, sure. Why not?
I mean, when we are talking about mid-engine
or rear-engine European cars
that were available in the United States,
we're probably talking about one company in particular
and that's Porsche.
The Porsche 986 boxster,
which was Porsche's answer to the replacement
of the front-engine 928, the 968, and the 944,
hit the market in 1996.
Featuring a mid-engine placement
for Porsche's first water-cooled non-front engine
2.5 liter flat six known as the M96.20.
Which throughout the year saw different variations,
bringing the engine up to a 2.7 liter
and even a 3.2 liter flat six configuration.
The 986 generation of the boxster
ran from 1996 all the way up until 2004,
where it was renamed to what we now know
as the Porsche Cayman.
The 986 boxster really kick started a new wave
for the entry-level Porsches.
We see them now on their fourth generation of the car.
A small, nimble mid-engine car that is a blast to drive.
And even though the 986 does kind of get a lot of flack
for the bubbly looks and the shape of their headlights,
you can't deny the fact that, you know,
it can be picked up for just stupid cheap right now,
especially if they have some miles on them.
They're a great inexpensive way to get into a Porsche,
and they're fairly inexpensive to operate.
M96 does have some rare but real issues that can strike,
so make sure, you know, look into some service history
if you are looking to actually buy one.
Probably one of my favorite European cars
from the late '80s and into the '90s,
a little front wheel drive,
lift-back coupe known as the Volkswagen Corrado.
The Corrado was just a unique car that for some reason,
I just have a ton of respect for, I don't exactly know why.
Released in 1988, the Corrado had a seven year
production run all the way up until 1995.
The car shared a ton of components
with the MK2 Golf and the MK2 Jetta.
Parts such as the sub-frame,
suspension components, steering and brakes,
were all some of the pieces that were shared with the cars.
At 1.8 liter and two point liter engines
weren't really anything to write home about,
but as the car wasn't generally fast by any means.
But just like the parts that they shared
with the MK2 Jetta and the Golf,
they also shared the same attraction to them
as the other old school Euro cars of the time.
People love the Corrado,
the same reason that they love the MK2 and MK3 Volkswagens.
They are boxy and timeless.
If you can find one,
you can usually grab them for around six to $7,000,
or if you want a bump in power,
you can get one that's really cool,
you can try to find a VR6.
However, the odds, you know, they're gonna be a lot less
that you're gonna find one for under 10K.
Our fifth and final car of the day.
I'm going to have to ask you to just kind of bear with me
and hang in with me just for a little bit on this one,
as it's a bit outside of the realm of your typical
European cars that you would normally think of.
An angry sounding little thing known as the Fiat Abarth 500.
God!
How do I talk about this car?
It's like, an Italian Fiesta ST.
I guess like that's the best way I can describe it.
It's small, it's angry, it's egg shaped,
and people (beep) love them for some reason.
Now even though the Fiat 500 has been around since the '50s,
it really kind of came to light again
when the newest generation
was brought to the States around 2010,
packing a 1.4 liter fire turbo jet four cylinder engine,
producing an absolute whopping 133 horsepower.
And they own both a hatchback and a cabriolet.
Some people just ate these cars up and they just loved them.
They were just different enough to attract people to them
and bring another competitor into the US market
of turbo hatchback cars.
The Abarth 500 isn't a car
that fetches a high MSRP to begin with.
And you can actually, you know,
get a decent used one for right around $10,000.
So there you have it,
five of some of the best European cars
that you can go pick up right now
for right around or under $10,000.
Let us know your favorite of the list
or one that you think should have made the cut.
Of course, don't forget.
Wheels, tires, suspension, fitmentindustries.com
for any of your European cars or JDM cars or domestic cars
or whatever you might have.
Don't forget the giveaway we got going on
with Rotiform wheels and all that sort of good stuff.
I think that's about it.
That's about wrap it up for the day.
Thank you guys so much for watching.
Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already,
I'm Gels. We'll talk to you later, peace.