December 14, 2022 Update – Congrats to the high bidder of this No Reserve auction.

Guys With Rides is pleased to offer Lot 168, a 1980 BMW 320iA, in an online, NO RESERVE auction format on behalf of the second owner.

Bidding opens Wednesday, November 30, 2022, and will continue for fourteen (14) consecutive days ending at 4:00 PM Eastern on Wednesday, December 14, 2022.

“Meticulously Maintained” is the description that comes to mind when reviewing the detailed logs of this 1980 BMW 320i.  The current caretaker purchased this BMW from the original owner, his sister, in the early 1980s and has enjoyed this Bimmer ever since.

This 1980 BMW 320iA currently resides in Danbury, Connecticut, about one hour’s drive from New York City.

(NOTE: Click on the picture to stop the slide show and expand the pictures. Scroll down to see all photographs)

The Deets

Current Bid: $3,000 (Reserve Met!)

The BMW E21 was the first generation of the BMW 3 Series compact executive cars, which were produced from June 1975 to 1983 and replaced the German company’s 02 Series. The series was exclusively built in a two-door sedan body style in the United States.  The E21 was sold in the United States from model years 1977 to 1983, first as the four-cylinder 320i and from 1980 as the 1.8 liter 320is. Six-cylinder models were not sold in America because the E21 versions of the M20 engine did not meet U.S. emissions regulations at the time.  The 320i model sold in the United States came equipped with a thermal reactor as a pollution control device. U.S. models came with standard factory air conditioning.

Compared to three series cars sold in Europe, BMW equipped US-bound 320i’s with the following:

• Larger front and rear “diving board” bumper bars increased the car’s overall length by six inches.
• Sealed beam headlights, larger indicator lights, and side reflectors
• A speedometer in miles-per-hour
• Fuel gauge markings changed from liters to “full, ½, reserve.”
• A detuned version of BMW’s inline four-cylinder M10 engine, initially using a thermal reactor to control exhaust emissions.
• In 1980, BMW downsized the engine from two to 1.8 Liters while replacing the Thermal Reactors with a catalytic converter.

The current caretaker of this 1980 BMW 320i is just the second owner. His sister was the original owner, who passed away in the early 1980s.  The incredibly detailed records prove that the brother has fastidiously maintained this BMW ever since.  Health issues of his own have the second owner wanting to find a good home for this family-owned BMW.

To help you make informed bids, we’re providing access to Classic.com, the analytics and search engine for the Classic Car market, that provides an interactive graph of recent comparable sales year-to-date. By clicking on the green dots, you can navigate to each comparable car sold as a way to help you make an educated bid on the car we are featuring for auction here:

If you have any questions about this 1980 BMW 320iA, please leave a comment below or feel free to call Rudy directly at 877-468-6497.  Thank you for looking, and happy bidding!