325ix BAUR

[Baur]

Baur TC2 325iX

Now when I knew, that there had been Baur TC2 325iX been built, I had to buy one.

But where to get one without stealing when they are so rare?

My BMW dealer had agreed a month before to convert my 316i (but they did not really consider the differences of a 325iX vs. the other E30 cars), even though I knew that a converted car would not have the value of an original car. And the money it would cost would be ridiculous high.

Then a lucky coincidence came to help.

A Baur 325iX was offered in Ebay in January 2003.

Looking at the pictures in Ebay, one could at least assume, that the car was not very rusty and was cared for.

Unfortunately it was not original. In the meantime two König-race-seats and front and rear upper strut bars as reinforcement had been installed.

On the other hand a 210 hp engine was there and it was not lowered which is good for cvj-life of the axles.

Would others bid on the car and to which amount? Against my usual practice bidding late for items, I placed one the second day, so that the seller did not end the auction prematurely. I really got the willies in waiting for the end of the auction. Would another bid on the car? I was lucky and won the auction. But I did not have the car in my garage yet. Would the seller be correct or not?


Anyway, rushing to him and getting the car as early as possible was important for me. It was nearby (maybe 200 kms away). We sat a while in his house and talked on the car.

He knew that the car was used as a demonstrator by the Baur.company (I forgot this but a member of the Baur TC Club remembers that he had driven the car in 1987). All the receipts of work carried out by the second owner and the service book came with the car.

The original seats were with the car, the exterior color was still original, which did confirm to me that the car was relatively well cared for in his life.

The car was built in December 1986 as a limousine with sunroof and was registered first time in July 1987 by the Baur company. The first private owner in October 1988 was the joint-owner of a well-known Stuttgart private school for economics. To my knowledge he bought the car, because he urgently needed a car to get to his house in the Alps in winter-time. Because this was urgent then in October 1988, he did not want to wait for a new car to be converted by Baur, but forced them to sell their demonstrator. He seems to own some other nice cars too, so it was not because of lack of money that he bought a used car (even though the Swabians are well known for their parsimony).

This owner had to rebuild the engine at the end of 1990 because of timing-belt trouble (the car was well serviced) . Thus he had a 2,7litre conversion installed with all the parts to end up at 210 hp DIN.

This first private owner drove the car up to 1996. The car was regularly serviced up to 1996 by the Autohaus Baur in Stuttgart, a parent company of the Baur factory.

Another two owners came, the last registered owner was a youngster which installed the König racing-seats. Money must have been in short supply, as I saw from the documentation from the registration office, that his insurance had not been paid.

My seller did buy the car from this youngster but did not register the car the next three years. The car was driven with a red number from time to time (as he did with his other cars). In 2003 he decided to resell the car.

No parking damages have been observed by me.


Posing with newer car on the island Reichenau – still an extraordinary car


Again the car got the full treatment (as I thought)


First the car came to the paint shop. They had to manage the task to clean the whole undercarriage und cover it and the cavities of the whole car with new underseal/wax.

They removed the front and rear upper strut bars as reinforcement in order to get a decent ex-works apperance. I do not drive that quickly that I would need those.