1982 BMW 323i Baur

1982 BMW 323i Baur
Memorial Day 2010 First Drive 1982 323i BMW Baur Lapisblau M20 5 speed #4154 of 4595 made. The car was imported to California by Dietel Enterprises. I have since changed the wheels, installed the clear turn signal lenses, and I am in the process of installing a new cabriolet roof. I have to do something about those bumpers, too. :) I love this car! To see one of the reasons why, check my post "Score One For the Good Guys" on 6/26/2011.

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Coming In From The Cold: The Long-Sought Merrick Long Island Baur Is FOUND At Last!

It took us a while but..... we have done it!  Thanks to our friend Ingo Prangenberg we have finally located one of the Baurs that has eluded us for YEARS!  We received a lead on it about a year ago, but we were never able to pin it down!  Until NOW, thanks to Ingo!

And, btw, since it is not yet listed in either of the International Baur Registries, it qualifies as a NEW FIND!  Baur #3136.

Congratulations, Ingo, and welcome to Baurspotting!  And the long-sought Merrick Baur has finally "come in from the cold! "

This is how it appeared at purchase:




Ingo posted this in our Baurspotting Facebook page back on February 27, 2017:
"Just found and purchased the Long Island "lost" Baur. 77,000 miles, original paint, Euro bumpers. Very excited!"

To which I responded:

"Baurspotting Whoa! Is this near Merrick?"   Hi Ingo! Welcome to Baurspotting! That is a VERY exciting find! What is the Baur number?






















































Here is the further message I received from Ingo:

Hello Tom,

The nice blog page. It's funny to see a page dedicated to a car I found in the garage! This car was imported into the United States by the gentleman who's on the import tag in the door jam, Alex Mottola. Making at US legal was done by a New Jersey company that still exists, Bergen Imports. The only thing they did was wire the headlights differently and unlikely add those rectangular side markers in the front and back. The car was then sold to a gentleman who then became the owner for the last 26 years, but when you move to Costa Rica to become a doctor he gave the car to his parents.

Although it was never driven, this elderly couple always maintained it strangely enough.

I'm including the Baur tag here, the VIN number and an image of the wheels.




One of the first things Ingo did was replace the very 1980's-look square light front grill.  So here is how it looks today:

Much improved, wouldn't you agree!  

Here are the original pics from Mark Spizzirri's blog post back in 2009.  This is what started our search for the "Merrick Baur'!  




We knew this Baur was in NY, and probably on Long Island.  And we also knew that it had the rectangular headlights that were sometimes used in the 1980s.  This ad was sent to us about a year ago from a guy in r3vlimited.































































This same flyer was on the passenger seat when Ingo bought the car!

Here is a link to one of our previous posts seeking this Baur:

*http://baurspotting.blogspot.com/2011/03/east-coast-represent.html


Congratulations  Ingo, and welcome to Baurspotting! 

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