Near Toronto, Canada, there’s a BMW dealership known as Citation Motors. It might look like an operation dealership, with cars still in the showroom, but in reality it was closed in 1988 when the dealer lost his license to sell BMWs. A few of the 3 Series showroom models that were on display were apparently never sold and still proudly sit on the showroom floor. The owner visits occasionally, driving an E28 5 Series. Other than the occasional visit, these BMWs sit on there abandoned and unloved. In the service bays, there are more 635csi models, a 733i dating from between 1977-84 and a what is perhaps to be an E21. There is also an underground storage facility that’s rumored to be full of E30 M3s, M1s and Euro-specs!
You can read more on BMWBlog and find more images here on Facebook.
This is a great story that’s always captivated the BMW folks. Supposedly, he has since sold the building and the cars have disappeared – but no one knows where to.
There was a huge asking price on the E24 in the showroom, approaching $50-$60K, and it was an automatic. Still, quite a find and story. I’d love the brand new E28 behind it.
Jeff, in the comment section on BMWBlog one person claims that its a 5 speed
The building has been purchased about 1yr ago and the new owner (Andy from Clarkson Fine Cars) moved in over winter 2014/2015. It is now fully operational fixing European vehicles.
http://clarksonfinecars.com/
woah not the best name for auto repair, does he use something other than a hammer ?
So, what happened to all of the cars???
What happened to the cars is my question too. I can see quite a few I would like to own, but if they sat around for 20+ years that could be a problem. I’d still take one of the 635 CSIs or even that nice 535 sedan as a daily driver…..just not in Toronto winters.
Wow! Cool story! I too, would love to know where the cars went. Being a BMW owner, I can assure you that those vehicles while acquiring value, were also acquiring mechanical “needs”!!!!!!!! I thought that they were built for “Driving”?!?! In my experiences, better plan on a lot of maintenance for every little bit of driving you do! With that being said, i would have been interested in the wagon sitting out back……………….. Some of us LOVE abuse!
I saw this story a few years ago when someone went snooping and got really good pics. The E24 would be my favorite. I’ve got a friend with a storage building full of E30s. Including a 5k mile M3. He won’t turn loose of them. He can’t even drive it anymore due to health reasons.
i like the BMW r90s/r100s motorcycle. i wonder what issues caused the the dealership loss of license.
BMW= Bring My Wallet. Enough said
Gaskets and seals are cheap. Once restored they’d be capable of the tens of thousands of trouble free miles this generation of Bmws are famous for.
But go ahead and say they are expensive to maintain. Those of us that own them laugh our asses off when people say that (every bmw I’ve owned has had over 200k and cost less to maintain than a new Corolla would be to insure.
Thats some luck you got, i’ve never had any luck with new bmws let alone 200,000 mile ones
I dont typically believe these stories. For one, the place is WAY too clean in and around. A company I worked for bought a dealership that had only been closed for like 5 years and the place was a mess… not to mention, SOME of those cars in the service area belonged to CUSTOMERS, and they didnt just give them up….
The owner was Helmut Cramer and I used to work there as a mechanic back in the early 80’s. I don’t know where Helmut is now or where the cars are.