Bidding is quite strong for this 1957 BMW Isetta, which remains in untouched survivor condition. This is the 300 model, which enjoys increased displacement over the 250 for a robust 13 b.h.p. and 13.6 ft. lbs. of torque. Laugh all you want, but these Isettas were popular when introduced and quite collectable now, with reasonable projects like this one always in demand. The seller claims the sub-7,000 mile odometer reading is real, and you’ll find it here on eBay.
Now, we’re as skeptical as you are about low mileage claims on cars hailing from an era of notoriously flimsy odometer gears. However, the seller claims this particular Isetta was relegated to long-term storage after just two years on the road, being parked in 1959. In that time, it retained its original vintage California license plates, dealer plate frames (I want those), OEM Varta battery and period “Al Davis” AM radio. The Webasto roof looks to be in nice shape as well.
The interior remains in impressive, untouched condition, with no obvious signs of damage or wear. All glass appears sound and really, it just looks like it needs a good cleaning. These Isettas were made under different nameplates, though BMW performed a great deal of re-engineering to call the car its own. The company’s motorcycle engines provided the horsepower and could reach speeds around 53 m.p.h. Certainly, not intended for Autobahn use but plenty useful around town.
Microcars have always enjoyed higher levels of collectability, but there’s also the convenience factor: if you’re hankering for a vintage BMW to put in the garage, this one won’t take up nearly as much room as the Bavaria 4-speed we recently featured. Of course, you’ll have to limit your road trips to errand-duty only – which is why the fever-pitch bidding is so surprising to me (and I say that as a die-hard BMW fan.) But finding one this original is likely somewhat unrepeatable, and it will be interesting to see where this one ends up.
This is definitely a rare find.
I don’t car anything about the car but is is rare to find a set of original yellow plates in the wild.
I have one of these, I bought it when I was nineteen I’m 71 now it been a lot of good times!
One of the cars where 600 cc’s is considered the
“big” engine.
Yeah, well Citroen had that beat – the “big block” 2CV had 602cc!!
Yep, that is what I tell folks about my 2CV at car shows: ” it’s got the big block, and it’s a hemi” (both true!).
Not something I would buy to keep but still a ” where else you going to find one” sort of car. I can smell the original from here!!
Yeah, but whadda ya gonna do with it??
Flip is the only thing I can see, and with the S Hill brothers busily at work on the eBay listing, “bidding away” you’ll never buy it for a price where you can flip it except into negative territory.
It is not surprising that this car was just two years on the road before being garaged. I get it. It didn’t take long for the original owner to realize that this tin can was a rolling coffin.
What is surprising is that there would be vigorous interest in the car now. It’s like a Model T, except from the 1950s, only more cramped and less powerful. The car is too small and underpowered to even be a fun weekend cruiser. If a squirrel runs out in front of you, the odds are 60/40, in favor of the squirrel!
As I’ve stated each time one of these comes up… I know where there’s a red and white one sitting in a barn in about the same condition as this one. I’ve kept tabs on it since 1993… Update! It’s still not for sale.
“Some day the owner is going to…. Blah Blah Blah”.
Some day the owner is going to….. die? If that happens, you’ll learn it was quickly sold a week before you found out about it. Better hand out business cards to the relatives.
Rex is right about why one of these ’50s microcars would have been parked up after a year or two. Either that, or they were left in the garage when something broke and there were no spare parts to fit ’em.
I remember this kind of stuff being driven in L.A. mostly by members of the ‘Beat’ counterculture back when these cars were new.
Cool find, Jeff!
I have no problem believing low mileage claims on microcars-kind of like a small motorcycle, who is really going to drive it that far?
When I was young 13 in 1963 there was a shop that rebuilt carb, It was called “Porky & Bobs ” . The owners names ). It was a brand new garage . They had two of these in the back of the shop.
There is a fully restored red and white one that comes to the Liberty, Mo. car show every once in awhile. Looking at it I’m thinking wouldn’t Ralph Nader have a field day picking this car apart.
Can this 13 hp unit be used in golf courses ?
I mean it’s a death trap for anywhere else and at close to 20k and climbing it could at least let one bolt the club carrier straps on the back 🙄
Call the Steve erkl cart👍
Anyone have an oddball kid, niece or nephew that lives in artificial burbs or city.Perfect first wheels, for Starbucks crowd.
An air force brat got his folks ride when back in states, and now and then he and I would squeeze in for trip to local burger bar. Some people just enjoy, get me too work and then to fun place.
NOT A money maker unless you first in barn, until find right collector.
We in future will see many such size autos, but as electrics.
HMMMM an Electric motor, lotta room, bet it would scoot.
Rare? Of course, THIS rare? Hmmm, definitely California pricing, American Pickers Mike Wolfe just got one, in perfect condition for $13g’s. Again, I think people may be attracted to this, because it’s so cute, until they actually drive one.( probably the reason for the low miles) Obviously, not I-80 material, but to putt across town, I could see it. But this kind of money for a toy, that needs total repair? Sorry, they’re nuts.
In a head on collision, you’d be the first one on the scene lol. I can see this parked next to a Smart car in some tree hugger’s garage. Lol.
Misinformation about Smart cars drives me crazy. Most people who talk about them have never driven them or even done any homework about them. I drove an 08 ForTwo Cabrio for a couple of years. Only had it on the interstate a few times, but it was a great little car for around town. Sitting in something designed and built by mercedes that has a driver cage (including a roll bar) at its core made me feel pretty safe. The number of people that walked away from serious crashes from these little cars would impress even the most determined detractor.
I would take a plug in any day over the smart car. It doesn’t even get that greaT of mileage.
Hey get a motorcycle or a
three wheel bat mobile Polaris instead 😮
Dear Tree Hugger – I’m not entirely sure I can figure out your logic or do you just have problems with stilted sentence construction? In any event, if you really seek mileage, a Toyota Prius is probably the most efficient vehicle on the open market – at 65 mph my motorcycle might possibly get 50 mpg with just one person on board, yet I know a Prius with three adults inside at the same speed will use no more than 54 mpg!
So basically you’re saying Smart cars are indestructible because they are built by Mercedes. And you think that little cage will save your backside in a collision. Well, I drive a semi for a living, and it doesn’t take much homework to figure out the outcome if you and I were to meet head-on.
KKW – Dude, you could be in a Suburban and in a road showdown w/ a tractor/trailer – you’re still going to lose. I never said anything about indestructability. I’m saying it’s a well designed car and far safer than many others in its size class. Again, misinformation abounds, including the crash test meme saying the deer laughed and walked away.
Also, I drove OTR for about 10 years. I always thought it funny that I’ve been behind the wheel of the biggest and smallest on the road. My time as a professional driver makes me drive defensively by nature – and that’s why I think I was never intimidated by driving something that small.
http://driving.ca/smart/fortwo/auto-news/news/how-safe-is-the-2016-smart-fortwo
I think every car had an opening top for exiting in case of an accident. Germans thought of everything.
Fond memories of the Isetta from when I was a kid..Back in the day, my Uncle who was a disabled veteran, owned two Isettas that he fabricated a mount to connect a Golf course style lawn mover to mow his huge yard. Every summer he would have a family picnic where the high point (for the kids anyway) was getting rides around the yard in one of the Isettas. Great memories, indeed!
In HS, a kids dad put a snowmobile motor in one of these. You could hear him a block away ( and the smoke screen)He stopped bringing it school after the 3rd time it was found on the top of the schools steps.
Small cars with low miles used to be affordable. In 1969 I bought a 1959-ish Fiat 500 that had less than 7,000 miles on it. I remember thinking “Somebody was brave to drive this little tin can that far in the first place!” Purchase price in ’69? Forty bucks.
Back in the early 70s I was sitting in the patio of a coffee shop
in Paris watching a group of kids trying to roll one over on a
side street. They’d get it up to speed and crank it hard over,
causing it to tip on it’s side and slide down the street. They’d
all laugh and put it back up on it’s wheels, take it back to the
top of the street, and then it was the next person’s turn at it.
After all that it ended up pretty battered but still ran. Everybody
acted like this was a pretty normal occurrence in the neighborhood.
Ahh, a good mix. Youth, Paris, Springtime.
Regarding KKW’s comment: I own five Isettas and I’m not a tree hugger. I also own a ’66 Mustang…does this make me a tree hugging red neck? In my opinion this is no place for such narrow minded comments.
That was meant as a joke, my car enthusiast friend, sorry you took it personal. A little humor never hurts.
I bought one of these in 1961 fo $50.00, it had a bad rod, Rebuilt the engine for
A few dollars and drove it in Long Beach CA Asa work car for four years.
Did change the oil capacity from one quart to 5 quarts to help with its
Heating problem. Gas bill was less than a dollar. A week. Sold it to a US
Sailer for $200.00. who new that the would be worth something.
During the years that the were imported the local LA Oldsmobile dealer
Would throw in one for free.
Isettas are certainly interesting cars and there is somewhat of a resurgence in popularity within the last year or so. A pristine, restored 600 convertible went for $56k on Bring-a-trailer yesterday and another fully restored one went for $55k in September, but the bulk of them on bring-a-trailer including some very nice ones, have sold in the $14-20k range. A few didn’t make reserve. Given that pricing history, I’d say that this seller tossed it out on eBay to see if he could make some money on it. The 6k miles is noteworthy, but nearly all of these cars sold lately have less than 25-30k on them so the difference between low mileage and super-low mileage isn’t that significant.
This car, in spite of the low miles, needs a full restoarion and several expensive, hard to find parts need to be replaced. Economics says that would price it in the mid-teens but there ar a lot of buyers on eBay that don’t really use logic when purchasing things. Mark? What do you think?
I heard of radio’s in these but never saw one. Dealer installed? Also- what does “al Davis” am radio 📻 mean?
I was wondering that same thing. Maybe it would only broadcast Oakland raiders football games. Lol.
From time to time I always enjoy viewing “Jacks toy is a BMW Isetta”
published on line by Petrolicious…..
is the 600 the model with the steering wheel that’s NOT attached 2 the front door?
All models I’ve seen the wheel swings out when opening the door (eases entry). May B the earlier model were secured to the floor? I could B off on both accounts.
Neighbor had 1 and also another 3 wheeled: Meserschmidt. He commuted 30 mi into Boston 5 days a wk in 1 or the other (but also hada helicopter he’d use monthly). Claimed he liked these small things due to ability to go around traffic jams (dwn breakdwn lanes, the paved part of median strips, etc).
The 600 has a back seat with a rear door on the passenger side. The steering wheel comes out with the front door as well
The model where the steering wheel is stationary that you re thinking of is the Heinkel
The radio is cool, Al Davis is the manufaturer. Ended: Mar 15, 2018 , 2:12PM
Current bid:US $20,600.00
Reserve not met
[ 10 bids ]