The BMW 3.0CS is one of the greats in the BMW family tree: outstanding performance, classic lines, and a legitimate connection to the company’s colorful motorsports history. Today, it is one of those classic models that is showing strength in the marketplace even as favor tends to wane for older vehicles that require more specialized support. The E9 is also a notoriously challenging vehicle to manage from a bodywork perspective, with extreme vulnerability to rust. This 1972 BMW 3.0CS listed here on eBay is an interesting specimen, showing some obvious body damage and modifications that make it a compelling candidate to restore or simply clean up and drive.

The seller is asking $32,000 or best offer for the BMW, which does come with a California salvage / rebuildable certificate. This obviously has an impact on value, and it makes me curious as to how the car was being used. The accident damage isn’t significant enough to warrant totaling it, but if the previous owner didn’t have assigned value / guaranteed value insurance, it would absolutely be totaled out by a run-of-the-mill carrier. It seems crazy in this day and age that a caretaker wouldn’t have a collector policy on this car, but stranger things have happened. The good news is that if it’s been in California most of its life, the BMW has a fighting chance of not being rusty in all the hard-to-see-places.

The modifications sure are curious, however. There was a time when these were not $60,000 cars, and there are a number of very well done restomods running around. This doesn’t seem like that kind of build, however, as it has seats (front and rear) from an E36-chassis BMW M3 otherwise known as “Vaders.” These are desirable in an M3, or even a late-80s BMW 3-Series, but it’s an odd choice for a classic E9. The three-spoke steering wheel is a common upgrade, but the later-style BBS wheels also seem like a strange choice for a car of this vintage. It’s almost as if the previous owner had a bunch of parts sitting around and decided to replace the tired original bits with whatever fit. The next owner of this 3.0CS would be wise to return it to original condition.

The “CSL” badge is a reference to the factory lightweight race cars, with this E9 certainly is not. The same goes for the Motorsports stripes / decals running down the sides. The strut tower brace is an easy item to remove, along with the stickers, wheels, and seats, but finding original components will not be cheap. However, all of these details are easy to address and well worth fixing if the BMW doesn’t have any of the troublesome rust that had forced numerous owners to invest in a deep five-figure restoration of their beloved E9, as rust hides everywhere on these coupes. The M30 drivetrain will be one of the easier components to service, however, as its known for its robustness and reliably delivering 180 horsepower and 188 lb.-ft. of torque. If you can live with the salvage title, this may be one of the cheapest points of entry for a running E9.