5 best looking collectible cars under $15,000

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Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons was fond of the phrase “it doesn’t cost any more to make it pretty.” In the collector car world, however, pretty usually costs a bundle. Here are five happy exceptions, all designs that were loved when new and have been highly praised by critics over the years but don’t cost an arm and a leg yet:

1. 1976-89 BMW 6-series (630/633/635) — BMWs of the late 1960s through the late ’80s had what many think was the classic BMW “look,” with a shark-like forward-pointed nose and the famous Hoffmeister “kink” in the rear quarter window. The E24 six-series probably best exemplified that look. Styled under the supervision of master designer Paul Bracq with input from Bob Lutz, the car was simply timeless and lasted for 13 years, a virtual eternity in the car world. Yes, we guarantee that the cost of ownership will exceed that of a 1980s Camaro or Mustang, but you get what you pay for, and again, if you’re careful about the car you buy (there are plenty of neglected sixers out there waiting to rip a huge gash in your wallet) you should be OK. Look for the engineer or airline pilot’s car with every expense documented in a little ledger. I just looked at just such a car for a friend— 58,000 miles and every receipt saved. He passed to buy something else, but whoever was lucky enough to grab it got one fantastic car for only $11,000. Experts advise to avoid the troublesome U.S. version of the 630i with its primitive, pre-catalyst emission controls.

2. 1963-65 Buick Riviera —The Riv was originally pegged to be the car that re-introduced the junior Cadillac brand, La Salle. When that fell through, the GM divisions all clamored to get the car that design chief William Mitchell touted as a combination of Rolls-Royce and Ferrari. Hyperbole maybe, but the Riv was indeed gorgeous inside and out, and with Buick’s nailhead V-8 powering it, it was no slouch in the performance department. Great ones (particularly the 1965 high-performance GS model) have appreciated considerably of late, but respectable non-GS drivers are still reasonably common at $15,000 or less. We particularly like the ’65 with its unique hidden headlights.