eBay finds: What we'd buy this week for $15,000

Classifieds and internet auctions tend to be dangerous productivity killers, so we decided we'd do something useful with our downtime for a change.

This week's question: "What would you buy this week with $15,000?" We're not making any recommendations or offering buying advice with these picks. We're just looking to have a little fun scouring eBay listings.

Put another way, this is what happens when we on the Autoblog staff find ourselves with a few minutes to kill.

Click on the image above for a telling look into the minds of our editors.

Buying this 1976 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow for $13,750 might be a bad idea. Or it might be the Best. Idea. Ever.

It's a perfect shade of brown (see the opening slide for an exterior picture), the interior has aged extremely gracefully, and it looks to be in pretty decent shape overall. Plus, it's a Rolls-Royce. For less than $15,000! — Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski

Click here for the auction listing on eBay.

How badass would I look in this thing? I've always wanted a CJ-5 or CJ-7. Why not go all out and get a Golden Eagle? It's got a V8 and a sick paint job. The only problem is I wouldn't want to mess it up out on the trail, so I'd still have to get another CJ I could beat the hell out of. — Senior Editor, Green, John Snyder

Click here for the auction listing on eBay.

I’ve had my eye on a Porsche Boxster S at this price point for a long time now. A flat-six, mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car is what I need in my life, and I continue to be flabbergasted at just how cheap these are. This one is a blank slate, ready and waiting for any modifications I decide to throw at it to get ready for the track, where this car would be spending a great deal of its time at. — Assistant Editor Zac Palmer

Click here for the auction listing on eBay.

Under $15,000 on eBay is a scary place, one of salvaged/rebuilt titles or cars with otherwise "interesting" histories. This seems like a pretty clean, and clean-titled, Z4 out of Texas. Looking at comps, $14,795 is not too excessive for the 59,000 miles, and the pictures do a good job of selling it. Automatic transmission, but oh well. The 3.0si is the more powerful inline six. I dig the color combo and the Sport package's wheels. That package also delivers a stiffer sport-tuned suspension.  — Managing Editor Greg Rasa

Click here for the auction listing on eBay.

The Nissan Safari, known as the Patrol outside of Japan, is Nissan’s answer to the legendary Toyota Land Cruiser. For this generation, the Y60 model, the truck got coil springs for improved comfort, but it was still a live axle truck at both ends. This one has a 4.2-liter diesel inline-six, 24-volt electronics, and all the hardcore off-road stuff you want in the sort of truck that can take you anywhere. It’s perfect for the vintage truck lover or the iconoclastic overlander. I'd just have to make sure my budget includes a little extra for importing spare parts. — Senior Editor Alex Kierstein

Click here for the auction listing on eBay.

Is this the best car I could get for $15,000? Oh hell no. Is it overpriced at $15,000? Probably. 

But this 240 DL Sedan checks off many of my boxes. It's green. It's unusual. It has a manual transmission. It has crazy low miles (56,000). It was owned by an old lady. On a related point, it's seemingly in excellent shape.  Plus, the wheels are kind of cool, it's as old as I am, and as I live in Portland, it'd basically be like driving a Ferrari. Oh hello ladies. — West Coast Editor James Riswick

Click here for the auction listing on eBay.