A good buy?

[sean100473]

Hello,

I'm looking for some advice on purchasing a 1987 325i with 140,000 miles for $1250. I went to check the car out today, and here is what I found:

PRO's:
1. The engine look nice and car runs good
2. The body is in good condition.

CON's:
1. The power windows do not work
2. The driver interior door handle is broken
3. No radio
4. A/C not working
5. Sunroof handle works, but is dangling and looks like it's about to break
6. Some smoke coming out of the exhaust
7. The passenger seat does not lean forward, so you have to get into the back seat from the driver side
8. Stick slightly tough (I don't know if this is normal or not)
9. Dash board has some cracks in it
10. Odometer appears to not work anymore
11. Gas gauge may or may not work
12. Headlights may or may not work
13. It looks like someone painted over the front panel of the dash board, so I can't read the "lights on/off" and some other things...


The guys who is selling this is a mechanic and is marketing it as a "good daily driver", which I'm pretty sure it is. But, I definetley will want to fix some of these things.

I am a coplete novice to fixing cars and BMW's, however, I have been wanting to learn to do this for sometime now and may be ready for a project car like this. As long as I can get to work each day and not get to in over my head I'll be fine with investing the time to fix her up. I think it would be fun.

Anyhow, does this sound like a fair price to you or should I talk him down? And, knowing what you know about me being a novice mechanic on a budget, should I even consider someting at this level or going for something with less work?

I'm concerned about the price of parts and having to put it in the shop for something I can't fix myself.

Thanks for your input!

 

[E30m42cab]

Sounds like a piece of crap. Honestly. You either want a project car or you want a daily driver, but if you're a novice mechanic, you can't have the same car doing double duty. I've been through 2 project cars and used them as daily drivers, but I usually get the job done in time to have it back on the road the next morning. Spent a lot of money on parts. If you have smoke when you downshift, it's more than likely your rings are crap... have another mechanic do a compression test for you (or do it yourself)... if it only smokes a bit when you start it up, it's probably only your valve seals. If the engine is no good, it's not a project car, or a daily driver, it's a peice of garbage. Engine smoke is not good. What is your budget? You can find a perfectly good car, body and engine for $2500, and have projects on things that break or could use maintainance, but starting with a lemon when you're not sure what's wrong is not going to be a fun project. You will learn a lot though. Especially if you stick with this board. There are certainly alot of E30 for sale, there must be another one in your area that would suit you better. (The guy selling it to you is a mechanic, and he's not interested in fixing these problems and selling the car for more money?) Call a spade a spade. The best way to have a project car is to have a good starting platform, not a bunch of things wrong already, plus all the stuff you don't know about yet (like does the rear defroster work, wipers, etc.)

However, if you want to learn, you've got your hands full of stuff to learn about, but I wouldn't pay that much for it. I paid $600CDN for a project car and used my own spare parts from a parts car I got for free. It consumed a lot of time, and in the end, it drove for not even 2 years before I couldn't put any more time or money into it. I let it die. If your budget for the car isn't more than $1500, you can spend that in parts pretty quick, so be carefull.

Let us know if you pick it up. (make sure there are a few used parts dealers around!)

Scott

 

[jrt67ss350]

Yeah - I whole-heartedly agree with what was written above. I wouldn't go for it.

For a point of comparison, take a look at pics of my 1987 325 at www.cardomain.com/ride/449692. I paid $1500 for mine 3.5 years ago. Yeah, it has high miles, but that doesn't matter so much with these cars if they are well-maintained. This car you are looking at clearly hasn't been well-maintained and poorly maintained e30s like most poorly maintained BMWs will set you up for headaches. E30s are usually widely available - just keep your eyes open and a nicer one will come along.

 

[sean100473]

Thanks for your input, the both of you. You have given me plenty to consider and have been very helpful.