Is this worth it?

[m3f_badgtho]

Have a nice life being an prick to strangers.

Take an deep breath. This is the internet.

[m3f_Anubis]

[Smilie: Facepalm]

[m3f_Happy Hazard]

Thread title says it all...

[m3f_fiveightandten]

Thread title says it all...

[m3f_enderw88]

Thread title says it all...

Best post in the whole thread...

[m3f_YAOG]

Hey, watch it, I AM a grumpy old man but I'm with Badgtho.


If you own BMWs long enough eventually, often without noticing, you come to the conclusion that OEM parts for a BMW street car are often the best choice. The exception is where OEM is not good enough for some non-street use and even then it is difficult to resist the value of OEM parts. This is especially true if you have a garage, have the wrenches and like to and know how to turn those wrenches.

[m3f_maubee]

So from what I've learned here from all of yall, does this seem to be a worthy car to purchase? The price seems a bit high, what do you guys think?

http://okaloosa.craigslist.org/cto/4315923811.html

[m3f_TomS2]

So from what I've learned here from all of yall, does this seem to be a worthy car to purchase? The price seems a bit high, what do you guys think?

http://okaloosa.craigslist.org/cto/4315923811.html

Top dollar and then some for a car with a lot of unknowns.

Belts & hoses - whoopee, what about water pump and radiator.

newer transmission - why?

suspension - how old?

just because he paid 7000 to do what my be 3000 worth of repairs doesn't mean you should pay 7000 for them and then another few grand to get it up to snuff.



my

[m3f_fiveightandten]

So from what I've learned here from all of yall, does this seem to be a worthy car to purchase? The price seems a bit high, what do you guys think?

http://okaloosa.craigslist.org/cto/4315923811.html

No 1997 car body is without fault. I see evidence of paint work on that car, so i'm calling BS on the claim of the car being perfect.



Clutch is a nice item to have out of the way. And it sounds like he's done some work to it. Find out if the suspension has been done, and find out how the tires are. A $13K E36 should be turn key and drive. It should need nothing for the forseeable future, and be in very very nice condition.



It looks clean. But It erks me when people call things perfect and they're not.

[m3f_enderw88]

I see evidence of paint work on that car, so i'm calling BS on the claim of the car being perfect.

Hey Nick,

Not calling you out, just trying to educate myself. Where in those pictures did you see evidence of paintwork? I couldn't spot it.

[m3f_fiveightandten]

Hey Nick,

Not calling you out, just trying to educate myself. Where in those pictures did you see evidence of paintwork? I couldn't spot it.

No VIN tag on the trunk, and the color match is off on the DS front fender.




Another angle. Less apparent in this shot. But, IMO, when you see color differences in more than one picture, it's probably there IRL as well.




It's not the end of the world. My DS front fender has been replaced with a DOT-R from a small hit. It was sprayed and blended. Can you see the match on my car if you're looking for it. When people call things perfect, it erks me. Almost nothing is perfect. But the missing trunk VIN is the more glaring indicator here.

[m3f_crqflier]

No 1997 car body is without fault. I see evidence of paint work on that car, so i'm calling BS on the claim of the car being perfect.


Clutch is a nice item to have out of the way. And it sounds like he's done some work to it. Find out if the suspension has been done, and find out how the tires are. A $13K E36 should be turn key and drive. It should need nothing for the forseeable future, and be in very very nice condition.


It looks clean. But It erks me when people call things perfect and they're not.

Not a 13k car unless it has an absolute raft of all conceivable maint, though it does look clean compared to the average population of e36m these days. It's not especially clean, or super low mileage, or accident free, or 1 owner. If it was one or more of these, it might be worth close to 13.


About 13k cars should need nothing, I don't think that's the deal. These rigs are up to 19 years old. I'm about to spend $600 in parts to replace sensors and every hose that lurks under the IM, plus the PS res and fluid. The only thing "wrong" is a shot knock sensor - without a doubt a cracked plastic case due to age. But "while I'm in there..." That's an example of what I'd call a raft of maint. I'm definitely in the first group in terms of maint, OEM, etc. This maint would be 1500 if taken to a shop.


If the car in question had that level of documented maint throughout, could be worth close to 13k.

[m3f_vmbray]

Also, he calls the car 10/10. Sorry, no 180K mile 17 year old car is 10/10. Not to be an ass, but I would never call my car 10/10, and I can guarantee you it's nicer than this. You already know you're not on the same page with respect to the condition of the car, so you can't trust his judgement on describing the car accurately. Since it's far, I wouldn't bother taking a chance on it. There's nothing special about it that warrants that. Believe me....i'm in the market for an E30 right now, and it's really tiring going to see cars that are "mint", "10/10", "perfect", etc. Anything described as such, isn't.

Nailed it. Whenever a seller uses these sort of phrases you can insert the word 'not' in front. My favorite other one is "needs nothing". That's short for needs nothing but to be dragged to the crusher because it won't make it there under its own power.


Mint has got to be the most ridiculously overused word in the car world. Mint means you cannot distinguish from new under the most critical inspection. By definition almost NO used car is mint.


Good luck on the e30 that sounds like fun.


Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[m3f_fiveightandten]

Not a 13k car unless it has an absolute raft of all conceivable maint, though it does look clean compared to the average population of e36m these days. It's not especially clean, or super low mileage, or accident free, or 1 owner. If it was one or more of these, it might be worth close to 13.


About 13k cars should need nothing, I don't think that's the deal. These rigs are up to 19 years old. I'm about to spend $600 in parts to replace sensors and every hose that lurks under the IM, plus the PS res and fluid. The only thing "wrong" is a shot knock sensor - without a doubt a cracked plastic case due to age. But "while I'm in there..." That's an example of what I'd call a raft of maint. I'm definitely in the first group in terms of maint, OEM, etc. This maint would be 1500 if taken to a shop.


If the car in question had that level of documented maint throughout, could be worth close to 13k.

Everyone has their own set of standards, and that's part of the problem with pricing/selling/buying a used car.


People are all across the board with respect to condition, value, and how cars stack up to other ones out there on the road. IMO, a car needs nothing when consumables, known weak points, and all common maintenance items are recent enough that they don't need to be addressed any time soon. Different people draw the line somewhere. None of my vacuum hoses are cracked or leaking, and with them in the car i'd consider it as not needing anything. You don't agree, and that only supports the fact that people's opinions differ.


In the end, when buying a used car, people just need to educate themselves on what they're buying and come to their own conclusions. I'm almost done listening to seller's descriptions of cars. It's usually so inaccurate as to not even be remotely relevant.

[m3f_fiveightandten]

Nailed it. Whenever a seller uses these sort of phrases you can insert the word 'not' in front. My favorite other one is "needs nothing". That's short for needs nothing but to be dragged to the crusher because it won't make it there under its own power.


Mint has got to be the most ridiculously overused word in the car world. Mint means you cannot distinguish from new under the most critical inspection. By definition almost NO used car is mint.


Good luck on the e30 that sounds like fun.


Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

Oh, the E30 hunt has been terrible.


Last week I went to look at one. Seller's ad described the car as "Exterior is perfect. Perfect paint, and not a single spot of rust anywhere on the car". I got there and found 2 *large* dents on the car, and deep scratches on a good portion of it (down to primer or bare metal). It looked like a canopy or car port fell on it at some point. Someone tried to buff it out and the paint was burned down to the primer in 7 or 8 places I saw. Mind you, I looked at this car at night under a street lamp in a parking lot. Imagine if it was in daylight.


When I passed on it and the seller asked why, I pointed out the flaws that were deal breakers for a car described as being "perfect" (and priced as such). His response was, "Oh, I didn't know you would be looking at the paint that deep. It's 27 years old. For the year, it's nearly perfect".