Buying advice / reality check

[luc405]

Hi all. I’ve been on this thread for a little over a year now as I’ve been looking for an e46. I haven’t been looking for any crazy specs- just a 6mt coupe silver grey or carbon schawrz around 70-80k miles.

im being offered a car very similar to what I’ve been looking for at 20k. I had a PPi done, they found a number of issues and my bmw mechanic(who worked on my dads e46) quoted me 2k to address the issues, vs 3k at the shop who did the ppi. The issues include a valve cover gasket, power steering refresh, and the dif is leaking. I’m seriously considering purchasing the car but I don’t know how to gauge how bad these issues really are. Am I opening a huge can of worms? (more than just any e46). I can always offer lower on the car but at the moment 20 feels like a strong price. Really appreciate any advice

[SocratesRising]

Those are very minor for a 20 year old car. Assuming the PPI was on point and the fit and finish is there, go for it. These will cost lots of money to maintain correctly down the road, at least nothing major is wrong.

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[luc405]

I forgot to add this. Here is my main concern- the car had a subframe reinforcement done but the work seems poor. How poor it is and whether it effects the car I don’t have enough knowledge. I had emailed kaiv about a different car and sent him the pictures asking about this car but haven’t heard back. It’s the weekend though so not expecting much I’ll post pics below.

[mainstreamer00]

If the car is overall cosmetically clean, and hasn't been driven into the ground, you're probably best to buy it.
The issues listed are very minor mechanical issues, and are easily resolvable.
I'd say at this point, finding a relatively clean car in the desired spec is the goal - mechanicals are the easy variable.

20K also sounds relatively fair for the market (without knowing much more about the car)

Have some of the bigger maintenance points (rod bearings, subframe, vanos etc etc) been taken care of?

[mainstreamer00]

Posted at the same time ^
Are those just welds to correct subframe issues without plates installed??

Might want to run if so.. anybody else able to decipher the photos?

[luc405]

Posted at the same time ^
Are those just welds to correct subframe issues without plates installed??

Might want to run if so.. anybody else able to decipher the photos?

I have a receipt from a shop in the Los Angeles area that has good reviews on Yelp (for what it’s worth) I believe plates were installed based on the receipt.

[Titaniu//M]

Posted at the same time ^
Are those just welds to correct subframe issues without plates installed??

Might want to run if so.. anybody else able to decipher the photos?

There are definitely plates there- the grain of the metal is different inside the perimeter of the weld. I'm no welder but it doesn't look terrible to me. What is more concerning to me is whoever did it did not undercoat the repaired areas after they were done. This is the standard for a subframe job, and the fact it is not done would make me more concerned about what other corners were cut.

[yhp2009]

2k for those 3 items seem fair. Although can probably do them for 1k if DIY. But to get things rolling maybe not a bad idea to let your mechanic take care of it this time.
If you are interested in saving a ton of money and also getting to know your car so much better, going down the path of DIY is highly advised. Not easy but its so much win over the long haul

[Halftim3]

What's the mileage on this particular car?
I also noticed the undercoating not being done after the reinforcement, maybe use that to negotiate.

[luc405]

This car had 80,500. It has sold though unfortunately. A little bummed but I am glad I didn’t rush into the purchase. I felt that the car hadn’t been properly cared for based on my conversations with the owner and some of the non urgent issues from the PPI. The car being on the “cheap” side made me somewhat ok with these issues including the poor subframe issues but I’m not kicking myself over it. Onto the next one and I look forward to sharing the build journey once I find the right car. Thanks all!

[sapote]

I rather like to buy a car without the subframe reinforcement done on it, and no visible cracks on the rear lower floor of course. Wonder if this car had cracks and the PO had it fixed or it was done for preventive.

[Arith2]

$20k is steep for that color combo, mileage, and those issues. I would look for a SMG and convert it if you hate it. The CSL transmission software is a must and costs next to nothing with Martyn's tool. It's worth considering.

This was a basket case and can of worms. That subframe looks like a check the box kind of fix, not something meant to preserve the rear end. Now you can go find the proper car 😃