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BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

30250 messages,  Last post on Mar 24, 2013 at 11:51 AM

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What is this discussion about? BMW 3 Series, Sedan

Messages Page 2990 of 3025

#29891 of 30250 The $695 E30 by nyccarguy

Apr 06, 2008 (6:43 pm)

So every Sunday AM during breakfast I scour the local newspaper's "Wheels" section to check out what cars are being offered in the screamer ads and the classifieds. There's a section entitled "deals on wheels" escpecially for cars $5000 & under. I see most of the same cars sit there for weeks at a time, but BMWs seem to be gone by the next week. So this morning I see an ad for a 1990 BMW 325i, red, $695. Maybe it is a misprint, maybe the car has 4 million miles, there's got to be a catch. So I ripped the guy's ad out and put it in my wallet. I figured I would give the guy a call and go and take a look this afternoon while my 18 month old son takes a nap (we went to the Circus today, So I knew he'd be out for a while).
 
I call the guy up. I ask him what the deal is with the $695 car. He says he bought it for his grandson last year, but when the kid got his license his Dad bought him a new car so he never gave the car to his grandson. He tells me the car has an Automatic and 84,000 miles. I figured even if it was a slushbox, for that price I could have a manual tranny swapped in and still have awesome car.
 
So I drove to check the car out. It wasn't that bad for a $695 car, but it definitely showed more than its 84,000 miles. From 5 feet away, the car looked nice. Red with Black interior. The paint shined. Upon closer inspection, the passenger door was dented and there were scratches and cracks all over the body. But hey it was a $695 car. The Roundels were faded & cracked on the hood and the trunk. The "bottle cap" wheels were in bad shape. The front 2 looked like they were rusted. He started the car up and it fired up right away. The seats were in great shape.
 
The engine idled very rough. The glove box was broken. The heat and AC didn't work (compressor or fans), nor did the power windows.
 
I thanked the guy for his time and drove off without even asking to drive the car. It is a cheap car, but seems like I'd have to pour a decent chunk of change to get it back to its old self.

#29892 of 30250 Re: The $695 E30 [nyccarguy] by fedlawman

Apr 06, 2008 (7:18 pm)

Replying to: nyccarguy (Apr 06, 2008 6:43 pm)
You shoulda bought it.
 
Heck, if I had a week to spare for a cross-country drive, I'd buy it.

#29893 of 30250 Re: The $695 E30 [fedlawman] by nyccarguy

Apr 06, 2008 (8:05 pm)

Replying to: fedlawman (Apr 06, 2008 7:18 pm)
For real? Or are you just pulling my leg? You think it is worth having my mechanic take a look at it tomorrow if it is still available?

#29894 of 30250 Re: The $695 E30 [nyccarguy] by roadburner

Apr 06, 2008 (8:16 pm)

Replying to: nyccarguy (Apr 06, 2008 8:05 pm)
I would have bought it too. Anyway, you did say you wanted to learn how to wrench on your own car, right? The E30 is a pretty simple machine.

#29895 of 30250 Re: The $695 E30 [roadburner] by nyccarguy

Apr 06, 2008 (8:23 pm)

Replying to: roadburner (Apr 06, 2008 8:16 pm)
I do want to learn how to work on cars. I'll give the guy a call tomorrow and see if the car's still available. I'll have my mechanic go over there and check it out.

#29896 of 30250 Re: The $695 E30 [nyccarguy] by fedlawman

Apr 07, 2008 (9:47 am)

Replying to: nyccarguy (Apr 06, 2008 8:23 pm)
No, I wasn't kidding. I wouldn't pay a mechanic to look it over either - it'll cost almost as much as the car is worth. If you really want to start wrenching on cars, roadburner is right, the E30 is simple and well built - the perfect learning platform.
 
Really, for $695 who cares what's wrong with it? Buy an E30 Bentley manual and just go to town. Buy cheap tools from Harbor Freight as you go.
 
Warning, the downside to going down this path is if you lose even a little control, you may soon have shelves stacked with spare parts and a smattering of E30's in various states of disassembly scattered around your property. Buyer beware...

#29897 of 30250 Re: The $695 E30 [fedlawman] by roadburner

Apr 07, 2008 (11:03 am)

Replying to: fedlawman (Apr 07, 2008 9:47 am)
Warning, the downside to going down this path is if you lose even a little control, you may soon have shelves stacked with spare parts and a smattering of E30's in various states of disassembly scattered around your property. Buyer beware...
 
When I was restoring my Bavaria 3.0 I picked up a running parts car for $250. I sold the shocks(rusty but otherwise good Bilsteins, the engine and tranny, the pedal cluster and a bunch of other stuff for $750. The parts I used on my car would have cost around $400 at the dealer. I left the poor hulk up on jackstands by a garage out on the farm for a few years(no neighbors to complain) and my wife always said the place looked like Yuppie Appalachia...

#29898 of 30250 Still Waiting by nyccarguy

Apr 07, 2008 (7:32 pm)

So I sent the guy an email last night and called him back this morning to see if ther car was still available. He said he has a few people who put a bid in on the car. He asked if I was still interested and how much I was willing to pay for the car. I told him $900 (still cheap) for an E30 car with only 84,000 miles. He said he'd get back to me today (he hasn't & I spoke with him at 11:00 AM) either way. I followed up with an email tonight before dinner (8:00 PM) and hope to hear back from him tomorrow. This car will either be known as the gem or the one that got away. I'm thinking positive. It will be mine!

#29899 of 30250 I WON! I WON! by nyccarguy

Apr 08, 2008 (7:40 pm)

So I get a call from Ray (the guy selling the 84K mile '90 E30) this morning. We exchange pleasantries and he asks me if I got his email. I tell him no, because we don't have computers at work (I think my Dad is allergic to computers). He goes on to tell me that he was contacted by a guy from Philadelphia who is willing to give him $1100 for the car. Then he tells me the guy isn't returning nay of his phone calls or emails. He then asks if I'm still interested in the car. I tell him I am. He tells me I cxan have it if I still want it. He then asks if I can give him $1000 because he put some money into the car to fix it up. I tell him we'll settle at $950 and be done with it. We agree. I'm going to drive the car tomorrow and hopefully pick it up! Wish me luck!

#29900 of 30250 Re: I WON! I WON! [nyccarguy] by fedlawman

Apr 08, 2008 (7:47 pm)

Replying to: nyccarguy (Apr 08, 2008 7:40 pm)
$950 for a 325i with 84,000 miles!!! Nicely done.

Messages Page 2990 of 3025

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