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Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

25654 messages,  Last post on May 23, 2013 at 2:52 AM

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Messages Page 2504 of 2566

#25026 of 25654 Re: My E39 is becoming a project car [corvette] by qbrozen

Feb 04, 2013 (12:41 pm)

Replying to: corvette (Feb 04, 2013 9:33 am)
No way on Carmax for the bimmer. As suggested, list all the work and leave it at that. Put it on bimmerfest and bmwcca. Take lots and lots of pics.
 
I can't suggest selling both and buying an appliance. You'll never be happy. I'd get the 335. Get CPO if you are concerned. If you are willing to spend $30k, you could easily get a low mileage example.

#25027 of 25654 . by fintail

Feb 04, 2013 (2:30 pm)

Here's an optimistic project

#25028 of 25654 Re: . [fintail] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Feb 04, 2013 (2:53 pm)

Replying to: fintail (Feb 04, 2013 2:30 pm)
really you're buying a VIN plate to give the project legitimacy--I suspect you could still buy one for less money than the cost to restore, unless this were an alloy bodied car. I think you won't be restoring the car as much as re-creating most of it.

#25029 of 25654 Re: . [fintail] by stickguy

Feb 04, 2013 (2:57 pm)

Replying to: fintail (Feb 04, 2013 2:30 pm)
I read the whole story from the "hunter" that went to Cuba to find it. Pretty interesting.
 
and considering how much it will be worth if restored, you might actually be able to get from here to thee on this one! though it does have an impressive amount of rust. And just a few "minor" parts missing!
 
wonder if a European could get that out of the country?

#25030 of 25654 Re: . [Mr_Shiftright] by stickguy

Feb 04, 2013 (2:59 pm)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Feb 04, 2013 2:53 pm)
given the amount of rust, I am not thinking it is an alloy body.
 
seems a lot harder to recreate around a Vin tag on one of these. Not like a Hemi Cuda or some such, where you can get a clean cheap version of what you need (or pretty close to it) to slap the tag on!

#25031 of 25654 Re: My E39 is becoming a project car [qbrozen] by corvette

Feb 04, 2013 (5:01 pm)

Replying to: qbrozen (Feb 04, 2013 12:41 pm)
"I can't suggest selling both and buying an appliance. You'll never be happy. I'd get the 335. Get CPO if you are concerned. If you are willing to spend $30k, you could easily get a low mileage example."
 
Good point. I'd like to get rid of one car before buying the 335. Also, the configuration I would prefer isn't common (Premium, Sport, and Cold Weather; Steptronic, Nav, and would strongly prefer Comfort Access). I'd rather not have a silver, black, or white exterior, and I'd prefer a black interior with aluminum trim. May take a few months to find one of those (or decide to compromise).

#25032 of 25654 Re: . [stickguy] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Feb 04, 2013 (5:41 pm)

Replying to: stickguy (Feb 04, 2013 2:59 pm)
They would re-create the body, probably in Italy or eastern european---just hammer it out by hand. Given a top value of perhaps $750K, there *might* be room to come out on it but it's many years and many man hours and really the car will be somewhat stigmatized.

#25033 of 25654 Re: Is this worth restoring? [fintail] by boomchek

Feb 05, 2013 (12:36 pm)

Replying to: fintail (Feb 04, 2013 9:49 am)
Yeah that's what I thought. I bought an 01 MDX for our winter holiday and that barely fits into our parking stall.
 
In the past I had luck with cheaper under $3k cars that I picked up, drove for a bit and then sold when I got bored. I think I'll leave the classics for the older guys who know what they're doing.

#25034 of 25654 Re: My E39 is becoming a project car [corvette] by boomchek

Feb 05, 2013 (12:52 pm)

Replying to: corvette (Feb 04, 2013 9:33 am)
The reality is that your E39 will be costing you money year after year in repairs. If it isn't one thing, it's something else.
 
Last year I has an E46 AWD wagon. All wheel drive, fun car, but within the span of 2 months I had to spend $1000 on it and that was at independent shops ran by relatives off friends.
 
Regardless, selling it was a bit of PITA even though I had it priced at about $3k below what others were asking for them. Evereyone that came to insisted on a mechanical inspection and then picked apart every little minor flaw, from a stuck valve in the muffler (making it a bit louder) to a tiny bit of condensation in the headlight. They all expected a brand new flawless BMW for under $6k. The funny thing is I had 3 inspections on it and some of the shops missed items that others pointed out (got figure), and mentioning some things that did not need to get fixed but that "might" stop working in the future. All came back with a laundry list of things to fix with a grand total that was about half of my asking price.
 
The car was not perfect but drove fine. The point is that selling an older BMW is a bit of a headache.
 
Now for the Altima, selling that one won't be easy either as the base model went to many fleets and rental companies and there are a ton of them (actually 2010's and 2011's on the market in the low $10s range, depending on mileage and condition (at least here locally). That means on trade in they paid between $7-9k for it. Because yours is an 09 you might be even offered less than that. (I'm just going by Canadian book and market values).
 
If I were you though I'd get the 335 as it's a fun car to drive, but make sure it has warranty.
 
Or check leases on new 320i models because locally they're $398/month with $0 or $1000 down which I think it's a great deal.

#25035 of 25654 Re: Is this worth restoring? [boomchek] by fintail

Feb 05, 2013 (1:04 pm)

Replying to: boomchek (Feb 05, 2013 12:36 pm)
That's probably the best area to flip in, cars for a few grand that can be sold fast. The profit might be lower, but time and expense will be much lower. You don't want to accumulate cars. I've made up my mind that two is enough - I already rent a spot for one. Although I am still wanting to add a bike to the family.
 
Regarding the BMWs, no 320i in the US - lowest here is a 328, which is often offered in sweetheart leases (local dealership had tons of E90s piled up well into spring of 2012, giving them away). Canada gets some more basic models, which I kind of wish existed here, although I think you'd pay the same price for a 320 that a 328 can be had for here. A few weeks ago I saw a W211 E300 with BC plates - model never existed for the US market.
 
Trading in can sometimes be better too, especially if the car is nice. When I have been a looky-loo at the local MB dealer, a couple salespeople have told me that they'd like to personally buy my E55 when I was tired of it - maybe make it a trade in deal that way and get the tax benefit. Salesman told me there that employees often buy the nice older trade-ins for themselves.

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