Does this sound good? (pics included)

[mikay1814]

Hi I'm new to the forums and I was looking at buying a 1991 325ix but just wanted to get your opinion if this car is worth buying. I posted this over on bimmerforums.com but wanted to get some more opinions. It is a black with tan interior 1991 325ix 2 door 5spd. It has 159000 miles on it with no rust and a fully functioning all wheel drive system, and supposedly hes had a complete tune up within the last 500 miles(i dont know if that includes the timing belt). It is a bit rough cosmetically including one dent on both driver side door and front fender. the interior has no carpet and the driver side seat is a bit messed up. He wants to sell it for $2500. Does this sound like a good deal? Any help will be appreciated thanks. Pictures of it are posted below.
Mickey,













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[atomic]

No carpet and seat show serious wear, along with that body damage it would be hard to pay much over $1200 for it honestly.

That being said it would also be hard to believe them on the recent maintenance work without receipts.

[884door]

Seems like an okay deal but there is a possibility that the A pillar is damaged and the door fender wont line up right after being replaced. So open the door and check around the hinges and such and see if anything looks bent or has chipping paint. If so I wouldn't buy it. A new seat, carpet,fender and door will be around 150 bucks from the junkyard then a couple hundred to paint.

[mikay1814]

No carpet and seat show serious wear, along with that body damage it would be hard to pay much over $1200 for it honestly.

That being said it would also be hard to believe them on the recent maintenance work without receipts.

Seems like an okay deal but there is a possibility that the A pillar is damaged and the door fender wont line up right after being replaced. So open the door and check around the hinges and such and see if anything looks bent or has chipping paint. If so I wouldn't buy it. A new seat, carpet,fender and door will be around 150 bucks from the junkyard then a couple hundred to paint.

very good points. I will go to look at it fairly soon and ask about the maintenance records and find out to what extent the door, a pillar, and fender are damaged. thanks for your input.

[IRON-E]

Just keep loooking or you'll kick yourself in the ass later!

[Slick_iX]

Yes sounds over priced to me!

[moatilliatta]

Where in ky are you?

Id try to get 1200 or less as mentioned. 2500 sound legit if the body wasnt damages and the seat was in a lil bit better condition. But that seat im sure you can find for dime a dozen.

[Holland]

I would say 500 maybe for that.

[mikay1814]

I'm from louisville as well. I just really want to get an ix, and they are hard to find around louisville. Thanks for your responses, I will keep looking unless I can talk him down some in price.

[flyboyx]

ix's are really rare. i am thinking about 600 or so were imported to the u.s. for 1991. almost all of these went to northern states for winter driving. to find one that is rust free is in itself remarkable. another thing to consider, is that you could part it out and sell only the awd parts and make quite a bit more than 2500.00 i don't really think its fair to put a random value on the car from only the info you have provided as some of us have in this thread. one important point mentioned above that i will agree with is you would want to know if the door hinge is screwed up at the body. even if the hinges are bent, that isn't too big i deal because hinges can be cut off at the body and another welded on. if the body is bent where the hinge mounts, that is more of a problem, but also fixable. in your area, you can find a rust free e30 coupe parts car for a couple hundred bucks. that would take care of all of your sheetmetal issues as long as the hinge pilar is not bent. the carpet is another issue. you can not use a carpet from a standard coupe and expect it to fit. the tunnel area on an ix has a bump out by the drivers right calf to accommodate the transfer case. you can, however, obtain an aftermarket carpet for a couple hundred bucks.

with that said, get a good look under the front of the car to be sure that the front cv joint boots are not ripped. jack up the back of the car by putting a rolling floor jack under the differential and try to gently drive the car forward. if the rear wheels spin, the viscous coupling in the xfer case is shot. if there are clunking noises, then likely the splines are shot on the front driveshaft. if you are truly interested in this vehicle, you need to get over there and check it out thoroughly. i say it probably worth close to what he is asking for it if you want the car badly enough, but you are the buyer, so you need to make the determination as to worth

oh, one last note: i don't know about bimmerforums for e30's, but this forum is pretty much superior in most cases. with that said, there is much more info about ix's on e30tech.

[nando]

I think it's worth $1500-2000 at most in poor shape. $2500 would be average cosmetic condtion, $3500 good/clean and anything above that is probably mint with stacks of receipts and a fanatical owner.

$500? lol, there are single parts on that car that are worth more, even if the body was complete shit and it didn't run.

[mikay1814]

Thanks for your educated response flyboyx

part it out and sell only the awd parts and make quite a bit more than 2500.00

I think it's worth $1500-2000 at most in poor shape. $2500 would be average cosmetic condtion, $3500 good/clean and anything above that is probably mint with stacks of receipts and a fanatical owner.

Yea that is what I was thinking, I didn't think it was that bad of a deal. The only reason I even considered the price is because of the rarity of the car, the fact that it had no rust, and the functioning awd system.

oh, one last note: i don't know about bimmerforums for e30's, but this forum is pretty much superior in most cases. with that said, there is much more info about ix's on e30tech.

I noticed that as well, but for some reason they will not activate by account on e30tech, so I can't post.

[nando]

do you have room for a parts car? I haven't actually seen the pics (stupid firewall), but if the guy could be talked down to the price range I suggested, it would be worth it for the drivetrain parts alone. then you could look for a clean shell with a dead drivetrain, and hell if the roller isn't in terrible shape maybe somebody would like to use it for a rally car body. :)

[mikay1814]

do you have room for a parts car? I haven't actually seen the pics (stupid firewall), but if the guy could be talked down to the price range I suggested, it would be worth it for the drivetrain parts alone. then you could look for a clean shell with a dead drivetrain, and hell if the roller isn't in terrible shape maybe somebody would like to use it for a rally car body. :)

that's a good idea, but I still live with my parents and we have 4 cars and a 2 car garage:sad: so there is little to no room lol. The dent in the car isn't in that bad, the seller actually says it could be used as a daily driver in its current state.

[flyboyx]

I noticed that as well, but for some reason they will not activate by account on e30tech, so I can't post.

you have to paypal them 5 bucks to activate your account. josh q fund or something like that.

also, if that car is indeed rust free, it is too nice to part out. i took another look at those photos you posted. the damage is 90% forward of the pillar. the door looks like it lines up with the body really well. i'm no body man, but its a safe bet there is no frame damage. just because the seller says the drive train is functional, doesn't mean that it is wise to take his word on that. before you buy, refer to my previous post. for example, the 91 that i have listed in my signature was an ebay purchase from northern ohio. i bought it sight unseen other than a half dozen photos. seller said the car needed a tune up and body work. when it arrived, it was missing the front drive shaft and the xfer case is missing a chunk of aluminum out of the bottom. needless to say i was a little pissed. fortunately, it was cheap enough that i can part it out and recoupe my cost with a small profit. the 89 listed below is still sitting behind the previous owner's shop. engine is partially disassembled so i could not test out the drive train. there is a pretty good chance that something is screwed up. i bought the car anyway, because it is was so damn cheap. also, i figure i have plenty of expensive parts that i can scavenge off my '91. down the line, i have this wild hair up my rear where i would like to convert my s52 vert over to an ix. just think of all the fabrication work needed to pull that off.