whether to bring back to life or not

[seldomthought]

hello new blood here, I bought a alpine white 318is last year but ended up selling it due to the vehicle stalling out every time I took it out, spent time fixing vacuum leaks, swapped in a new gas tank, fuel pump and idle control, pcv and etc but ended up letting it go. I've been lurking on the around for awhile for another one and found one at a auction lot, i've provided pics below. estimated value is 800 and is located in denver but i live in queens ny. title is salvage and has 142k on the clock. question is should i bite the bullet or no. thanks for looking.

[seldomthought]

i have some parts left over which i bought for my old car such as a hood, fenders, a cooling overhaul kit from fcp

[roguetoaster]

Without seeing the chassis rails who knows. However, the value is probably there after shipping/fees. So it just comes down to your desire to do work or pay someone else to do it, and in that case the value is questionable.

[Westija]

On mine, I have been spending lots of my own time restoring several things. The part that hit me the hardest ($$) was rust repair (and subsequent paint) , since I had to have that done by others. We know that to do things right, the costs for these cars do not make much sense, but we do it regardless. A major body shop bill might throw things off , if you have to use others for the work.
If the frame rails are compromised, I would not even think about taking it.

[BUDNUNTA]

looks like a great one to fix

[nando]

it's actually not a hard fix. core support, fenders, and a hood. Plus all the broken plastic stuff. But it's definitely a bit of a project. I'm not sure it would be worth paying a shop, but DIY, sure.

It missed the frame so there's unlikely any structural damage.

[McGyver]

No way I'd touch that for $800 plus another $1000-$1500 in shipping. Maybe if you were local, but that's a lot of cash for a salvage title non-driving project, especially because you can't inspect it to know the extent of the damage.

[moatilliatta]

Rust is the big question. Do you want to deal with it if its there?

Looks like the rear subframe / trailing arm is tweaked also. Who knows the extent of the damage. I would only go if you're ok with it being a parts car in the end.

[varg]

You sold a car because it was stalling on you, and you want to buy a sight unseen wrecked project car and ship it to you?
Bad idea

[moatilliatta]

Maybe some others should post up of what they have had to do to make their car stable again… And make this “Do you have what it takes thread”

A Newbs guide for E30 rehabilitating in the modern disposable digital world.

[roguetoaster]

Maybe some others should post up of what they have had to do to make their car stable again… And make this “Do you have what it takes thread”

A Newbs guide for E30 rehabilitating in the modern disposable digital world.

That thread is easy.

Path A - you can & want to DIY - any car is viable
Path B - you do not want to DIY - buy a ready to go car
Path C - you have serious money - why are you buying an E30 again???

[TobyB]

I personally don't like the look of the back edge of the passenger's fender.

Sometin' might be wonky there.
Vs driver's side, where it's not showing signs of movement.

If that were on C-List for $500 locally, sure.

But you do know that if the motor was what stopped further submarining,
then the trans and diff may be toaster strudel.

I say leave it to someone locally.

t

[McGyver]

Maybe some others should post up of what they have had to do to make their car stable again… And make this “Do you have what it takes thread”

A Newbs guide for E30 rehabilitating in the modern disposable digital world.

Lol, here's my newb's guide:

Bought this for $800, immediately spent ~$1500 on parts (already had used shocks/springs), then spent several months replacing everything (fluids, mounts, plugs, timing belt/water pump, suspension, etc), then a few months later spent ~$500 more to have the drive shaft rebuilt.

None of this included repairing body damage, just regular mechanical stuff to bring the car back to being safe and reliable.

[e30davie]

Path C - you have serious money - why are you buying an E30 again???

Path C - If i had serious money id have like 10 cars, one of them still being the e30 cause id have no need to sell it - and i reckon if i had serious money i could afford to get it painted properly. I'd also have a porsche GT3...and one of those new lancia 037 recreations and an an original 037.

What happened to the PO here? did he buy it?