Stupid things that PO's did to your car

[HarryPotter]

reused a headgasket

This is a winner.

Some guy mentioned tons of holes in the center console from self tappers syndrome. I have that.

Over all it wasn't bad, besides the fact that it leaks like a siv in the rain. Guy that sold it to me. "no leaks whatsoever"

[arch4ngel]

Man where to start...

On my current car:

Shocks blown so bad they compressed when set on the ground.
Every ball joint on the car was completely obliterated.
Tires completely fubared.
Leaky steering rack.
Timing belt was badly cracked and about fell apart in my hands when I replaced it.
ICV boot completely severed and covered in duct tape.
Oil way overfilled (dumb PO said it was leaking oil so she dumped a bunch in).
No trans fluid, now it whines like crazy and makes noise in neutral even after changing to redline.
Interior was completely hosed, rips in every panel. Must have had a pack of dogs in there or something.
Driver side floor soaking wet with what i presume was brake fluid (master was replaced a few years ago apparently).
Front valance ran into multiple curbs.
Big dent on rocker panel (How is that even possible???)
A good number of dents.
80's car phone, I took out probably 5 pounds of wiring and other junk.
Cracked dash of course.

I could go on.
I guess I like a challenge or something

[HarryPotter]

Man where to start...

On my current car:

Shocks blown so bad they compressed when set on the ground.
Every ball joint on the car was completely obliterated.
Tires completely fubared.
Leaky steering rack.
Timing belt was badly cracked and about fell apart in my hands when I replaced it.
ICV boot completely severed and covered in duct tape.
Oil way overfilled (dumb PO said it was leaking oil so she dumped a bunch in).
No trans fluid, now it whines like crazy and makes noise in neutral even after changing to redline.
Interior was completely hosed, rips in every panel. Must have had a pack of dogs in there or something.
Driver side floor soaking wet with what i presume was brake fluid (master was replaced a few years ago apparently).
Front valance ran into multiple curbs.
Big dent on rocker panel (How is that even possible???)
A good number of dents.
80's car phone, I took out probably 5 pounds of wiring and other junk.
Cracked dash of course.

I could go on.
I guess I like a challenge or something

Or a headache.

[///digitalme]

wooo hooo i have my shares tooo
my first e30 only had a huge dent and everything else was stock
my second convertible...
leaking steering rack/pump (idiot ran the car with no power steering with the belts still attached) i plugged the rack and took the steering out no other choice
had swapped to plastic bumpers and none of the lights worked except headlights
had bad bad wiring like 3 different alarms installed
also seats didnt work
had a wires all the way to the back(moved the battery to the trunk)
had an aftermarket stereo that was not connected right
shift bushing was worn
cheap ricer shift knob
other than that everything was ok

my current 318is
had bad brakes (fixed)
steering leak (fixed)
coolant leak (fixed)
wiring was bad (fixed)
tires worn (fixed)
has a cheap alarm with no controller that goes off once in a while
valance was totalled (fixed)
needs timing chain (working on it)
unaligned
muffler rattles
had the spoiler removed (fixed)
lowered way too much on the back (fixed by running smaller tires)
shocks need to be changed
has some dents that ill be repairing soon

other than that everything is good has a short shifter runs good so far although the noise from the tensioner and chain
man i think this will be my last e30 moving to an a4:crazy:

[Hyelifecl]

Damn I guess I was lucky that my car was all original. ;)

[TwoJ's]

My car's previous owner trashed the car. When I was in high school a guy I knew bought the car and when I saw it I was attracted to it. It was lowered, had a relatively straight body, was black with tint and had 17" wheels. I was in love. I actually test drove the car and considered buying it.

A couple months later he told me that the car had broken down and he didn't know why. Turns out the timing belt broke and took some valves and rocker arms with it. He left it sitting on the side of South Tacoma Way for a few days. While it was sitting there the windshield, rear window and driver's side windows got smashed in and the radio was torn out. He had it towed to his house where it sat for a couple of months. He was about to move and told me that he was just having a wrecker come and pick it up to go trash it. I told my girlfriend at the time that I wanted it and she bought it for me as a graduation gift. It was filled with a bunch of trash and shit when I got it.

Here's how it looked when I got it home:



And a carnage shot:



I have changed a lot since then including but not limited to: Rebuilt cylinder head, complete suspension overhaul, fixed all dents and painted it and re-did most of the interior. It is a completely different car now...

[MoparJ]

I love how it seems 30% of the complaints are about shitty aftermarket stereo installs.

The guys in my industry sit around and whine about lack of business when these same guys hacked the living shit out of a car just to make the quick buck...these weren't cheap cars and in some areas, were quite common. No reason to hack, yet 90% of them were!

Dammit, I just fucking hate installers.

Luke

This has been a problem with almost every car I have ever purchased; the E30 is one of the worse ones. My car is literally ENCASED in Dynamat. It's amazing in that it is in places that are virtually impossible to get to, and the guy who did it just laid it down over everything (bolts, screws, fasteners, etc.) This car was apparently a rolling ghetto blaster.

It also looks like he got a little confused by the fader switch in the dash, so there were about a thousand wire taps and butt connectors coming off of the damn thing. The only thing that was routed nicely was the rca's for the amp, except he used the cheapest cables he could find so the connectors broke.....I am still without an amp because I haven't had the time to rip apart the car to replace them.

[CrazyJew89]

A hot air intake with a cone filter soo small that the stock intake probably let in more air

[bimmer_E30]

The wiring is a fuckin hackjob. I guess he loves ducktape to much because it's all over the car. He told me it's rust free, and found a good rust hole in my battery tray. Needs a tune-up, running realy rich, and lied about the window motor and told me it's a fuse looks to be the motor it self(fuck). The timing belt needs to be replaced. He or whatever he bought it from glued the the RD rear valance into the bumper using silicon.

drats/

[bsbrilesm3]

He drove it. Zebra seat covers, Threw away one of the wheels BBs rs003, and didnt think you needed to change spark plugs.:tsk:

[scottinAZ]

ok, have to add one more feat of dumbfuckery to the list.

I was changing the trans fluid (5spd) and in place of the fill plug, he had am expandable rubber plug, with about a 2 inch threaded section on the back and a toggle to tighten it against the backside. How it didnt get caught in the gears is beyond me, but the best part of this, THE FUCKING THREADS WERE FINE!!! there was NO reason for this, other than the lazy fuck probably lost the goddamn plug!! arghhhhhh why did I buy this piece of shit!!!!

[structured]

[e30frosh]

In my red 87, the PO decided to let loose of his grey matter with a 38 special. My white 90, they decided the floorpan under the driver seat was a suitable lifting point.

[DRTSRFR]

Just bought an IX...

...the low beams weren't working and I figured it would be an easy fix.

...NOT!

[evil_twin]

Hmmm, what they did to my car... Sold it to me :)