whats the going rate for m50?

[devon.818]

found one local to me.
he has a 1994 325is manual with around 130k on it. i can hear it run before i pull it.

as for price, what is the going rate?
a month ago he told me 450, but now i know he will go lower, he said make a offer.

remember, i HAVE to pull the motor myself.

thanks.

[flyboyx]

450 is a good deal. the normal price would be 6-800 for a good running engine. do yourself a big favor and go down to the auto parts store, buy yourself a compression tester, and check all the cylinders before the engine is run and check them again after it has warmed up for a few minutes. they should be all around the 200psi range.

[devon.818]

so if i can get it for less, which i know i can, i am in the win?!

[E30SPDFRK]

Junkyards around here charge $250 if you pull it yourself, $500 if they pull it. Thats around the going rate on CL too, so I'd say your cost sounds high.

[devon.818]

yeah i could go to a junkyard, but screw that! dont trust it for drop in. maybe if i were to buy the motor then go to a shop and have it rebuilt...

[devon.818]

350!
i get to use his shop to pull it.
gonna do the compression test.

then put s50 cams in it.

[flyboyx]

Junkyards around here charge $250 if you pull it yourself, $500 if they pull it. Thats around the going rate on CL too, so I'd say your cost sounds high.

sure, the junk yard is a great idea if you want to place your odds at better than 50% the the engine needs a rebuild. that will only set you back another 1800 bucks. i already said this once today, but penny wise and pound foolish.

i don't know what craigslist you use, but finding a "going rate" of 250 for a good running m50 is ridiculously cheap. just because you found one at that price certainly doesn't mean its the "going rate". hell, the wiring harness, ecu and obd1 parts will cost more than that.

edit: devon, do yourself another favor. if the compression test checks out, pull the oil pan off the engine and remove a main bearing cap or two to see what condition the bearing inserts are in. don't remove the rod caps unless you find the mains need replacement because that will require you to purchase new rod bolts.

[TimKninja]

Where on the RI craigslist are you finding M50's for $250? I need one

[lolcantturn]

If you're going to go from M20 to M50, in hopes of NOT really getting a big performance gain, but a reliabilty gain, I suggest you save the trouble and actually get a good, running, reliable M50 with all of it's service history. Junk yard M50's are sketch as hell.

[bimmer630]

Ive got a guy locally who wants to sell me an M50 with the DME, harness, and Manual trans/light flywheel for 1200 bucks. He says the car it came from had reciepts for some silly tricked out engine work but I dont believe anything until I see it.

Im tempted to make him an offer but I dont really feel like my lame Sedan is worth the trouble of a swap

[devon.818]

i have a sedan, best sleep ever.

[z31maniac]

sure, the junk yard is a great idea if you want to place your odds at better than 50% the the engine needs a rebuild.

Which is precisely why you buy from a reputable 'yard, like Vines in Alabama.

My S52 I purchased from them popped the headgasket after a few hundred miles.

THE NEXT WEEK, I had a gasket set, new headbolts, and reman'd head delivered to my front door, free of charge.

[Brandon12V]

^That's pretty awesome. If you don't mind me asking, what did it cost for shipping on it?

[flyboyx]

Which is precisely why you buy from a reputable 'yard, like Vines in Alabama.

My S52 I purchased from them popped the headgasket after a few hundred miles.

THE NEXT WEEK, I had a gasket set, new headbolts, and reman'd head delivered to my front door, free of charge.

damn, thats awesome! i can tell that you are not making any sort of argument, however we are not comparing apples to apples in this case. vines would be far and away safer to buy from than lkq or pick a part. also, i am pretty sure your investment was a good deal greater than 250.00. getting that kind of reputability comes with some inherent cost.

[Heysüß]

i JUST referred a friend that has an e36 to a friend that has an e30. He's selling his m50 for less than 300, and I'm pretty sure he already pulled it since he's already got his S-engine in.

But I don't know the details of the engine, so maybe it has a few faults.