buying advice - 87 eta

[igor2]

So a friend of mine is selling her e30. it's a car that I trust from seeing her drive it and care for it for 2 years now. It's the base model (325), stick, no rust, newish tires, no mechanical problems, tachometer broken, interior good, no rust,I believe it is pushing 150k miles.

The one thing that is wrong with it is that AC does not blow when the revs are low. Could not quite wrap my head around what causes that.

The other thing is .... it's an ETA .... what is a fair price? I seem to see anything from $1k to $3k for similarly looking cars ... no clue where to set my starting point.

I need to do more due diligence .. never owned an E30, but it has been on my dream list along with other classic small cars (fiat spider, volvo 1800es) and now I may have a chance to buy one.

Please advise.

Many thanks

[Cronopoulos]

I paid 1,000 for mine.

[TexasTerp]

I'd say somewhere between 1-2k would be fitting. Pictures would say a lot more!

[igor2]

pictures will come .. eventually. This is a slow process. she is getting her stuff in order, I am doing my research.

I am not on the budget for an immediate major restoration. I am looking for a driver and have a maintenance, gradual-improvement budget. So the car has to be gremlin free. I will bee posting.

Any clues about the AC problem? bad ground? anything common? (I am in Texas - I will have some 4 months to find a solution, but summer here without A/C is hell - literally).

[Ryann]

A/C problem is likely a compressor performance issue but could also be a result of the aux. fan being dead and the condenser relying on the engine cooling fan for heat transfer. Gauge readings are critical for internet diagnosis.

[TurboJake]

Or, it could just simply be low on refrigerant. The usual cause for low rpm cooling deficiencies.

[Ryann]

^Not in my experience. Low suction pressure resulting from a lack of refrigerant in the system typically affects performance at all rpms, and eventually drops below the low pressure switch threshold disabling the comp. clutch. You really have to know gauge readings and conditions to make a diagnosis.

[igor2]

ok - that may need more investigating. Will look into it, and post findings.

Thanks

[igor2]

so .. I am still slowly progeressing on the friend's base ETA (non "e" 325), but I found this on CL:




$2000 .. 138kmiles 86 325E - is it me or is that a refreshed look? Would that (then) be a SuperETA?

http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/2622201129.html

[mkcman17]

it's pre-88 because of the early tails. still, bumper conversion done, sport seats, mtech wheel etc.

i'd offer him maybe 1500 and see what happens.

[igor2]

alright .. had a nice time picking over my friend's 325

electrical gremilins
1) as mentioned above AC does not work at low RPM .. have to track it down
2) driver side power lock does not work. Is it easy, to just switch to manual locks? I have no need for power locks on a coupe.

Exterior
The car is rust free (crawled under)
It has several scrapes and 2 bigger-ish dents -
1) the passenger side rear fender has a pushed in fore of the rear wheel (she says she's planning on having that popped prior to sale) and had the trim taken off, cause one of the brackets broke
2) below front bumper on driver side corner the metal valence is pushed in form hitting a curb or something and the plastic valence is broken. (will have to jack up the car to see the damage to the bumper structure, but it seems to be a surface wound
The paint is faded on the driver side, and unevenly so. Told no accidents or repaints, but will crawl under when jacked and look for repaired structural parts.

Interior
Dash is cracked in about 8 spots, there is some loose headliner, but the cloth interior is actually in a great shape (she has had the front seats covered since she had the car). Aftermarket stereo, everything else stock, crank sunroof.

I have a date with her and her BF to go junk yard shopping for a few things and take the car out ... will report back .. She has had this car for the past 12 years after her dad moved to a newer project. 208k miles but tachometer is broken. Thus far, not fully content, but I am getting there.

Thoughts? Warnings?

[SoCalKidz]

Do a timing belt and head gasket. Just to be on the safe side.

[igor2]

I am comfortable with the belt + water pump ... head gasket? uuuf ... that may be more than I can chew with my current skills ... (mostly frightened by the prospect of taking the head off)

[ohthejosh]

this is the perfect car dive into in order to expand your mechanical knowledge. i have jack squat car mechanical knowledge and i am replacing hoses and thermostat. LOL. i am doing everything myself until i can do no more. its a car thats less than 2gs just do it yourself man.

[igor2]

^ That is not a bad perspective .. I started getting comfortable with my 50cc scoot. Doing more and more work on it ... A $2k car is definitely not a bad one to learn on, but I am still skittish .. $2k is still a lot of money for me ... I am handy (hell with supervision, I was restoring a Prevost bus this summer - air system, electronics, I was all under that thing!), but I am still skittish about doing major projects without supervisions. That's all ..