Buying advice for a beginner?

[caldiesel]

After a bit of research here and elsewhere I'm about to take the plunge into e30 ownership. First off this has been very helpful in my preliminary research, so a big thanks to everyone involved. Before I buy, though, I wanted to get some opinions.
About me:
I'm a university student looking for a car that I will enjoy driving and that I can use to learn about car maintenance. I won't take it to school with me but use it at home in the summertime.
This will be my DD for the summer, so it sort of needs to work most of the time.
I don't really have experience working with cars.

The car: I'm looking to buy is this: http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/3741917405.html
Right now I can get it for 4k
I've taken a look at it and driven it, seems in good condition, service records present, one owner most of its life. There is a bit of rust under where the battery is, it may be time for timing belt and water pump (owner said done around 110k and its at 160k).
Going to have a mechanic look at it later this week for anything I missed, he said he will put it on the lift and check brakes, etc.

So, if everything else checks out is this a good idea? Can I do the water pump/timing belt myself? Is the auto trans going to hold up for the near (1year at least) future? Anything else I should look for? Thanks so much in advance and if there is any crucial info I forgot to add let me know.

PS I hope this is the right place to post this! Also it's an auto because its the best condition e30 in my area. Though there was a bronzit 325is manual that looked rougher for 2400, but the CL ad is gone now.

[ethirtysix36]

the rust under the battery tray is a common spot for e30s. if you dont like the auto trans, you can 5 speed swap them, good amount of information on here and other forums on how to do it

[e30construction]

what model is it?

[caldiesel]

it's a 1991 325i coupe. And I have checked out some of the guides on the transmission swap, but it seems over my head for the time being. Thanks for the replies.

[z6ne]

heres a good one

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...0-buyers-guide

I used that when I got my 1st e30 about 6 months ago.
Go to all the reference/message board sites listed on there,
read read read, search search search.

good luck man. post pictures when you find the one

ps-if you like cars, you're gonna get addicted quick. e30s are rad

[SlamedIAm]

If you have the opportunity get under it and really look for rust. I thought mine was "rust free" when I bought it and have found 3-4 spots in the two years I've owned it while under the car. It's very possible there is more and the PO just hasn't noticed it to disclose it to you.

[z6ne]

If you're gonna spend 4k on an e30 it better be super clean. Try and talk him down some if you notice anything out of wack


e: oh just looked at the ad it was listed for 4.75. garage kept and one owner

[mobi1e]

The best piece of advice I could give would be to buy the best car you can afford. Before long you'll have spent a lot more repairing a 'good' car as opposed to buying a 'great' car to begin with.

[caldiesel]

z6ne - Thanks. I saw the bimmerforums guide before and it was very helpful. I also have a pdf of the bentley manual I've been looking through, plus various forum browsing. And yeah I thought the price was pretty fair considering the good condition. I think that addresses mobi1e's point as well.
SlamedIAm - I'm taking it to a mechanic who will put it on a lift and check all underneath, so that should be apparent.
Thanks for all the tips/replies everybody

[Vivek]

My best advice was going to be to have someone who knows e30's look at the car with you, but taking it to a mechanic is an even better option (depending on the mechanic-some told me stuff that I believed before I knew better but now realize was total BS). You seem like you're on the right track. GL

[z6ne]

if you get it give it a nice wash-n-wax and put some pictures up. I just got the bentley PDF too, but I'm gonna buy a hard copy too. Somethin about having a physical book is nice. Plus although I torrent stuff all the time they deserve the money.

[TroyShark]

Off topic but what school do you go to?

[nickmcc92]

I wouldn't go for it. That seems a bit high. Just wait it out.

[tytypetersen]

Look for rust! If they use salt in the winters around your area. In the tubs on the left/right side of the trunk. And if you can jack it up and poke around on the floor pans. Also sun roof area and wheel wells. I thought I bought a pretty rust free 30, but as winter came the leaks are everywhere.. But looks like a clean find! Good luck.

[flyboyx]

it kind of sounds to me like you have your heart set on this one. my suggestion would be to remove your affinity for this particular car, take a step back and look for others that may be a better deal. have you asked the previous owner if the car has ever been driven in the winter? has it always been in pennsylvania?


the pictures look good but why no shots of the interior? even if the car is nice, 4700 or even 4k sounds kind of high to me for an auto car with that many miles. are you ok with it being an auto? if you want a 5 speed as most do, dumping another 500.00 in parts plus whatever labor costs would make that a really overpriced car. does the interior have sport seats? or are they at least leather and in good shape?

if the car simply has vinyl comfort interior, i would personally be really unhappy with it until it was changed to sport seats. there again, though, you are adding another 500 bucks or so to what is already perhaps an overpriced car.