Junk yard find, worth buying & parting?

[Thizzelle]

Offer 500

[E30 Wagen]

If I had a truck and trailer and time off I'd go pick it up if nobody else was.

[Thizzelle]

I'm pretty sure this whole thread is rendered moot because you can't buy a complete car from a junk/salvage yard. When a yard takes possession of a car, most often, the title is wiped out and destroyed, making the car impossible to title again or drive legally.

I bought one from a yard for 1k vert with working new auto top. to get back on road you have to have it inspected, they check all saftey stuff, lights, seat belts, etc and you smog it. Yes it has a salvage title but it is only from rescuing it from the yard. No accidents or anything on it. Threw another $600 to spruce it up, new clutch, transmission seals, rear engine seals, mounts, brakes, timing belt, etc. It's been running perfect for last 2 years.

[Todd Black 88]

Ok you can totally make money off it, even at 800$ I just bought a $900 318is and made at least double so far...

You guys need to come work for me, i would be rich!

The only way you make money on this sort of project is if you value your time at $0.
The time and labour it takes to part a car out is more than you get in return.

[flyboyx]

I bought one from a yard for 1k vert with working new auto top. to get back on road you have to have it inspected, they check all saftey stuff, lights, seat belts, etc and you smog it. Yes it has a salvage title but it is only from rescuing it from the yard. No accidents or anything on it. Threw another $600 to spruce it up, new clutch, transmission seals, rear engine seals, mounts, brakes, timing belt, etc. It's been running perfect for last 2 years.

in michigan there are no inspections for anything accept for antique cars with no title. you should see the shit boxes on the highway in that state. it is scary. cars/trucks running down the highway with rusted out frames and quater panels flapping in the breeze.

[Exodus_2pt0]

I bought one from a yard for 1k vert with working new auto top. to get back on road you have to have it inspected, they check all saftey stuff, lights, seat belts, etc and you smog it. Yes it has a salvage title but it is only from rescuing it from the yard. No accidents or anything on it. Threw another $600 to spruce it up, new clutch, transmission seals, rear engine seals, mounts, brakes, timing belt, etc. It's been running perfect for last 2 years.

Depends on the area I believe.

When I junk a car here in MD, the junkyard reports the vehicle as destroyed to the MVA... Never to return to the road again.

[Vtec?lol]

you guys need to come work for me, i would be rich!

The only way you make money on this sort of project is if you value your time at $0.
The time and labour it takes to part a car out is more than you get in return.

qft

[ClayW]

I could use that 6 button OBC.

[Sean]

If the other guy doesn't take it, I'd take the wiring harness cover!!

[TurboJake]

IF cat is still on the car and you get it for $500, its a real score cause your looking at having $350 in once you scrap the converter.

Where on earth are you getting $350 for the cat?

in michigan there are no inspections for anything accept for antique cars with no title. you should see the shit boxes on the highway in that state. it is scary. cars/trucks running down the highway with rusted out frames and quater panels flapping in the breeze.

Where's your sense of adventure?

A lot of people get shit for pay, and buying a new vehicle to have it rot out in 20 minutes flat is not on a lot of people spending agenda.

I'd take a serious look into it and throw down the $800 if you have the means and desire to fix it.. I currently have a low rust 4 door in the garage with some core support, oil pan, and suspension damage courtesy of the woman who crashed it and left me. Still don't know what to do with it.

[Poorboyz]

I wouldn't part it. I would bring it back and drive it. I've become a sucker for E30s

[Schnitzer318is]

Some interesting points of view in here...

IF it only needs an engine and a tranny you can have it up and running in a weekend. Decent m42 motor and g240 trans will run less than $1000.

If that car were here in Texas, with wheels on it, ready to be picked up on Craigslist it would go for $1000 all day long.

Personally, and I've done this before... offer $500 and fix the car. Sell it for, no sh%t, $3000 easy. That's easy going rate for a clean bodied late model 5 speed. Even if not a clean title... the e30 community doesn't care.

EDIT: You won't make a ton of money though... after lip and other cosmetics as well as the mechanical you will be in it at least $2000. Time is money... but if you have nothing else going on it's better to make some money than no money.

[reelizmpro]

I bought one from a yard for 1k vert with working new auto top. to get back on road you have to have it inspected, they check all saftey stuff, lights, seat belts, etc and you smog it. Yes it has a salvage title but it is only from rescuing it from the yard. No accidents or anything on it. Threw another $600 to spruce it up, new clutch, transmission seals, rear engine seals, mounts, brakes, timing belt, etc. It's been running perfect for last 2 years.

I recently looked at an M3 that had a JUNK and Salvage Title. So does this mean the car was to be parted and no longer road legal (Junk) and then someone restored it and made it road worthy again (salvaged)? I had never run into a car that had a Junk title until this one.

[flyboyx]

different states have different rules. i am not familiar with rules in cali but i would assume a "junk" title would mean that the car can never be registered to be road legal again? your state seems to have relatively strict rules regarding such things automotive. here in texas, we have a similiar designation for such titles. i can't remember what specifically its called, but basically if a car was issued with that one it is and never will be anything other than a parts car.

[smooth]

a "salvage" title in california is based on valuation (the "total loss" assessment from insurance co. that most people are familiar with) whereas a "junk" title is either a wrecked, dismantled, then restored/rebuilt vehicle *or* an inoperable LEO recovery

both can be retitled and road legal