New guy in need of your educated opinions

[PhilipWOT]

Hello R3v,

First of all, if this is posted in the wrong section I apologize and please re-locate it to the proper place.

I come from the dark (E36) side and I'm considering buying a 91 sedan but I'm not entirely sure what to offer the guy so I wanted to know what you guys think the car is worth.

It's a pretty clean 91 318i Alpine sedan with a non-vanos M50 swap and a ZF 5-speed from a late E36 M3. No idea on mileage, odometer is broken.

It has a 3.23 or 3.25 LSD according to the seller.

The paint is in surprisingly good shape. Considering it's Alpine 1 I think it'll buff out pretty nice.

It needs a throw-out bearing (Not a big deal, I run a shop so I can just throw a clutch in it myself)

"7 series brakes and master cylinder?" This is according to the seller, but the car is still 4 lug so I'm not really sure how thats possible. Maybe you guys know more about that.

Borla exhaust, ebay headers

Almost else everything is completely stock.

The car has tan vinyl non-sport interior which is in very good shape except for a tear on the drivers seat, except the dash which is all cracked and looks like shit.

The body is in nice shape. No rust, no big dents or creases, just a few minor dings and the usual rock chips like you'd expect. All exterior trim is present and accounted for.

One fog light is missing and the remaining one is shitty.

Hand-crank sunroof works.

Both front door lock cylinders have keys broken off inside them. How feasible, if at all, is it to get replacements?

Those are the main details. My question to you guys is how much would you pay for such a car?

I got in a bad not-at-fault accident which totaled my 318ti ClubSport, so I need a new project. I'm thinking of putting it on coils and my BBS RZ469s from my ti, and doing all the normal IS stuff for a clean dd.

Your collective input is greatly appreciated.
-Philip

[einhander]

May not be helpful, but a non-working odo is easy to fix and the only people who skimp on it are broke or incompetent, which would leave me wondering what else they were cool with neglecting or ghetto rigging.

But 7k-9k could be a fair price.

[PhilipWOT]

May not be helpful, but a non-working odo is easy to fix and the only people who skimp on it are broke or incompetent, which would leave me wondering what else they were cool with neglecting or ghetto rigging.

But 7k-9k could be a fair price.

$7,000 US Dollars?!?

[agent]

Likely just a 7 series brake booster and MC. That's a popular way to do 24v swap cars; it's what I have on mine. You're correct to assume the actual rotors and pads are not from a 7 if it's 4 lug.

Lock sets can be sourced and replaced, though it's somewhat of a time-consuming and tedious job. That and the TOB are value hits - to your advantage.

Based on the description I wouldn't put it anywhere over $6k, especially being OBD1 vs OBD2 and sounding like it still needs a bit more to get the typical issues sorted. Pics would definitely help with an evaluation though.

[PhilipWOT]

Stand by for pics...

[matthugie]

Likely just a 7 series brake booster and MC. That's a popular way to do 24v swap cars; it's what I have on mine. You're correct to assume the actual rotors and pads are not from a 7 if it's 4 lug.

Lock sets can be sourced and replaced, though it's somewhat of a time-consuming and tedious job. That and the TOB are value hits - to your advantage.

Based on the description I wouldn't put it anywhere over $6k, especially being OBD1 vs OBD2 and sounding like it still needs a bit more to get the typical issues sorted. Pics would definitely help with an evaluation though.

I agree with everything here, and also a lot of value is in the quality of the swap. If there are wires hanging out everywhere and it looks like corners have been cut then be aware you may have to redo some stuff. The non-sport interior doesn't help value, but isn't that big of a deal. Definitely in for pics.

[Nick_S]

Sounds like a pretty basic swap (doing the same swap myself currently) on a fairly average condition E30. If it runs well and only has a few minor issues I could see anywhere from $4-6k being a decent price.

[PhilipWOT]

I cant believe you guys are saying this car is worth 4-6k. That seems nuts to me. There are E36 M3's in that price range.

[matthugie]

Yes, there are some clapped out e36 M3 's for that price, but having owned one I can say nothing is cheap on them. You aren't going to find a halfway decent e30 for less than 4-6k

[agent]

^ Truth.

[PhilipWOT]

Yes, there are some clapped out e36 M3 's for that price, but having owned one I can say nothing is cheap on them. You aren't going to find a halfway decent e30 for less than 4-6k

There is no way I'm paying this guy $4k for this car. I was thinking more along the lines of half that. The car needs a lot of money to even be a decent dd.

[agent]

Unless you steal or are given most of the parts, you can't do that swap (right) for $2k, much less buy the car to put it in.

[PhilipWOT]

So I guess the collective opinion would be that if I offer this $2k and he accepts, I should run with it?

Because that the plan at this point.

[Nick_S]

After seeing the photo's, it's pretty rough. Offer what you think it's worth and haggle from there.

[matthugie]

Yeah, that's rougher than I expected, especially the engine bay. I agree, throw 2k at him and see what happens. I see that as a 3k car, depending on how it drives.