Need help b4 craigslist test drive

[ParsedOut]

well, you have better eyes than i do. it may indeed be a cheap respray from maaco or something. i certainly can't see that by looking at the low res pics. i will agree with you that it likely has been repainted. judging by the condition of the dash, it has set outside in the texas sun a good deal of its life. assuming this to be the case, the factory paint couldn't possibly be that shiny. it still may well be worth 3k or so. you wouldn't know this unless you go over there and lay eyes on it.

I used to do bodywork and paintless dent repair and it's pretty easy to spot a respray when you know what you're looking for.

1) Like you already mentioned, the dash is fuxed which means it's seen sun. Original schwarz would not hold up.

2) The reflections, it's all in the clarity of the reflections. The car has obviously been washed, so you can't blame it on dirt. The tree in the hood should have a clear reflection, not blurry. There are other hard defined lines in the picture, so it's not photo quality.

My wife just rolls her eyes when we're driving on the freeway and I spot an obvious respray on the side of a new Escalade from two lanes away.

Well anyway, back on topic. For that kind of money I'd expect a much more detailed ad, better photos, a GOOD paint job and ton of maintenance history. Oh, and it's for sure a 2.7i eta motor, the single exhaust is also a dead give away. That further lowers the value, $1200 would be my top value. For $3-4k you can find a really nice E30, or you can buy this heap and put another $2-3k into it and still have an eta with a bad paint job.

[flyboyx]

PASS! I can tell from the grainy ass pics that it's had a cheap respray. He's also trying to pass that it really has 150k miles, guaranteed it has a broken odometer and well over 200k actual miles. Not a deal breaker, but something to be considered.

That is a $1500-2000 E30, at best...

well, you have better eyes than i do. it may indeed be a cheap respray from maaco or something. i certainly can't see that by looking at the low res pics. i will agree with you that it likely has been repainted. judging by the condition of the dash, it has set outside in the texas sun a good deal of its life. assuming this to be the case, the factory paint couldn't possibly be that shiny. it still may well be worth 3k or so. you wouldn't know this unless you go over there and lay eyes on it.

this is a similiar car i purchased off houston craigs a couple weeks ago. also missing the "i" after its respray.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=309300

i paid way less than 1k for it but the engine was seized and the trans is auto.

[ParsedOut]

I appreciate it.



So if the odo works on the test drive, then I can assume the mileage is accurate?

You can assume one of two things, they replaced the odometer gears and the mileage still is not accurate or it has the original gears the mileage is accurate and the gears are about to break. All E30's have broken original odometer gears, happens between 150k and 200k.

Carfax is really the only way to ensure the odometer is original as it'll show a steady stream of odometer checks.

[nevetsi]

by the way....from one houston guy to another: welcome to the forum.

I appreciate it.

PASS! I can tell from the grainy ass pics that it's had a cheap respray. He's also trying to pass that it really has 150k miles, guaranteed it has a broken odometer and well over 200k actual miles. Not a deal breaker, but something to be considered.

That is a $1500-2000 E30, at best...

So if the odo works on the test drive, then I can assume the mileage is accurate?

[ParsedOut]

PASS! I can tell from the grainy ass pics that it's had a cheap respray. He's also trying to pass that it really has 150k miles, guaranteed it has a broken odometer and well over 200k actual miles. Not a deal breaker, but something to be considered.

That is a $1500-2000 E30, at best...

[flyboyx]

if the body and paint are really nice, it could be worth more than 3k. it has been listed for over a month. if it seems like a car you can see yourself driving, i would send him an email saying:

hey i am interested in looking at the bmw you have for sale on craigslist. however, the price you have listed doesn't fit into my budget. i wouldn't want to waste your time, but if you feel like you could be negotiable enough to be close to the lower 3k range, please give me a call as i would really like to see it.

thank you for your time.....


i lowball people like this all the time when they have something i want but is listed too high. it works about 60% of the time. if they respond to you saying with some indication this could be acceptable, you have already lowered their expectations before you even show up.

by the way....from one houston guy to another: welcome to the forum.

[ST1G]

Long story short. Be patient. $4500 can get you a nice e30.

[joncrz]

This r3v user was selling his very clean and tastefully modded vert in houston not to long ago:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/member.php?u=44897

you should hit him up and see if he still has it for sale. I cant remember what he was listing it for but I remember it was an extremely good price for what he invested in the car ... Those wheels alone were $$$

Found his build thread:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=300055

another way to search on CL would be

bmw and filter it by newest & set to tiles so you can see the first image nice and large. Also choose the feature "by owner" because if you just search bmw you will get alot of shitty dealerships.

[nevetsi]

A lot of those "mods" are just replacement maintenance parts.

Yes, bad vocab there. I'm not completely daft, I promise.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

$4700 is way to much that car is $2700 on a good day.

[ST1G]

A lot of those "mods" are just replacement maintenance parts.

[nevetsi]

When are you test driving the car? I am in the houston area on the weekends and i live 10 min around westheimer. I can help you evaluate the car if i have time. Have you checked out the other e30s on CL? I feel alot of the other ones have nice little upgraded tidbits. I thinkthe only one thing the one you posted has over the others on CL is it COULD possibly be a one owner car.

I haven't been looking since late December, but got the itch. I never really found any great examples, but I may not be searching the right thing. I usually search for "e30" "325" "bmw 325" (separate searches).

I see there is a white 4 door on this forum's FS adds in Beaumont. It has some rust and he wants $3500 with a spare set of wheels, but there are so many mods I would not be able to keep track of them.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=300624

[joncrz]

When are you test driving the car? I am in the houston area on the weekends and i live 10 min around westheimer. I can help you evaluate the car if i have time. Have you checked out the other e30s on CL? I feel alot of the other ones have nice little upgraded tidbits. I thinkthe only one thing the one you posted has over the others on CL is it COULD possibly be a one owner car.

[ST1G]

Thanks guys. I really appreciate it. Looks like a no go, as I doubt he is willing to come down $3,000!

edit: is it worth a test drive? I've never driven an e30...

Probably not. He will just think you're wasting his time anyway. He thinks he has a gem; even though he states he has no idea.

[nevetsi]

Thanks guys. I really appreciate it. Looks like a no go, as I doubt he is willing to come down $3,000!

edit: is it worth a test drive? I've never driven an e30...