318 SC Thoughts? - Buyer thoughts

[Mad Chemist]

I am thinking about buying a 318is that has good interior/exterior, looks to be properly done, but is supercharged . The main issue that is causing doubt on the purchase is the mileage on a supercharged engine. Right now the engine is standing around 290k miles and with the stress from the supercharger, I would predict that it would be replaced soon.

I am just looking for your thoughts on whether or not you would pursue a vehicle under these conditions.

Buyer is asking close to 10K, which seems pretty high.

Thanks for your input.

[flyboyx]

as always, pics would help. i am too lazy to search craigslist. you fail to mention wether the car is an e30 or e36. we will assume e30 for purposes of this conversation. the most common 318 supercharger is the downing atlanta roots version. they were pretty expensive new. somewhere around 4+grand for the kit.

with that said, i would say that a 318 with those miles shouldn't be priced anywhere near 10k unless it is incredibly mint. the value of the supercharger kit alone used is less than 2500.00. the kit on the car maybe adds 1500.00 in value. i would say go find similiar cars in your area with those miles and add 1500.00. this is where it should be priced. if the car you are looking at is an e36, you can buy a nice e36 m3 for much less than this guy is asking.

[varg]

That price, whoa. Someone needs to tell that guy that you don't get what you put into a car back when you sell it except in very rare can circumstances.

[Kershaw]

10k doesn't sound completely unreasonable if the car is in really good condition. Little rust, uncracked dash, no rips in the seats, paint in good condition, engine bay clean, etc.

Pics would help, obviously.

[Mad Chemist]

Here are some pics from his ad. It is an E30 with a m42.

So it's not a big deal for a high mileage engine to be supercharged? I am familiar with the m20 but not the m42.

[fresh_TD]

He's referring to this car that's for sale here.

1991 318is Slicktop Supercharged- Charlotte NC 9.8K

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=371956

Sent from my Samsung Note 4

[TobyB]

The M42 has some major maintenance issues (profile gasket, timing chain and guides/idler)
and plastic coolant tube to deal with.

And I'd agree- 300,000 miles is farther than most BMW pistons can go, especially
with boost. The boost ITSELF is less of an issue than the miles, but add the two...

For that price, I'd want to see that the thing's been COMPLETELY gone through
and mechanically refreshed.

And then I'd get kinda excited and try to scrounge up the cash....

t

[Stanley Rockafella]

The M42 has some major maintenance issues (profile gasket, timing chain and guides/idler)
and plastic coolant tube to deal with.

And I'd agree- 300,000 miles is farther than most BMW pistons can go, especially
with boost. The boost ITSELF is less of an issue than the miles, but add the two...

For that price, I'd want to see that the thing's been COMPLETELY gone through
and mechanically refreshed.

And then I'd get kinda excited and try to scrounge up the cash....

t

for that I'd say at least 15g's


at 9800, I'd say it's high, but not unreasonable given what's out there in the market now

[Exodus_2pt0]

Here are some pics from his ad. It is an E30 with a m42.

So it's not a big deal for a high mileage engine to be supercharged? I am familiar with the m20 but not the m42.

Very nice car, but still.... 5k tops. But that's me.

[pandaboo911]

Pretty sure 10k isn't that bad of a starting price. That thing looks mint.

300k miles is a lot, but it looks like work was done properly and maintenance was on point, so mileage could be less of a factor. 5psi isn't really going to stress the engine if the cooling system and tune were properly done.

I think 8k would be fair

[JinormusJ]

I'd honestly price it around $7-8k

Mainly because of the supercharger; that car is a $6500 car alone, plus the charger would give it a tiny bit more value but not much

Mint regardless I would say though

Love black on tan

[varg]

I would not trust a 290k M42, even without a supercharger. Mine is on borrowed time under boost with ~200k, if you ask me. Beside the M40, the M42 is the least likely E30 engine to last that long in the first place, and unless all of the common problems have been addressed, including the crummy 180 degree thrust bearing and resulting crank walk issues, I would walk away even for 7k. If you address every high mileage M42 problem, you've basically rebuilt the engine.

[willworkfore30s]

That car would be a blast to drive. Swapping an m42 is not a difficult task should it start causing problems. That shell with its upgrades plus the SC kit is worth the price in my opinion. If I had it, I wouldn't be upset about spending $9kish on that thing.

[Mad Chemist]

Thanks for the input so far.

What is the price to rebuild or buy another M42? I have no problem doing the work myself, just curious about the cost of parts.

[aegul44]

I would agree on $8k++ for that condition..