Potential New Owner; Please Help!

[dph1lly]

Hey everyone! This is my first post here and as of right now I don't own an E30...yet. Hopefully that will change this weekend! I'm looking at a 1991 318i with the M42 engine. It's the 4-door sedan model. I just wanted make a post asking for the popular opinion of if it's a good buy or not. I've done a fair amount of research on what to specifically look for on the M42, however, I just wanted to post up here to get some second opinions! According to the owner it's a rust free body which is very rare here in Ohio, and what is originally what caught my attention. The part of it being hit into a pole on the front end bothers me though... However, it has a new hood and bumper that just need painted. Is there anything structurally I should look for because of this? Anyways, thanks for the help in advance and I'm looking forward to being active on the forum. Seems like a great group of people on here! ;D

Link to the Craigslist posting: http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/5500654233.html

*Also, please let me know if this was posted in the wrong section, or is frowned upon, etc. Thanks again!

[flyboyx]

doesn't look too bad. just going by the info and pix from the ad, it seems like a good deal. seems like the hood is lined up fairly well which is a good indication the damage may have been slight. there is no way to know until you lay your eyes on it though. take a good look at the core support. take a floor jack with you and a pair of jack stands. get under the car really good and look for rust the owner isn't aware of. assuming the car spent its life in oh-hi-o, its pretty likely there is something. look around the license plate lights, the rear valance under the battery tray, and behind the front wheels. those are the usual suspects on this car.

also, do a search for something like: "what to look for when buying an e30". there is a wealth of info already here.

good luck and welcome to the forum. remember not to get your heart set on this car. if this one isn't the one for you, the next one is just around the corner.

[dph1lly]

doesn't look too bad. just going by the info and pix from the ad, it seems like a good deal. seems like the hood is lined up fairly well which is a good indication the damage may have been slight. there is no way to know until you lay your eyes on it though. take a good look at the core support. take a floor jack with you and a pair of jack stands. get under the car really good and look for rust the owner isn't aware of. assuming the car spent its life in oh-hi-o, its pretty likely there is something. look around the license plate lights, the rear valance under the battery tray, and behind the front wheels. those are the usual suspects on this car.

also, do a search for something like: "what to look for when buying an e30". there is a wealth of info already here.

good luck and welcome to the forum. remember not to get your heart set on this car. if this one isn't the one for you, the next one is just around the corner.

Thanks for the reply! He said that he was going to sent me some more pictures tonight overall, including the hood/bumper. However, you're right I won't REALLY know for sure until this weekend. But I agree, it's pretty unlikely is 100% rust free... gonna have to poke around a bit. I'll have to check out those areas, thank you!

I'll have to keep that advice in mind when looking at it though... I always have that problem of getting overly attached to a new car.

How do you (or anyone else) feel about it being a good candidate for a daily driver?

[agent]

He said that he was going to sent me some more pictures tonight overall, including the hood/bumper. However, you're right I won't REALLY know for sure until this weekend.

Assuming it's still there...

[dph1lly]

Assuming it's still there...

Very true, he did assure me I'd get first dibs since I was the first to inquire about it, lets hope he's a man of his word! Saturday can't come soon enough! :D

[dph1lly]

Okay so the owner was able to send me a few more pictures than what he has in the Craigslist ad. In addition, he also put back on the original hood with the dents in it. It really does look to be a very straight and rust free body, however, I know I won't know for sure until I get to go take a look at it in person. Anyways, here's the new and updated pictures! Let me know what you think! :popcorn:

[dph1lly]

...and more!

[dnguyen1963]

Doesn't look bad at all. Why wait until Saturday? You can try to come up after work, can't you?

[dph1lly]

Doesn't look bad at all. Why wait until Saturday? You can try to come up after work, can't you?

Unfortunatley it's not up to me or I would've been over there the night it was posted, haha. The owner says he busy until Saturday morning. :(

[dph1lly]

Any other thoughts before I go look at her tomorrow?! ;D

[RoyalW/BlauCheese]

Places I look for rust is underneath the battery tray, wheel wells. Dealing with body damage is the worst and most likely you can't repair it without paying $$$ at a body shop and hope they do a good job. Be careful not to fall in love with a car before you buy it. That's why you spend to much. (I've done this). Check oil for metal shavings. Check for smoke and make sure it's just condensation cause if it's got a blue tint or won't go away after driving it for a while you might have a blown head which suuuuucks. Also make sure temp stays steady cause that's a bitch to diagnose. The cl post was taken down. How much did he want for it?

[gart]

What happened with this? I was thinking of checking it out if it didn't work out for you.

[dph1lly]

So an update on the situation... The owner was putting a new battery in it the day I was going to come up and look at it. He put it in, then was going to move it and the thermostat housing started leaking... He ordered a new one and is installing it THEN I'm gonna go look at it, haha. Makes me think it's been sitting for sometime. Originally, it was listed as $1700 then he bumped it up to $2200. Then this happened... So we'll see. He still guaranteed me first to look at once it's fixed. Will keep the thread updated!

[Das Delfin]

Why would he bump it up by 500? Most people lower the price as the car sits in the driveway..

Do a carfax first

Really what you should do is do as much research as you can on every problem area of the car and figure out what it all costs and what you're okay working on and whether you can fix it while you daily the car.. see if it's more affordable than just buying a cleaner car

[2002jm]

strange

Seems a bit strange to raise the price....maybe 50-100 because of the battery...but 500?
Looks like a nice car, but do your homework on this model, to see if you want to fix all the things that could be wrong...
But until you drive it, get it nice and warm, you will not know anything about the car.
Oh, and be sure he lets you start it COLD, not all warmed up before you get there...but you knew that already:)
gl,
jm