Convince me to buy this 1987 325si

[AndrewBird]

The sunroof drains into vents behind the rear bumper. The seals on the roof are air seals, not a water seal. Often times the tube pops off the vent and then your sunroof drains into your trunk. I've literally seen water up to the floor of the trunk before. lol

[Das Delfin]

FWIW I disagree somewhat with this theory. Seen many late model convertibles (no battery in trunk) with this same issue. This might be a contributing factor but it seems like a manufacturing flaw that allows moisture to get trapped in that area near the rear tow hook.



I typically find the taillight seal is more common to leak, but could also be the trunk gasket. There is a drain at the bottom of the pocket that often times gets clogged.

my convertible's battery tray up front is pretty well rusted. My drivers side trunk floor (opposite from the rear battery tray) has a tiny rust hole from a leaky antenna seal. But the rear battery tray is fine.

Could be from both but battery acid + metal = rust

[mbonder]

If you've got standing water in the trunk on either side of the main trunk floor it's because of the sunroof drains. There are also little openings that can get clogged at the bottom of those areas. Take a look, small dimples that you can fit a flathead screw driver through. Once punctured all that water will piss out.

[QUKBMER]

just fucking buy it. Deal with all the issues. Be a man for fucks sake

this ^^^^^

[stinkytaco]

Well, brought it up to mechanic today so I could get a look underneath (it's been raining hard, so crawling underneath wasn't something I was relishing, it was worth the $40 to stay dry).

It's 30 years old. It leaks, it's rumbles, the rack and pinion has a bit too much play (though I think that's by design). But there's no rust and it's not dripping oil onto the ground or anything.

The only red flag he raised was the coolant bottle's empty and the temp gauge doesn't work. That combination led him to speculate that they could be trying to hide something. These are my older neighbors, this seems unlikely but I guess not impossible. Anyway, I asked them to top it off and run it for a bit and assuming the thing doesn't hydrolock or something, I'm going to get it.

[ELVA164]

Best of luck!

[mkcman17]

i'm not sure why people bring cheap 30-year-old cars to mechanics, or why sellers even bother with allowing that. you're GOING to hear bad news. if it runs and drives decently then you have the platform to take care of annoying issues as they arise. it's doubtful that sub and amp wiring 'broke' all the electricals in the car. stop worrying about the purchase and dig in. I buy anything that's a straight body with a clean title.

[stinkytaco]

i'm not sure why people bring cheap 30-year-old cars to mechanics, or why sellers even bother with allowing that. you're GOING to hear bad news. if it runs and drives decently then you have the platform to take care of annoying issues as they arise. it's doubtful that sub and amp wiring 'broke' all the electricals in the car. stop worrying about the purchase and dig in. I buy anything that's a straight body with a clean title.

Where I am a 30 year old car could be in rough shape underneath due to road salt. There were a few other signs that may have indicated attempts to cover rust. I'm comfortable doing mechanical and electrical work, but not body. I wanted it on a lift where I could see it. If there was rust, that would have been a no go for me. Maybe not for you, but for me and I'm the one dropping the cash. It's really just a matter of not wanting to take on something I don't want to handle. For $40 it was worth it to be able to stand under it and look carefully instead of crawl under on the wet ground and try to see.

And the electrical... it certainly seems plausible looking at it. There are wires everywhere. Including ones that clearly belonged to one system cut off and electrical taped to aftermarket components and hanging down from the dash. I totally believe that some kids pulling wires out of the dash could have done this. It's not the first car I've owned that was previously owned by kids who pulled random shit out for their stereo. The current owner rewired quite a bit so I suspect a lot of it is dead.

[stinkytaco]

Besides, it's all pretty much moot at this point. The deal's all but done. There's no rusted out floorboards and, as most of you say, the rest of it is pretty resolvable.

So, if anyone has any pointers on where to go once I get it, I'd be happy to hear. The current owner says the timing belt was done in the last 100 miles.

[Das Delfin]

temp gauges on these cars are known not to work. Same with the gas gauge. The fix is taking out the cluster and cleaning the electrical leads/tightening the nut which fixes the gauge to the cluster. It's pretty common

[mkcman17]

I can't deal with bodywork either, i was factoring out rust issues based on your description in the first post. unless he's got documentation i ALWAYS do t/b, w/p and tensioner for cheap peace of mind. next on my 'always' list is motor+trans mounts, trans fluid and fuel lines as they are almost ALWAYS ancient. most everything else is as-i-feel-like-it.

[ELVA164]

Fuel hoses should be replaced, there are enough threads about engine bay fires.

The car should be smoke tested for vacuum leaks, the leaks solved (usually with new rubber intake bits, a new oil filler cap, maybe an o-ring on the dipstick, and rocker shaft end plugs), then tested again to confirm.

Brakes should be inspected and most likely refreshed if not recently done. Blank rotors from a reputable source plus ATE or similar OE pads are great for normal use. Don't waste money on fancy stuff. The soft brake hoses should be replaced too (one at each corner, plus two above the rear subframe) and the fluid flushed and replaced with new.

The valves should be adjusted (it wouldn't hurt to replace the adjustment eccentrics while you're at it) and a new valve cover gasket installed. You may want to RTV the gasket if it's one of the crappy Victor Reinz ones.

All ignition bits should be refreshed with the exception of the coil. Cap, rotor, plugs (NGK ZGR5A), wires.

The car should be at least checked for proper alignment. Only front toe is adjustable from the factory, but it could reveal things you'd end up chasing down the road.

Buy a second set of wheels and dedicated snow tires.

That's a good start :)

[littlemac]

You bought this yet?

[stinkytaco]

You bought this yet?

Aye, I got it. In the end I just couldn't resist. I'm a little worried I got in over my head time-wise, but I guess we'll see. I haven't had time to drive it much or even look it over. I plan to start a project thread as soon as I get some "before" pictures.

So far, here's what I've noted:

1. No AC. As in no compressor at all. Might be a good time to do a conversion.

2. Tach, temp sensor and odometer do not work.

3. Service display lights all on (have not tried to reset them yet, so this could be nothing).

4. Check light comes on. Can be turned off at the overhead display, but will come on again. I'm not really super familiar with this car or its overhead controls, so no comment here.

5. Car gets a slight shimmy/odd sound starting at about 25 miles and hour. I can only describe this as somewhere between a grind and a rattle coming from the front suspension. Previous owner speculated it may be a bent wheel.

6. Needs an alignment. Or maybe a bent wheel.

7. Grinds on right turns. Likely a wheel bearing?

8. To my inexperienced with BMWs (or really to most gas engines) ears, the engine sounds good.

9. Acceleration and handling are both withing what I've read about the car (quick and sloppy but responsive).

I'm going to order a service and tune up kit to get started. Been a few years since I wrenched, so that seems both fairly easy and necessary and a kit get me into without missing a part. The next up is sorting out the electrical (based on how it's all torn out, I'm guessing the tach, odo, temp sensor, check light and weird lights on the overhead display are all related, but I guess I won't know until I start). The Bentley manual has a good place to start and there's some electrical guides here. I'll likely go through the Inspection I and II in the Bentley manual as well, just to be safe and get familiar.

Following that, it's time to look at the suspension. I'm thinking of just overhauling the whole thing, but I'll likely do it in parts. A total replacement looks in the realm of $1,000.

Previous owner replaced the timing belt not long ago. He also did some work on the front suspension (new shocks and struts, I think), but I need to look.

[kronus]

not a check engine light, a check light. only way it won't come back is if all the check panel lights get fixed and turned off.

if the car is as poorly maintained as it sounds, it's probably leaking water out of the pump. make sure that is part of your replacement kit.