Sad, sad car... 67k mile, one owner, Cali... Rusted to shit.

[Chrisbike]

Odd to have such bad rust in such odd spots. Where was it stored?

Probably in the Ocean

[rturbo 930]

In one of the pictures, the trunk jamb rust is covered up. Probably with tape. I don't think they're photoshopped.

[rcsoundn1]

He does have a clear pic of rust where its covered by tape and then uncovered. The pics make it look amazing. Looks like a good photograpy shoot, and a decent detail. A major reason why I have to see a car in person to buy it.

[butters]

Reading comprehension, folks. If you read all of the text, the seller does explain that under normal circumstances he hides the visible rust spots with red tape, and then removed it for documentation of this sale. In certain photos the tape was not yet removed, it's as simple as that.

No comment on the rustiness level, other than agreement on how sad it is to see such a low-mile one-owner car degrade to this point. That interior though...

[reelizmpro]

That's a shame. It's worth it for the right price though.

[wilholl]

The 2nd one was photoshopped. Maybe he wasn't going to disclose it and then changed his mind.

Mr. Wolfe

Red Tape

[BobombETA]

Wow I've never seen rust patterned like that before. I'm surprised the bidding has gone as high as it has but it sure photographs well. That interior is exceptional as well.

[Mr. Wolfe]

Red Tape

Yep, I didn't read everything he wrote. My bad.

Mr. Wolfe

[jdt10768]

interior looks new,

[estoguy]

It's a pity about the rust spots... but I can see where some of those have happened, have more minor, but similar issues happening around the back end of my E30. Don't have holes like that though.

The interior is amazing, though. I think I tend to agree with the others... the body is probably worse than we can see.

[dsphil]

Yep, I didn't read everything he wrote. My bad.

Mr. Wolfe

Didn't read it either. Those must be some pretty good red tape that blends in well.

[earthwormjim]

Didn't read it either. Those must be some pretty good red tape that blends in well.

Just points out how little a camera, specifically with still pictures, captures faults in a car.

I bet the red tape would be more noticeable in a video.

[fight4life28]

how the heck does the car look so clean.... then you open up things and the thing is rusting from the inside out.

[E30 Wagen]

Sad to see it rusted like that, but any competent body shop with a good metal worker should be able to easily patch it up. Whenever I see a low mileage car with "cosmetic" issues I always figure it was involved in some sort of incident that tweaked the panel alignment, which snowballs into rust issues, but I don't know if I see that with this car. If it is properly dismantled, and all the rust is repaired, everything documented, and professionally reassembled I don't see that process hurting the car's value at all. Whatever the case, I just hope this car is enjoyed again by its new owner.

[mark1991]

Probably in the Ocean

The listing states that the car was stored outside in Daly City, CA. Daly City is just south of San Francisco and is right near the ocean. Daly City is known for very foggy fall and winter seasons and with the weather moving in from the ocean picking up all the salt laden moisture, the rust is not that surprising. Storing a car outside in this area is like having a car subjected to a salt water misting for several months each year. I would bet that the rust has taken hold in almost all of the usual rust areas for the e30.

If this was an E30 M3, it would make sense to sink $12k to $15k into it for a full body restoration with a pro-quality repaint. As it stands, this one is a severely rusted 318is with a very nice interior, low miles and presumedly good mechanicals. Difficult to place a value on this one but I would pass on it in favor of one with higher miles and with no significant body work needed.