To buy or not to buy.... help out a noob!

[The30man]

Hello, I'm a 17 year old who quite surprisingly is in the business of buying and selling e30s. Although so far I've only flipped two I've done quite well. However, thats not the aim of this post. I'm looking at what appears to be a very minty 318is however it does appear the car has rust. I would evidently go and check the car out but its 3 hrs away so I'm merely trying to see if the car is even worth taking the time to check out. I'll attach the photos I have but it looks to me like the rust could be catastrophic and maybe ruin the deal? I could get the car for 3g which seems like a steal but as I know rust can be killer. I'd love some knowledge on what you think its worth with the rust, how much it might cost to repair (looks like maybe 1-2g) and then what it might be worth with the repairs.

240xxx (motor was switched owner says it has 150,000) on it
H&R springs
BBS Replica Wheels 16" new tires
Custom Exhaust (magnaflow)
Quick Release and Real Sparco Wheel

the owner said "The Rocker has some holes yea as you can see" but I'm not really sure what he means

I'll attach all the photos I have but the guy was pretty damn crappy at taking photos of the rust, so it may be possible that you guys might not be able to give much feedback

photos/ https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bx...UUwZ3hhRXBGU2M

[stonea]

So I'll try to ignore why you have chosen to try and fix and flip 25+ year old cars, but I'd pass on it if it has rust. Maybe if it was a project car, but flipping cars requires you to make profit, and you're not going to make one chasing rust.

[roguetoaster]

If that appears to be minty you either need to get your eyes checked or your brain recalibrated. The obvious rust in many places (including in the cabin at the throttle pedal!!!); the visible cracks in the fuel lines; the multiple section exhaust and the interior with cracked seats, missing pieces, cracked dash makes this car a big project.

Of course you are selling an orange/black "rust free" ix that has visible rust (which you do mention), so maybe you don't really get what makes an E30 valuable just yet.

[UlrichFennec]

See, I was expecting a rotted to bits rocker panel or quarter, but in all honesty, from what I see...it doesn't look too bad. I don't see what he means by "holes in the rocker." [EDIT]: I stand corrected. That gas pedal though. Eugh.

The issue with flipping it is the motor isn't original, so you're taking a gamble on whether the swap was well done or not. The interior needs some love, the wheels could definitely be changed, and the rust needs to be addressed, however minor (or major) it may be. The other thing is that rust may be lurking in more than just those spots. The floorpan, sunroof, etc...

I don't think E30s are profitable enough yet to flip anyway. To a lot of people, they're still just an old 3er.

[Dj Buttchug]

Id estimate 100 hours of work just to make it a 318is that is properly marketable. If you are hoping to sell it for anything close $6000 it better be all stock, no lose ends, all original and reliable. This car looks to be non of those things...

[ahrensNW]

Lol, if you're asking for opinions about this car on a message board, you're shit at "buying and selling e30s".

[roguetoaster]

Lol, if you're asking for opinions about this car on a message board, you're shit at "buying and selling e30s".

No, no, no, he's clearly a real professional and we'd better respect that. I mean it's not like he lives with his parents or anything and I'm sure he 100% pays the bills by flipping E30s for mad Gs.

Besides, we love people who buy cars we love, only to intentionally drive market prices upwards, thus making our cars way more valuable. The only people we love more are those who part out lovely examples of the breed, thus allowing us to take our shitty pleb mobiles and put a few pretty parts on to attract hella chicks.

[e30davie]

I suspect the list of r3v users not to buy a car from just got a new entry.