Buying a car to part out - is it worth it?

[JRowe]

It sounds like it only needs wheels to be driveable. Buy it and put wheels on it, then sell it whole for 1500-1800. That's the easiest way to turn a quick profit on it and you keep another e30 on the road.

[golfdmb18]

It sounds like it only needs wheels to be driveable. Buy it and put wheels on it, then sell it whole for 1500-1800. That's the easiest way to turn a quick profit on it and you keep another e30 on the road.

yea, but remember it is an auto. There are very few people who are interested in automatics. If you can get it for less than 600 than i say go for it. The bumpers alone are worth around 200.

[Lair]

Plus, there may or may not be a title for the car.

I would have bought it already if it had a 5-speed.

[parkerbink]

If it is at a mechanic that did work on it and was not paid he can put a lien on it and get a title.

[Rigmaster]

If it is at a mechanic that did work on it and was not paid he can put a lien on it and get a title.

True, but that's IF he's willing to do the paperwork, and there's usually $$$ in fees to go along with it. Often it's too much of a PITA to file mechanic's lein paperwork on cars that are <$1k or so.



I don't know how it is in Kalifornia, but around here the scrap places (NOT junkyards) will buy cars or shells of cars without title just for the scrap metal. If you don't have a way to haul it to the scrap place, it's not too hard to find people willing to haul it off for free- check Craigslist, etc.


Here's one way to look at the "quick" $$$ value of an E30:

1- OEM cat converter sold for scrap- ~$100
4-5 alloy wheels sold for scrap- $60-75 (~$15 each for scrap aluminum)
scrap value of the shell, minus engine/tranny/diff- ~$50-70


So, ~$200-250 in scrap value alone, no matter if the wheels are bent/broken/curbed to hell, and no matter if the cat is clogged (As long as it is OEM and not gutted) and assuming you have the ability to haul the shell to the scrap place without renting a truck or hiring someone to do it for you. Then you have to figure out what the rest of the parts are worth, and how quickly you can sell them. Keep in mind that it's pretty easy to sell a couple of parts right away, then you end up with a bunch of stuff that is perfectly good, but no one seems to want.


Sure, you can make $$, but it's not like a money machine. There is alot of work involved, and you definitely have to consider the neighbors and how they will react to a partially parted out car sitting in your driveway for an extended period.


My 0.02, and I've parted out a few BMW's........ :)

Bret

[parkerbink]

My first 2002 in 1980 was hit on the gas filler (passenger side) by a drunk driver and burst into flames. The firewall worked in reverse and the engine was spared.

The insco paid me and let me keep the car I parted the front suspension and motor and then chopped it up with a welder and took the pieces to a scrap yard.

[Lair]

The firewall worked in reverse and the engine was spared.

Sorry to laugh at the demise of your 2002, but that's a pretty funny visual.

[ZinRot325i]

Sorry to laugh at the demise of your 320, but that's a pretty funny visual.

2002:



320:

[Lair]

Durrr. Got 320 on the brain.

I just listened to my neighbor tell me about her old 320 that got totalled in a crash.

[matt]

I didn't know old cats were worth that much... why? Do companies rebuild old stock ones?

What if they're rusty or cut up?

[FredK]

Cats use platinum and other fairly rare metals in order to perform the catalytic action. These metals can be reclaimed by recyclers.

[Rigmaster]

I didn't know old cats were worth that much... why? Do companies rebuild old stock ones?

What if they're rusty or cut up?

It really doesn't matter if they're rusty or cut up, as long as the honeycomb inside is intact. Most BMW E30/E28/E34 6 cyl cats are worth close to $100 each for scrap- but you have to find the right place to sell to. The local scrap metal place that buys scrap cars and all sorts of scrap metal will buy them for ~$10-20 each- and people actually sell them there!! About 4 miles down the road there's a place that specializes in buying automotive cores for rebuilding AND recycling, they pay $15-100 for cats, depending on what type they are.

Here's a place in TX that buys cats, check out their price list:

http://www.adccatalyticconverters.com/site/792045/page/549324

(E30 6 cyl cats are "large foreign").....


If you have some to sell, ask around at some of the local junkyards and see if they can give you the contact info for their core buyers- those are the guys you need to sell to. Core buyers often travel around to lots of different junkyards and scrap places buying cores- if you can hook up with one of them you will get much more for your old cats than anywhere else.


Bret.

[matt]

Thanks, Bret.

[Lair]

Pics!

[Lair]

More:

(Somebody's been filching parts off the engine.)