Possible purchase: '88 325xi...

[88ix]

well i have found an '88 325xi. the car has 207K miles on the motor and chasis. the body is in great condition with no rust that i can tell of and all original body panels. All of the regular maint has been done and has the paperwork to prove it. It had the whole a/c unit replaced last summer, as well as the specII maint done. It has been lady owned and driven it's whole life. The car is red and has black interior. The paint is in good shape for it's age and mileage, however the clearcoat is peeling in a spot or two and the paint is somewhat faded. I am not scared of old red paint, i've got a red toyota that never had a clearcoat, so i'm familiar with the care and maint needed to keep the red looking good. one thing that i thought of to check is under the "bodykit underbody pieces". is it common for rust to appear under there if debris gets trapped and water over time? also if you could suggest other ares or items especially mechanical to check that would be great. I have been reading up on the 325ix registry site and there is some good info there. i also purchased this months BIMMER magazine, it has an E30 buyers guide in it. from reading it the car does sound like a winner.

anyways, i'm mainly asking if this sounds like a good deal. i think it does, but it can't hurt to have other peoples ideas right!

they are asking 3500 for it, i said i'm looking to spend 2500 so i believe we'll meet halfway on 3k.

what do you guys think? :)

[iXer]

Depending on where the car has been driven, I'd be wary of the rust that can form under the body kit. I highly doubt that it would look like it did on my car. The body panels on my car were not the original ones so the protection from rust was not as good as from the factory and it had been driven all year around on salty winter roads.
Other than rust I would look at the drivetrain, suspension, cv boots and brakes to see if everything was in good shape. The front driveshaft lubrication would be the number one thing I would check after I bought the car, there is a lot written about this item in the iX registry. Usually the splines go dry and moisture enters causing rust, and worst case the splines will strip.
Other than what I said, it's basically like any other E30.

[88ix]

thanks for your reply. the car has been driven year round in the mid west, and we do get good amounts of snow and road salt here. is there a way to check or remove the bodykit pieces during a pre-purchase inspection without damaging them or having to replace any clips or screws if they aren't broken? i forgot to mention, the car has a manual transmission. anyone else have any thoughts on wether or not that sounds like a good price range for the car?

[iXer]

Had I looked closer I could've seen the traces of rust, now that I know what to look for. I think you would learn a lot by taking the car to a 4-point lift and examine the underside of the car where it mets the body kit. It doesn't require much to spot problem areas, typically just behind the front wheels. No need to remove the body kit, there is a lot of work involved as the fastening grommets and stuff may brake and .. just don't.

I must explain that the right side of my car looked quite ok, as all panels were the original parts while the left side which had all been replaced long ago had severe rust problems. Because of this I paid a low sum for my car, about half of what you would expect for a car in good condition here in Sweden.

So you've spotted a manual? Congrats! :)

Not having seen the car, I'd say you should put down the money.