Worth my time/money?

[Tbolt]

Disclaimer: I have just about no clue what I am doing with anything E30, I just love them.

Originally VWs brought me to the wide world of euro-awesomeness. But now im back home from school for the summer, I have my brothers old car just chillin in my backyard. He never really drove it actually, just bought it and when it wouldn't pass MD inspection because of lighting stuff(not exactly sure) as well as the top being in awful shape, he let it sit around collecting dust. Conveniently its just what I like, the 325i cabrio. But it has 155k miles on it and seems to need a bit of work just to get it in practical shape.

What I want to know, is it worth it to put a lot of time into learning the ways? I mean, I would love to have all the knowledge of E30s as many of you do, and just be able to 180 this car in no time, but I don't =(

As well, since the main problems seem to be electrical and lighting issues, are these easy to manage? Also, if anyone is aware of MD laws...can I just garage keep it and have no top?

Any general advice/comments are appreciated =D

Pics:

[Kruzen]

Hi Tbolt.

Play nice kids, he's a friend of mine :)

edit: i've got parts you can have if you want to pay shipping as well.

[Mastrcruse]

I would pay someone $100-$150 to go over the entire car, and write down all the things that need replaced and then fix them yourself.

Some will do it for free but would you do a really good inspection for nothing, nope, so slide him some money and see what he comes up with. Then think if its worth the time.

[FredK]

Eh, lighting issues are probably going to be a pain to track down but inexpensive to fix (if you DIY). Most likely it's relays, the turn signal stalk contacts going bad, contacts in the tail lights going bad, etc. Just keep your eyes peeled for part-out threads to get these spare parts or go to your local pick and pull junkyard and get them.

Chasing down the failure is going to be the hardest part. But if you describe exactly what the symptoms are, maybe it'll be easier to say what needs to be checked.

[Tbolt]

Word, thanks for the replies. I am going to take it from my brother and do what I can. I know a mechanic where ive been taking my jetta, so I will pay him to do a good run-down, and start from there.

One thing I would like to replace immediately are the seats. At least the driver seat is ripped up, not sure about the passenger one. What do I need to know to look for seats? A while back I saw leather sport seats that looked fine, but ill look around though =D