*What would you do - Odometer stopped working - car looks great though! *

[lespaul]

Well,

There's a nice 325ic I found, I called the guy and saw pics, the car looks great. He said the odometer stopped working, and he didn't know when. The last known reading was in 2/05 at 120k. He wants $4500 for it, black 325ic great condition, I don't know about mechanically.. Title is mileage exempt. What would you do? Carfax is clean. For all I know, the car could have 200k miles on it, but it does look great. here's the carfax. Any insight?

OR should I import a car from california to florida, a 318ic with 80k miles, odometer works, great condition for $5500.. $1000 shipping cost.. Confused.

Date: Mileage: Source: Comments: 12/28/1990 2,578 Service Plan Co.
Tallahassee, FL Service contract issued
01/23/1991 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Maitland, FL
Title #61036560 Title issued or updated
06/21/1999 84,646 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Orlando, FL
Title #0061036560 Odometer reading reported
06/21/1999 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Orlando, FL
Title #61036560 Title issued or updated
Loan or lien reported
03/14/2001 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Orlando, FL
Title #0061036560 Title issued or updated
Loan or lien reported
03/21/2002 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Orlando, FL Registration updated when owner moved
the vehicle to a new location
03/09/2004 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Orlando, FL Registration updated when owner moved
the vehicle to a new location
02/15/2005 119,914 Texas
Inspection Station
Keller, TX Passed emissions or safety inspection
03/01/2005 Texas
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Dallas, TX
Title #22036338397100235 Title issued or updated
Registration updated when owner moved
the vehicle to a new location
06/27/2005 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Orlando, FL
Title #0061036560 Title issued or updated
Exempt from odometer reporting
Registration updated when owner moved
the vehicle to a new location
03/27/2006 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Cocoa Beach, FL Registration updated when owner moved
the vehicle to a new location
02/05/2007 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Cocoa Beach, FL Registration updated when owner moved
the vehicle to a new location
02/02/2008 The Imported Car Store
Melbourne, FL
321-727-3788
www.importedcarstore.com
ww.importedcarstore
.com

[TDE30]

Go for the latter, the first car sounds a wee bit shady.

[Turf1600]

Go for the latter, the first car sounds a wee bit shady.

I disagree. Go for what you can look at and know is in good shape.

[E30 Cabrio]

Does the 325 cabby have any documentation, service records, anything like that to recreate a history from?

If not, I would pass on it.

[Sean5294]

200k is just barley broken in :D i have 226k on mine and it runs perfect. some here have way more miles on theirs.

[E30 Cabrio]

Yeah, but I wouldn't pay $4500 for it unless it had some type of paperwork to document its repair/service history in addition to being immaculate.

[z31maniac]

Go for the latter, the first car sounds a wee bit shady.

Mileage exempt isn't that big a deal.

I bought my car from out of state, with 121k on it. Comes to OK and now the title is mileage exempt due to age.

[funcrew]

I paid to have a cabrio shipped across the country, because I thought it was "the one." The car was OK, but had a lot of undisclosed flaws that I would have noticed right away in person. If if I had been more patient, I could have found one close enough to drive home & avoided buying "sight unseen."

The shipping really is expensive, when you consider how cheap E30's are.

The other thing is, half the nice E30's I see advertised are in Florida - you should be able to find one locally if you aren't in a big hurry.

[Motorsports]

What year is the 325ic?

[Jordan325iC]

Odometer breaking isn't that big of a deal. Even the best maintained e30s can have the odo break. If the owner can point out what month/year the odo broke, that is a good start. And it's highly doubtful that the car was driven for 8,000 miles a year until the odo broke, then suddenly they started driving 40k a year. You're probably looking at a 150-160k car at most, which is nothing for these cars. A broken odo would never be the only thing to keep me from buying an e30.

[lespaul]

1991.. Good point. Even at 150-160 it should be strong..

[TDE30]

Mileage exempt isn't that big a deal.

I bought my car from out of state, with 121k on it. Comes to OK and now the title is mileage exempt due to age.

Not so much the mileage exemption, more the eight year gap from '91 to '99. I'm not sure why there is nothing reported there, but it does raise an eyebrow.

OP, I'd opt for the 80k 318 Cabrio. With either car, rust and leaky tops would concern me more than anything.

[kid325e]

Yeah this is a tough cookie. I'd go for the IC. If you can verify for sure that it has under 200k go for it. if not, get a buddy to come with you to pick the 318 up and make sure it's worth the money.