How much does a Carfax history report affect you?

[dsobering47]

I'm looking at purchasing an E30 thats local to me. I ran a Carfax history report on it and I'm not sure how to tell if its good or not. Theres nothing obvious, like a salvage title or anything like that, but how do I know the history is good?

The car basically started out in Tampa, then went to Al, then GA, then its back in Tampa...but it says it only has one owner.

So, how much does the history of a vehicle (on Carfax) affect your buying point of view?

[Jean]

It makes it clear if there any major history issues, only a PPI would show you the true condition of the car.

[z31maniac]

Not at all.

Have it inspected by a reputable BMW mechanic and go from there.

[der affe]

the carfax came out clean on my car. it has had at least a pass side qtr panel put on it along with some other, obvious to a body guy, repairs.
carfax relies on what goes through insurance claims along with registration with dmv.

a pre. buyer inspection is the best way to go!

on a side note:
you can check to see if it has had any major body work a couple of different ways.
1. look at the paint closely. can you see sanding scratches in the paint? like texture to the paint underneath it. that is called shrink. it is a result of poor bodywork, improper prep (in that is wasn't sanded with a fine enough grit paper before priming), or using too much primer as a filler (see the last reason)

2. look at the pinch welds at the bottom of the rockers. do you see clamping marks in the metal? this is a sign that it had been on a frame rack. that means some decent damage has been done to the car at some time, requiring the car to be checked for straightness.

3. look at all the panel gaps. are they even from one end to the other, or do they narrow? are the gaps the same from one side to the other? is the panel height the same from one to another? run your hand along the joints does it slide across the gap or does it bump up or drop as you do? that is another sign of bodywork or panel replacement.

[dsobering47]

Well I'm looking at the car tomorrow, so I'll let you guys know how it turns out. I'm a BMW tech, so I think I should be ok. My largest concern is any issue with the title, as long as the car turns out to be worth buying.

I know the guy said he bought it from an auction, and him and three other guys run some sort of auction-car-buying type deal. If the car is worth buying, but they dont have the title in their possession yet, can I at least get away with a Bill of Sale? I'm not gonna hand some random guy a couple thousand and believe that he'll just send me the title "sometime"

[gearheadE30]

I personally would wait until they have the title in hand, just to be sure it actually exists. I'm not sure how binding the bill of sale is with regards to getting the title if the bill was signed and validated before the title was found/changed hands.

[cferb]

+1, always check carfax, but you can't go only off of it. It just tells you what's been reported.

Take my old eta for example, I totalled it, and fixed it because it wasn't that bad, but nothing was reported. The damage was obvious, but no one knows except my family, and the guy who bought it.

[dsobering47]

Gotcha. Yea I'll give it a thorough look-over, like the past e30's I've skipped on. But in terms of waiting for the title, would a nicely typed-up bill of sale be alright? I'm gonna type it up beforehand and if I turn out to purchase the car, I'll have the guy sign it. So I figure that should be good right?

(apologize for the dumb questions, I've never bought a car before)