I bought the car Wednesday. I got my whole family (Mom, Dad and Brother) to pile in to our Subaru Forester for a hour ferry ride and a 45 minute drive in traffic. We pull up to their house in West Seattle and Steve, the owner, comes out and greets us. He was a nice man.
Luckily the heavy rain had stopped, and I begin to look the car over; you know check for wet carpet, check trunk for leakage, look at tires, and pop the hood. I have Steve start it up and I listen. It started kind of hard, it cranked a few too many times (still does this).
The m20 is really ticking, and I can't tell if it is average or not. I figure it is louder than normal though. I grab the throttle on the intake manifold and rev it a bit. It stumbles when you first get on and bogs down, hmm, but after that it is fine. I have Steve cut it, and I run back to the Subie to grab a rag to check the oil. I pull the dipstick and it is really dirty, though it smells fine and I see no coolant or anything. Everything good so far, so I ask for a drive. Steve cracks a joke about how he is scared riding with his daughter so he lets my Dad and I take it out. It was the second time I had ever driven in an E30.
The broken driver's seat, with it permanently reclined to 2 o'clock, isn't as bad as I thought. The interior, for having 196,450 miles is SPOTLESS. The car feels weird, to my Dad and I atleast, over bumps but then i realize it is a driver's car. My Dad tells me to "Punch it!", and I pull up to redline on the main drag, but let off before the shift. Test drive goes good.
Come back and we go inside, and I try to talk old Steve down to $1050, but he won't budge. No big deal, it is a steal already. My Dad signs title because I am 16 and we drive the 80 miles home. Runs like a champ, but the 4.10 differential meant high revs on the highway. By now it was raining real hard, and the wipers were total shit, so wipers went on high speed for the whole way home. Also the howl coming from the driver's door near the tweeter pod area got annoying. Yet this can all be fixed :)
So recap:
- I buy an automatic 1989 325i with 196,500 miles for $1200 cash from a man named Steve
- It is awesome mechanically, and Steve gives me a recent receipt for $1200 in maintenance.
- The car has a very clean/dry interior and trunk, but a few problems. Though the odometer works!
- The driver's seat is broken and both seats are missing side panels, the trim that goes above door is missing on both sides, the paint isn't the best, the bumpers have a couple cracks on 2/4 corners, and the wipers are shot. And the gas gauge is having a party.
I am ECSTATIC :D
Luckily the heavy rain had stopped, and I begin to look the car over; you know check for wet carpet, check trunk for leakage, look at tires, and pop the hood. I have Steve start it up and I listen. It started kind of hard, it cranked a few too many times (still does this).
The m20 is really ticking, and I can't tell if it is average or not. I figure it is louder than normal though. I grab the throttle on the intake manifold and rev it a bit. It stumbles when you first get on and bogs down, hmm, but after that it is fine. I have Steve cut it, and I run back to the Subie to grab a rag to check the oil. I pull the dipstick and it is really dirty, though it smells fine and I see no coolant or anything. Everything good so far, so I ask for a drive. Steve cracks a joke about how he is scared riding with his daughter so he lets my Dad and I take it out. It was the second time I had ever driven in an E30.
The broken driver's seat, with it permanently reclined to 2 o'clock, isn't as bad as I thought. The interior, for having 196,450 miles is SPOTLESS. The car feels weird, to my Dad and I atleast, over bumps but then i realize it is a driver's car. My Dad tells me to "Punch it!", and I pull up to redline on the main drag, but let off before the shift. Test drive goes good.
Come back and we go inside, and I try to talk old Steve down to $1050, but he won't budge. No big deal, it is a steal already. My Dad signs title because I am 16 and we drive the 80 miles home. Runs like a champ, but the 4.10 differential meant high revs on the highway. By now it was raining real hard, and the wipers were total shit, so wipers went on high speed for the whole way home. Also the howl coming from the driver's door near the tweeter pod area got annoying. Yet this can all be fixed :)
So recap:
- I buy an automatic 1989 325i with 196,500 miles for $1200 cash from a man named Steve
- It is awesome mechanically, and Steve gives me a recent receipt for $1200 in maintenance.
- The car has a very clean/dry interior and trunk, but a few problems. Though the odometer works!
- The driver's seat is broken and both seats are missing side panels, the trim that goes above door is missing on both sides, the paint isn't the best, the bumpers have a couple cracks on 2/4 corners, and the wipers are shot. And the gas gauge is having a party.
I am ECSTATIC :D
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