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Late Model Vert Owners - a bit of buying advice pls?

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    Late Model Vert Owners - a bit of buying advice pls?

    So I went to look at this '92 vert yesterday, and I'm on the fence about buying it. Maybe some of you late model convertible owners out there can add 2 cents.



    If I'm unable to see the top operate, but the seller has the replacement motor, should that be a deal-breaker? The top fits a bit weird as well, and I have no idea if that should scare me off or if it's an easy adjustment.

    The car hasn't been driven much since the seller bought it, and it's been stored in the garage for quite a while. Tough to tell if the top leaks in the rain, since it never gets wet. There were no tears in the top though. If the top did leak at one point, where are the best places to check for rust? The underside of floors looked solid.

    The GOOD:
    - It's a 1992 with plastic bumpers, and it's not white. This is definitely the look I'm shopping for.
    - Tires - All 4 are new
    - Wheels - All 4 have center caps & very few scuffs
    - 100% complete tool kit
    - Only 113k Miles
    - Crack-free dash
    - Restorable seats - no rips or split seams
    - All body panels have matching VIN #'s
    - No warning lights on the dash. I confirmed they had bulbs installed when I turned the key to the ON position.
    - Odo & Speedo both work!
    - Working central locking system
    - 95% Rust-free - just one bad spot, noted below

    The BAD:
    - Dented driver lower rear quarter panel, which is also pretty rusty from a missing antenna grommet
    - Top is dirty & doesn't fit quite right at the trunk lid. It sits about 1" away from the body.
    - Missing front lower air dam spoiler
    - Oil pan & auto trans pan are oily, but I think it's old oil from a previous leak. The driveway & garage had no drips
    - trunk lid doesn't fit perfect. Body gap between trunk lid & left fender is wider than trunk-to-right fender gap.
    - Driver door paint has some short, deep scratches with shitty touch-up paint job
    - Aftermarket cone intake filter (OK so this isn't SO bad)
    - Missing front fender-to-hood body seals on both sides (just seemed odd)
    - Needs all fluids changed (dirty coolant & brake fluid from what I could see & the seller couldn't tell me anything about the service history)

    While the seller does have a clear title in hand, the car isn't registered (has no tags). That said, I was unable to test drive the car on the open road, only around the seller's neighborhood at about 20 mph. I didn't detect any issues during this little drive. Not being able to hit the highway is a bit worrisome, because I wasn't able to check for things like:
    - Fitment of the top and wind noise
    - Differential noise
    - Driveshaft & center bearing noises
    - wheel bearing noises
    - braking issues like warped rotors (the rear rotors are brand new, though)
    - Auto trans shifts under hard acceleration load

    I'm pretty handy with E30 engine & interior stuff, but not body work. Are 95% rust-free plastic bumper verts tough to find in the northeast? What's a fair price to offer, given all the unknowns? I will just walk if the convertible top issue seems like a really big problem to avoid.

    I wasn't originally in the market for an auto, but it seems that the nature of drop top driving is more relaxed. I have my 325is to drive if I want to do some shifting.

    Thanks for reading all this! Would you buy?
    Last edited by Aleman; 02-08-2016, 02:26 PM.
    R135 /// 1990 Alpinweiß II 325is
    └┼┼┘ /// 1993 Black/Black Convertible (sold)
    ..24

    #2
    Nope.

    Walk away. He's not willing to let you wind it out a bit on an open road is a bad sign and he couldn't tell you the service history. I may just be sketched, but I think he's trying to hide something. And fuck that top. I wouldn't trust it in the rain if it's not positioned properly. Wind noise would probably be worse too. The top not working is negligible though, since it's easier just to convert it to manual and can still be put down. That's what I did.

    And if there's anything I can attest to, it's that the verts are way nicer with the manual. Being able to drop the top and hear more of the motor being winded out is glorious. The auto verts are slugs. Not that the manual is much faster, but it's undoubtedly more enjoyable even with the more relaxed nature of verts. Still floppy body, and still rattly, but still fun.
    "Leafeon" '92 Lagunengrun 325i Vert (Daily Driver/Project)
    http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=366044
    The stickers make it go faster. :nice:

    Comment


      #3
      walk away.
      sigpic
      @joshua.j.rizo

      Originally posted by SpasticDwarf
      Just remember next time you hear "late night when you need my love" I'm gonna be sitting somewhere way more bitchin' than you, driving or not.

      BUY MY BUGATTI WHEELS:
      http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=377693

      WRITEUP TO MY RHD SWAP:

      http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=371904

      Comment


        #4
        how aggravating that the owner doesn't trust you to drive the car hard, or even more aggravating if he is trying to hide something that has to do with the drivetrain.

        I think the price is decent, not the best deal, not a rip off either. If you could get it for under $3000 go for it. $2500 being ideal. Sounds like a lot more positives than negatives, I would say that the convertible top R&R is gonna be the biggest most expensive repair. The body sounds really straight, as in clean enough that you could live with it for a while :)

        If the m20 isn't ticking too loud and not knocking than its more than likely stout. The car has most likely not been driven super hard, and with the lower miles/automatic the drivehshaft, etc. is likely in good shape as well.

        With no service history of course youre taking a gamble but if it isn't leaking any fluids that's a great sign!! flushing the fluids out and doing the timing belt, etc. is easy enough. Id pull the upper tbelt cover and take a lookey loo - you never know the car could have been pampered throughout its life and all the receipts just didn't make it to the current owner OR its about to explodeeeee LOL

        Comment


          #5
          I paid $3800 and the seller had issue with me looking at the top since he had hardtop on it and I told him I was interested if he shows me all the cons/see them so I did.

          You could possibly end up having to replace the motor or linkage. Just converted my vert 92 power vert to manual opt. Easier to work with. So many things were wrong with it.

          If hes not willing to let you drop the top and enjoy watching the top come down and driving it on highway I would walk away. Not a deal breaker....

          Comment


            #6
            I feel like everyone expects a convertible e30 to be easy to live with like a modern car and it's not at all. There's always tons of stuff you have to do to bring it back to factory spec

            I would walk away and let a diy guy fix the car


            it's a Kenny Powers quote on wheels

            Comment


              #7
              Thanks for all the great input! It would be a little nuts to buy this car w/o taking it out for a ride on the freeway. A little back story: The seller bought it a couple years ago with the intention of making it into a show car. He never wanted to drive it as it is, so he didn't register it with license plates. He said he got it from an old guy that owned it for a long time and babied it, but isn't that the story like half the time? LOL (I need to get the VIN from him & run a CarFax).

              The seller's daughters are in college, so he's ready to liquidate. He had a sweet '99 Vette in the garage with only 20k miles on it, and he said he's a big fan of E30's. My hunch is that it would be just fine on the freeway - I just can't say I have a ton of confidence in that top.

              I'll probably just give him the advice to get some temp tags for the car, because it's going to be tough to sell it when the buyers can't give it a proper inspection. He's 2.5 hours away from me, so I doubt I'll go back to drive it. If it's still for sale in a few weeks, I may reconsider...
              R135 /// 1990 Alpinweiß II 325is
              └┼┼┘ /// 1993 Black/Black Convertible (sold)
              ..24

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Das Delfin View Post
                I feel like everyone expects a convertible e30 to be easy to live with like a modern car and it's not at all. There's always tons of stuff you have to do to bring it back to factory spec

                I would walk away and let a diy guy fix the car
                There's always just tiny little niggles that all add up and make a huge issue. I'm just glad the only issue I have is worn tension straps. No cracks in the window since I replaced it, no leaky seals and I patched up the two very tiny holes. That and the manual top conversion.
                "Leafeon" '92 Lagunengrun 325i Vert (Daily Driver/Project)
                http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=366044
                The stickers make it go faster. :nice:

                Comment


                  #9
                  If its been sitting in a garage and not driven I would bet that the top was down for a while and then put up when he decided he wanted to sell. The fact that the top doesn't sit on the tonneau cover area is characteristic of a top that spends more time relaxed (folded up) than under tension (In use). The fabric shrinks over time and that results in it sitting kind of funny in the back.

                  As for leaks the most common area is going to be right at the sun visors. The top seals are actually kind of pricey as there are only four of them and not many people bother to replace them at this point (most are nice weather cars and so the top goes to shit and people just don't drive them in bad weather). Most often, you won't see leaks anywhere else but along the top of the windshield by the sun visors. This will result in wet footwells and therefore rusted floorpans if it spent enough time outside in the rain with leaking seals. Easy check is to poke your fingers around under the car and see if the floor is soft.

                  As for the top motors, 95% of all automatic tops have failed at this point because of the design of the gears in the motors, they strip fairly easily. Most people just disconnect the motors and open/close the top by hand. Only issue is the tonneau cover motor, which technically locks the cover closed when the top is stowed. I've seen people keep that one operable or revert to the manual mechanisms to ensure the cover is closed when the top is stowed.

                  My assessment is that the car is moderately priced given the relatively low miles. Without service history, however, you don't know when the timing belt, water pump, thermostat, fuel pump/filter, belts were done (actually if it sat for a number of years I'd do them again anyway), which means you are looking at several hundred bucks in parts alone and a days worth of labor in the garage/driveway (or you could pay someone a grand to do it for you). So in reality, at his asking price, you are probably looking more around $4500 to get it to drivable status, maybe more if you need to replace top seals and tension straps to get the top up to snuff.

                  If you can get him down to $2500-2800, I'd say it would be worth the gamble, but convert that thing to 5 speed because you'll be bored as hell with that auto.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Patience is key, a better car will come along. I'd pass, plus I've never been a fan of that green on BMW's. My Mtech had a working power top, but it broke a week later after purchase. My current convertible came with a broken power top, honestly that's the least of my worries and a working power top should also be the least of worries for you. I plan on converting it to semi manual (the cover lid still will have the power motor, but I fold the top up and down by hand).

                    After all the work that car needs, you could have bought a nice members car on here for $5k that's leak free and clean body (and if your lucky all matching VIN's) be into that car for $6-$7k+. Shit with a asking price like that the people got a steal of a deal on my old 318i convertible, 100% leak free and sold it for $3k.
                    Last edited by KIRIEIW; 02-08-2016, 10:52 PM.


                    1992 M tech 2 Convertible - S50 Swap
                    1992 e34 Touring- S50 Swap
                    1992 325i-S50 Swap (SOLD)

                    1995 e36 M3 Mugello Red - S50 (SOLD)
                    1991 325i Convertible Laguna Green (SOLD)
                    1987 325i (SOLD);1992 M tech 2 Convertible (SOLD)
                    1988 325i Convertible Alpine White (SOLD)
                    1991
                    Brilliantrot Convertible 80k Miles (SOLD)
                    1992 325i Convertible Schwarz (SOLD)
                    1992 318i Convertible Project-Finished (SOLD)

                    Comment


                      #11
                      The price is also location dependent. He's in the northeast so a solid example will pull a premium when compared to cars out in cali, or anywhere outside the rust belt. I still think it's overpriced, but at least there's a bit of a reason for it.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        With how many areas there are for water to leak into and damage, stay away from anything with any kind of rust at all. I flew to the deep south for a clean example and drove it back north.

                        The misalignment makes it sound like it was hit driver side in the rear at some point in it's life. I'd be worried about water leakage, top alignment, all that.


                        Stay away.
                        No antenna? I sell plugs!

                        Here: https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...77#post4937877

                        Comment


                          #13
                          why is it advertised on craigslist in atlanta?

                          you have probably noticed that the car has been listed for about a month. perhaps there was even an ad before that. if it was a good deal, it certainly would have sold already. it does appear to have a good clean body and pretty good paint. that alone could easily be worth the asking price. as you mentioned, there are a hundred little bullshit things on this car that you are going to need to fix just as you would with any e30 in this price range. i suggest telling the seller that you would be interested in the car if he will allow you to take it for a quick spin on the highway and also leave him with a standing offer between 2500-3000.00.

                          the soft top has been replaced at some point. more than likely the alignment issues are due to the installer fucking it up. there are shims in the boot well that can probably adjust this to some extent.
                          sigpic
                          Gigitty Gigitty!!!!

                          88 cabrio becoming alpina b6 3.5s transplanted s62
                          92 Mtech 2 cabrio alpinweiss 770 code
                          88 325ix coupe manual lachsilber/cardinal
                          88 325ix coupe manual diamondschwartz/natur
                          87 e30 m3 for parts lachsilber/cardinal(serial number 7)
                          12 135i M sport cabrio grey/black

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Told the seller I'm gonna pass. He plans to put it on eBay so I'll be curious what he gets for it.


                            Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                            R135 /// 1990 Alpinweiß II 325is
                            └┼┼┘ /// 1993 Black/Black Convertible (sold)
                            ..24

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Wait for a low mileage example to pop up in FL for $7k. Take a flight down there and have an awesome drive home. You will come out way ahead cost wise vs. this one.
                              1992 325i Cabrio
                              1988 320i Touring
                              2000 M5
                              1977 530i
                              2015 328i - Euro Delivery/Performance Center Delivery
                              BMWCCA
                              E30CCA

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