325e w/S50 - need some buying advice.

[flip]

I'm new here, so I'm hoping this would be the right place to for an advice thread.

My current daily is an e34 525iT, but am in search of a second car. I ended up missing out on a recent BAT auction for a swapped E30 (that I'm still kicking myself for) - but I did stumble on this:

https://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/cto/d/bmw-ee-coupe-alpine-white-s50/6423360880.html

It seems to be clean and sorted - however the seller did the swap himself. That itself isn't a deal breaker, but it doesn't give me the warm fuzzy of a professional shop having done the work.

I'm not local to the car, but my parents are relatively close by. He said he's open to having a PPI done by an area indy.

So my questions are.
- Is 9k a fair price? (Given the mileage on the drivetrain, and the owner-done swap)
- Any questions you'd be asking other than normal routine things on a 30ish year old vehicle?
- Any recommendations for a shop to do a PPI in the St Petersburg area?

Thanks, and hopefully I'll be part of the e30 community in the very near future.

--Anthony

[Mad Chemist]

Definitely have the car looked over. I have seen it come for sale 2-3 times within the last couple of years. It has been on craigslist for an extended period of time about 1.5 years ago by the guy that did the swap. The PPI should give you a decent idea of what you are getting into.

9k is a fair price for a well sorted s50 E30.

[Johnnyboy101]

This car has been on and off the local craigslist for a while. I passed on it because of the lack of AC. 9K seems a bit high given the bumper swap and other mods, but I'm not as familiar with the value that an S50 brings to the table, so others will know better than me.

As far as a local shop to do a PPI, I would recommend Panzer Performance. They aren't in St. Petersburg, but they are about 20 miles south in Bradenton, and are VERY familiar with the E30 platform, as they service several specE30 race teams. http://www.panzerperformance.com/

Good Luck!

[flyboyx]

i just looked through the ad and i would think that judging solely by the photos it looks like a decent price but there must be a reason it hasn't sold in all this time.

also, judging only by the photos, i would say the swap looks tidy and fairly well done.

i don't know that an owner accomplished swap is a bad thing. it could be depending on the quality of work. however, there are plenty of members here that would do a better job than any shop because they aren't worried about billing by the hour or fitting the number of hours into an owner's budget.

[0-60 freak]

i'LL PUT MY .02 IN...SEEMS LIKE A DECENT CAR, NO A/C , DEAL KILLER IN TEXAS, LITTLE ROUGH AROUND EDGES....7500.00 IS MY VALUE

[e30_world]

Seems like great price for everything included, however swaps can be done great and very reliable or done poorly and very problematic. As Someone who has an s50 swapped car I'd say this value is aweosme, but I had a shop do my swap. I've been in plenty of owner installed swapped cars and some were fantastic. But it takes a meticulous person to want to chase down all the issues that come up with a first timer installed swap. I'd say most people just let the little things go because they are tired of working on it and it's livable and drivable whatever the issue ends up being. I'd be worried why it hasn't sold at that price, but maybe the market is solf down in FL, who knows. THat would sell in a few days up here in PNW no question, as long as it was sorted. A PPI is okay, I've had them come back with bull shit stuff like seat is torn or 4wd doesn't seem to work, which was incorrect. So just like anything you have to get a good shop who knows these cars to look at it otherwise you'll just get some over price report not really worth much.

[Codym42]

i don't know that an owner accomplished swap is a bad thing. it could be depending on the quality of work. however, there are plenty of members here that would do a better job than any shop because they aren't worried about billing by the hour or fitting the number of hours into an owner's budget.

+1

Most enthusiasts, in my opinion, will do a better job on the swap because it is their car. Its not just another car to get in and back out the door.

From the pictures it looks nice. The wiring is covered up and not just laying on top of the engine like most people do. I'd be concerned with the maintenance items done (or not done) while the engine was out. Did he replace the water pump, thermostat, valve cover gasket, etc? Were the detent pins in the transmission replaced? Things like that.

[flip]

The lack of A/C isn't a huge deal for me - this won't be my daily. It does get hot in St Louis, but I'd cope. I'll be giving Panzer Performance a ring on Tuesday to see what they'll charge me for a PPI.

[rtaq]

It is an ok price. I know the guy says he's firm but still try to negotiate. There was one pretty good one in Tallahassee that sold for $8500. There's a lot of swapped cars out there.

Here's one in Miami that's alright:

https://miami.craigslist.org/brw/cto/d/s52-swapped-e30/6438536886.html

[flyboyx]

the air conditioning issue shouldn't be any sort of deal breaker for anyone. i think for the price(assuming everything else checks out), why not just spend a couple hundred bucks and add the missing parts yourself? i just can't imagine getting up in arms about that. use this as a negotiating point. its kind of like the wife nixing a beautiful house in an amazing neighborhood because she doesn't like the color of the drapes. in the grand scheme of things, it is an extremely minor item.

honestly, this probably one of the biggest reasons it hasn't sold being that the car resides in the sweltering state of florida.

[flyboyx]

one other thing to mention: ask the seller if there was a forum build thread on the car and or swap. that would give you a really good indication of the quality of work.

[e30_world]

one other thing to mention: ask the seller if there was a forum build thread on the car and or swap. that would give you a really good indication of the quality of work.

+1 for this!
A build thread would be the deal maker for me! It's true, if you're willing to travel e30's very greatly on price with different options. AC does nothing for value here in Seattle. A nice to have but hardly ever an option and def not a deal breaker.

[2mAn]

The detailed build thread of the Aluminum Monster gave the new owner confidence in his purchase of my car. I got 5 digits for mine, it helped that I had done almost 40k miles on the swap, the car had been tracked, daily'ed and more.

[flip]

Seller says he might have a local buyer... Bummer. So the search is back on..

Thank you for all the input. It's greatly appreciated.

[Javier h]

Good Riddance

No AC in Florida translates to cut corners or not enough knowledge to put this car together decently. You guys dont understand. If you live or have ever visited Florida, AC isn't an option.