What's a fair amount to pay for this car?

[Joey Link]

I think I might have found a sedan, going to look at it tonight. It's a black on black '95 525i 5-speed with 135,xxx miles.

It has the following problems:


Seat twist
Rip in driver side seat
Some scratches & door dings
Two rear windows work intermittently
Faulty Coolant Sensor
Faulty Windshield Wiper Fluid Sensor

The guy is asking $5,000 or best offer. I'd appreciate it if you guys could tell me what it takes to fix each of these (maybe approximate cost?) and what you'd offer him for the car.

[jbondbmw]

Seems high, I paid $5.2k for a 95 540 with 85k a month ago with none of those problems. I'd say $3.5k - $4k. I'm sure more knowledgeable and experienced people will chime in though.

[sfgearhead]

Seat twist is probably a $500 dealer fix, a good seat will run maybe $200 (I think Joe at autobahnsport might have one). Windows could be as simple as a switch, but assume it's a bad motor and price out new motors online. Sensors are less than $100 but are fishy, they're so cheap why not fix?

KBB calls this a $4k car in good shape, I'd call this one closer to $3k.

http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCars/PricingReport.aspx?YearId=1995&Mileage=136000&VehicleClass=UsedCar&ManufacturerId=5&ModelId=14&PriceType=Private+Party&VehicleId=7224&SelectionHistory=7224|30905|97212|0|0|272083|true&Condition=Good&QuizConditions=

[nmp411]

2500

If he has documentation for maintenance....

$5k is way too high

[janders211]

I'd consider it for 2500 at the most

[PorscheH6]

Does it have the premium package? (Gathered leather door panels, leather seats vs. vinyl, full OBC...)

[Joey Link]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input. I was thinking of offering $4500 but even that seems high. Rather than lowballing him I'll probably just keep looking for another car, but it seems the '95 5-speeds are very hard to find. It does look like it has the premium package, I know it has the leather seats for sure.

[LouieD]

I'm with the $2,500 crowd, but then again I'm cheap. The seat twist btw should not cost you $500... it's a very free DIY fix, but you could use it as a bargaining chip to lower the asking price.

[Phateless]

I'd go $3000 if it's good mechanically with service records.

[russiankid]

$3500 is most I'd pay.

[cabezzzdb8]

$3500 is most I'd pay.

Agreed, because im a black on black fan, any other combo not worth the 3500 imo

[HE53]

$3500 is most I'd pay.

The absolute most I'd pay unless its otherwise pretty much perfect.. by which I mean the suspension, brakes, etc..

[David325e]

5k is way too much. Show up with 3200 cash and start off with 3k offer. You can get all of those issues fixed yourself (not counting dings) for ~$2-300, most of that cost being buying some good seats. M50 is a great engine and mileage is low, but its just too too much. With mileage that low I'd be looking for major service records, no use is as bad as misuse. Search threads started by jacd1, he has a great PPI form.

If the seller wants more than 3some then be sad and think about the shoulda-coulda-wouldas all the way home to look for a reasonable deal. And a lot of times you can call these wackos a few months later when reality has sat in if you really like the car.

[Joey Link]

So I went and looked at it. Looked pretty clean, except I noticed it had some paint runs on the rear passenger quarter panel. Paint and body work is an absolute showstopper for me, just one of those things I can't live with on a vehicle of mine. Looked closer and saw the rear driver door didn't align properly; I ran away.

[BMWheadSpence]

So I went and looked at it. Looked pretty clean, except I noticed it had some paint runs on the rear passenger quarter panel. Paint and body work is an absolute showstopper for me, just one of those things I can't live with on a vehicle of mine. Looked closer and saw the rear driver door didn't align properly; I ran away.

$500 parts car
if its got scratches and dings on top of the poorly done rear quarter panel repair, that instantly makes it a $1000 car, then you got the other issues.
i will never by a car with a bad condition body unless i plan on tons of body work (which on most cars i wouldnt consider)

look in california for some good ones, if you've got that $4500 for that one, thatll buy you a nice one down here

[Binjammin]

So I went and looked at it. Looked pretty clean, except I noticed it had some paint runs on the rear passenger quarter panel. Paint and body work is an absolute showstopper for me, just one of those things I can't live with on a vehicle of mine. Looked closer and saw the rear driver door didn't align properly; I ran away.

No worries man, we'll still be here when you find the right wipe.


$500 parts car
if its got scratches and dings on top of the poorly done rear quarter panel repair, that instantly makes it a $1000 car, then you got the other issues.
i will never by a car with a bad condition body unless i plan on tons of body work (which on most cars i wouldnt consider)

look in california for some good ones, if you've got that $4500 for that one, thatll buy you a nice one down here

A repaint doesn't always mean rust or accident damage, it could very easily be due to faded paint or the car being keyed or something. I'd to some investigating after finding a repaint, it wouldn't be a dealbreaker with me, but it would make me find out what happened.

[BMWheadSpence]

he also stated that the rear door didnt line up properly
thats a deal breaker for me