Looking for a car

[ggenovez]

Hi all,

I found a car on CL and checked it out. it's a 2002 530i

Brought it to a indy for a PPI.

had a CEL light, brake light and the air bag light was on.

Indy says it pops out of 2n'd and 4th. Need a new tranny.

Needs exhaust manifold to replace the cat

DSC pressure and controlue unit.

Oil pressure switch

both from thrust arm bushing
Secondairy air valve
and exhaust cam sensor.

Sounds like it's been neglected and I am going to pass, but wanted to run this past the group for thoughts.

Feel free to talk me into or out of it.

Estimate to fix was 12k

[dannyzabolotny]

Unless you're getting an amazing deal on this car and planning to fix it yourself as a project, I say pass on it. A car with that much work needed to it will not be a fun experience. There are so many E39's out there that you really have a pretty big pool of cars to choose from, so don't settle for crap.

[JimLev]

Sounds like it's a piece of crap. I'd pass.
just curious, what are they asking for it?

[ggenovez]

Sounds like it's a piece of crap. I'd pass.
just curious, what are they asking for it?

2500

[angeleye540i]

2500 outrageous... Don't be the person that falls for that POS, glad u are deciding to pass... With all those issues it's worth MAYbE 1200 MAYBE but I wouldn't ever pay it... Guaranteed it needs more than just what u know so far too if it needs all that... Once you start digging you start not liking what you find

[Michael97528i]

$500, run it in a LeMons race, then part it out.

So, in other words, pass.

[dk500]

build a ls race car. ls2 -> t56 -> 4.25 diff

[BoldUlysses]

I'm guessing it's this one.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/5443659825.html

[dk500]

:rofl: the only redeeming feature of the car is the wheels and even those are still black on black lol. If the owner can't get all of their sh*t out of the back for a Craigslist photo to sell the car and use their finger to block the plate instead of taking it off then you know that they don't give a damn about the car and that the maintenance record and abuse to the car would reflect that.

[Dking078]

:rofl: and use their finger to block the plate instead of taking it off

This happens so often, i think there is a twitter feed or something dedicated to it. It's funny as can be.

+1 pass, if he can't even take the time to prep n clean it, then why bother.

[dannyzabolotny]

I'd offer $1000, use it as a total beater/race car until it falls apart, and then part it. I used to be obsessed with crappy cars like this, but then I realized it's a massive waste of time, and that I can usually find decent condition cars for not too much more than total basket cases.

[ggenovez]

I'm guessing it's this one.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/5443659825.html

Correct.

- - - Updated - - -


... and that I can usually find decent condition cars for not too much more than total basket cases.

Care to share where you find them? All the BMW's I've looked at have been POS. This one being the absolute worst. I don't mind doing some work on them but what a nightmare.

[dannyzabolotny]

Correct.

- - - Updated - - -

Care to share where you find them? All the BMW's I've looked at have been POS. This one being the absolute worst. I don't mind doing some work on them but what a nightmare.

Every single car I've bought has been on Craigslist, you just have to be patient. My local Phoenix Craigslist is loaded with awful E39's, but then one day I saw a nice condition 2003 540i/6 M-Sport, so I snagged it the next day. Same with my 2003 Mercedes S500 that I just recently picked up... I saw it pop up one day amongst the sea of abused S-classes on Craigslist. I was the first to look at it, and I ended up buying it because it was near-perfect and had only 93,000 miles on it.

[Starrchild]

Patience is the key. It took me 2 months of looking on Craiglist like every waking moment before I found mine.

[dannyzabolotny]

Patience is the key. It took me 2 months of looking on Craiglist like every waking moment before I found mine.

Exactly. I just made it a ritual to check Craigslist in the morning when I woke up, when I got to work, after lunch at work, before leaving work, upon coming home from work, after dinner, and before bed. You have to make it into a real routine. I also checked Autotrader, but that site tends to have pricier cars and dealers posting to it (since you have to pay to post there).

[ggenovez]

Thanks guys.

I'll keep on digging. Guessing someone bought it. It's no longer posted on CL.

[NordmanMg]

Buy mine, little pricey but not much work needed