Considering buying an early E12 based e24? Is this too much rust?

[ilovemycat]

Hey, I'm pretty new to classic bmws , however I briefly owned a eurospec 79 728i manual trans car and lemme tell you it got me HOOKED! From then on i realized the next car i purchased must have the m30 engine with a manual gear box. I was browsing craigslist and found an 81' manual 6 series for sale in what looks to be quite good shape . Now for me personally i find the fact it is e12 based more enticing than e28 based as i prefer the older interior styles. However it does have a bit of rust under the door sills , but apparently nowhere else. Anyways , if after inspection the rust is nowhere else and everything else is good , should i go for it or is this a bad place for rust and should i run away ASAP? Anything I should know or look for in particular when buying an early e24? Here are the pics the seller sent me. Thanks for the help! http://imgur.com/a/Jl5MC http://imgur.com/a/Wgt1F

[Shipper]

Personally, any rust is too much rust. Would you do the work yourself or pay a panel beater?

I've got a 77 e12 based 6'er. Expect to need to replace/repair a fair bit prior to having a good working car. Add rust and the dollars go up.

I'd assume $3k to $5k on mechanical if the car has been relatively un-loved. Then add rust repair costs.

I too am hooked on the e12 chassis.

More photos may help.

[dcains]

As above, any rust is too much rust, especially on an E12-based car.

[n2bimmer]

I have a 81 628csi, i love it. However there are certain limitations since its a older model. Some parts are harder to find for example if you ever want to lower your suspension you're going to have a hard time finding a lowering kit

[ilovemycat]

Hey , thanks for the replies . The car seems to be pretty clean other than the rust ,apparently for the last 5 years it was garage kept and only driven as a summer weekend car. I would be willing to do the rust repair work myself . I'm not a collector looking for a time capsule showroom car , but rather a young man looking for a solid ,drivable example of a classic bmw. I do have some money to spend on repairs and such but cannot afford to start dumping thousands and thousands of dollars into it . https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/bnc/cto/6143848596.html

[XAlt]

It doesn't look bad at all for a beater, and you live in Canada, rust is inevitable.

If you enjoy driving it, that's all that matters. It's not going to have the floor fall off anytime soon, not every old bimmer has to be a restoration project to be respected for what it is. Clean up whatever you can, fully rustproof the undercarriage, and go along your way. The primary goal is to keep the car on the road, getting it into perfect condition is secondary.

[Bert Poliakoff]

As Ron, on bigcoupe, would say, "they are always rustier than you think"

[DesktopDave]

That does look really clean! Go for it! The earlier cars are very honest machines, I loved mine. It had a few problems with rust, but not as bad as expected. It's best to be a pessimist as far as corrosion goes. Ask the seller if you can unscrew the scuff plates & peel back the rug to see if any rust has penetrated up into the frame rails.

Be aware that the mid-production 1981 E12 cars can have a Motronic 1.0 M30B32. So you'll need the E12 chassis wiring diagrams and the E28 engine schematics. I had a heck of a time figuring that out, but it all came out OK in the end. Both this forum and BigCoupe were incredibly helpful.

[1986series6]

Does look like a clean car. My problem is the to-do list!

Some of the work that needs to be done on the car:
- driver side window is fixed in up down position and need new window motor
- horn not working (need new relay, wiring checked and ok)
- some rips on the front seat due to age (back seats are in excellent condition)
- body needs work with some rust under door sill, but do not require immediate repair. No rust around suspension towers.
- door lock not working (just need new lock cylinder, easy to find online)

Window fixed but needs new motor?
Why not get a new horn relay and then would not be on the to-do list at all.
Same with the door lock, if it's easy to find online, why not get it done and not list on the to-do.

I would definitely pull up the carpet and check the floors for rust.

My $.02

[dm635]

Like posted above, I always shake my head at those easy to fix/easy to find/easy repair comments. If you're selling a car wouldn't you take care of all the easy to take care of items before listing. If the easy things cannot be completed what else will you be getting. Love the ran when parked/AC only needs a recharge comments. Just a pet peeve I guess. Specking of pet peeves the one that gets me the most is when someone has the drivers door open with the key in the ignition. The dinger/buzzer just drives me crazy. I'll end up pulling the key or simply close the door after I've had enough.

[XAlt]

The dinger/buzzer just drives me crazy. I'll end up pulling the key or simply close the door after I've had enough.Mercedes made the best alarm, everybody with a buzzer should feel happy about themselves.

Very German and very mechanical, especially when compared to the E32 ding that makes you want to jump off a bridge.

[dcains]

+1, I could not agree more. That stuff drives me crazy.


Like posted above, I always shake my head at those easy to fix/easy to find/easy repair comments. If you're selling a car wouldn't you take care of all the easy to take care of items before listing. If the easy things cannot be completed what else will you be getting. Love the ran when parked/AC only needs a recharge comments. Just a pet peeve I guess. Specking of pet peeves the one that gets me the most is when someone has the drivers door open with the key in the ignition. The dinger/buzzer just drives me crazy. I'll end up pulling the key or simply close the door after I've had enough.