Does this E36 look good?

[Stealthyfish]

Well, a little more waiting, and here's what I've pulled up. I'd like some input on this as well.

Here's what the owner says:

1992 BMW 325i. 5speed. Black on Black. 225/45 R17 Low profile tires with custom wheels. Custom exhaust. Very clean. Runs very well. Excellent body. CD Player. 182K. Dash, carpets and side panels are all in great shape. Drivers seat has a hole 6" up on left side. Rear seat has split at two seams. The exterior is as good as it looks. Those two seat areas need some work.

I'm wondering whether it's worth it to pursue if it's got 182,000 miles on it. He's asking for 3900 (way too much for a 92 with 182,000 miles on it, I know that much now :stickoutt). Here's a pic too (I'm requesting some more pictures as well):

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/4720/p1010002xc5.th.jpg (http://img409.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1010002xc5.jpg)

Worth pursuing? What would be a good price for this if it's worth going for? I'd appreciate any responses if anyone can give it.

[Deeze555]

looks good from the description, but youre deffintaly right on that being too much. Id give it a test drive, and a second lookover by a bmw mechanic. If it all checks out the most Id offer at the most $3,000.

[Stealthyfish]

looks good from the description, but youre deffintaly right on that being too much. Id give it a test drive, and a second lookover by a bmw mechanic. If it all checks out the most Id offer at the most $3,000.

Would 3500 be decent for that car? I'm just worried that the guy will decline the offer, because it is asking for 900 dollars off. I'll try it though. It does look quite clean, and I'll probably switch out the seats later on if I really need to. I'll take your advice and give it a test drive.

[green325ibimmer]

cosmetically looks very good.

take it for a test drive, have an independent inspection done. Ask for maintenance records/receipts. take a KNOWLEDGEABLE friend with you. Having a second pair of eyes will spot things that you may miss.

I'd off anywhere from the 2900-3200 range, for a 92 with that many miles. 3900 isn't THAT far off

i know a guy who's trying to sell a 94 325i with 148k, damage to the hood, various interior stuff missing, and SALVAGE title for 4grand, just goes to show you that a lot of people think just because it carries a bmw roundel it deserves an inflated price.

[Stealthyfish]

cosmetically looks very good.

take it for a test drive, have an independent inspection done. Ask for maintenance records/receipts. take a KNOWLEDGEABLE friend with you. Having a second pair of eyes will spot things that you may miss.

I'd off anywhere from the 2900-3200 range, for a 92 with that many miles. 3900 isn't THAT far off

i know a guy who's trying to sell a 94 325i with 148k, damage to the hood, various interior stuff missing, and SALVAGE title for 4grand, just goes to show you that a lot of people think just because it carries a bmw roundel it deserves an inflated price.

I'm scheduling the test drive soon. Pre-purchase inspection is something people have strongly encouraged, and I'm going to do. Only thing I don' thave is a knowledgeable friend. Will anyone work for that just so they can look at the car along with me to see if there are any quirks?

And I am asking for the receipts and stuff that the guy has. He says he has a few more recent receipts.

[Deeze555]

good luck with everything...post back and let us know how it goes

[btl1990]

Go with cash in your back pocket and whip it out after your test drive with $3200 max. Good luck.

[Stealthyfish]

There's one big question I have about this. At 186,000, I'm kind of reluctant to look at the car. I'm afraid the vehicle might die out on me in the middle of the street since it's already seen so much wear. Anything I should look at that's really crucial to see at such high mileages? I don't have a huge repair fund sitting on the side when I purchase a car, so I'd rather not pick a money pit if I can avoid one :stickoutt

Also, this will be a first stick shift for me, so can any of you guys give me any suggestions as to how I should approach the test drive?

Thanks,
Stealthyfish

[Deeze555]

i bought my 325i at 192k, and theres some people on this forum that are pushin 300k+ so i wouldnt be tooo concerned as far as that goes. Somthing u wanna make sure thats been replaced on this is the water pump. chances are with that many miles it has been, but if it hasnt its a ticking time bomb. As far as it being stick thats a plus, but I might dump the clutch one time to see if u get any unnerving sounds or vibrations.

[Deeze555]

and please...for your sake dont buy it without it being looked over by a bmw mech.

[BIMMER 328]

yea its very clean but yea dont buy it unless ya got it checked out

[paniolo]

At that age maintenance and condition are far more important than mileage and online price calculators. It could be worth what he is asking. Things like a total cooling system rebuild done as preventative maintenance, rebuilt suspension with new struts/shocks/bushings front and rear, new set of $500 tires etc can make paying several hundred more a very good deal.

[thedude60126]

I agree have it looked at but if you read an of the forums hear most of the guys have 150,000 plus mileage cars (myself included). Thats not an issue. Ask about the water pump, check that your not blowing any smoke out the back but as everyone has said have it looked at. Most mechanics will take a look at the car for next to nothing.

[CraigBMW2002]

Last May I sold a well maintained '89 325i (2-door, five speed) with 182,000 miles for $3000 cash. But we had owned that Bimmer for 9½ years, always garaged it and kept it well maintained. And that was an E30 with a previously salvaged title that was due for a new timing belt. It did have a new clutch and nearly new steering rack.

Craig
'98 323iC & '71 2002.

[Nataliator]

i would check to see if its been in a front end accident as well. the grill looks like a 96+ grill, it could be that he just upgraded for the look, or possibly that he crahsed it up front and went with a newer grill afterward.

[HU55LL]

i would check to see if its been in a front end accident as well. the grill looks like a 96+ grill, it could be that he just upgraded for the look, or possibly that he crahsed it up front and went with a newer grill afterward.
yeh looks like a 96+ grill to me too, after you mentioned it, nice pick up.

[Stealthyfish]

i would check to see if its been in a front end accident as well. the grill looks like a 96+ grill, it could be that he just upgraded for the look, or possibly that he crahsed it up front and went with a newer grill afterward.

yeah, didn't look very '92 to me either. I asked about the records and it's got a clean title. I'll see if it's worth visiting since I'm now weighing whether I should do that or go for a car with consideribly less mileages for a little bit more money. I've found a BMW 325is' around here with 117,000 miles for around 5600, might be worth checking out as well. I'd like to not throw money away for doing pre-purchase inspections on a bunch of cars I might not buy as well :stickoutt

[Deeze555]

Even with 117k u should still get a pre-purchase inspection. Thos could have been 117K really rough miles.

[Stealthyfish]

Even with 117k u should still get a pre-purchase inspection. Thos could have been 117K really rough miles.

Of course. I'm not going to make a decision till I get a pre-purchase inspection. But since those inspections cost money, I'm going to have to be wise as to which cars I should try out. :)

As for the stick problem though... I really want to get a stick shift over an automatic, but how am I going to test drive the car? I only know 1 person who can drive a stick, and they haven't done it in about 20 years. =/ I don't think the owner would want me potentially screwin up their tranny, lol

[Daved]

I'd search for a later one to get VANOS... but I'm a biased ;)

[Stealthyfish]

I'd search for a later one to get VANOS... but I'm a biased ;)

haha. Well, the 325is looks like atleast a '93 if not newer. I'm not going to put VANOS as a deciding factor as to whether I should get a car or not, but it certainly is a plus :stickoutt.

Anyway, back to my main problem, lol. How am I going to test drive a stick? I don't really know anyone with a lot of experience with sticks, and I've only driven autos ><

[Deeze555]

ohh..i didnt understan that u havent really mastered the whole clutch thing yet. like how bad are u at stick, cause u might wanna get it down before you go into buying one. The last thing you wanna do is buy a manual bmw practice on it and tear it to hell. Get your driving straight then buy the car IMO.

[Stealthyfish]

ohh..i didnt understan that u havent really mastered the whole clutch thing yet. like how bad are u at stick, cause u might wanna get it down before you go into buying one. The last thing you wanna do is buy a manual bmw practice on it and tear it to hell. Get your driving straight then buy the car IMO.

Yeah. I'm guessing I'm not that bad, I have the concept down. I'll get the one person who can drive a stick drive for me for now, I don't want to damage the person's car or stall in the middle of the road. I'll start in the parking lot and gain experience there till I get the basic jist of it in the BMW. By the way, I think I'm going to check out another 325is as well since it sounds pretty nice. :) 77,000 miles on a '95 for 5500 sounds really good... now let's hope the vehicle is mechanically as nice as the price is.

[Deeze555]

good luck

[Stealthyfish]

good luck

Thanks. You've been a great help (everyone else has been really helpful too). I'll report back what happens.... and hopefully I'll have a picture of my result as well ;)

[trayson]

Well, if you're willing (or able) to drive it out to Battle Ground, I'm sure you could convince my brother in law to look at it. He's the one that worked for Rassmussen for a few years as a tech. :buttrock

And if you brought it to me, I'd drive it for you. (But I'm not a mechanic, just a guy that has an E36 vert that's quickly learning some of the stuff to look for in these cars.) I work in Downtown Vancouver. (But don't have a TON of time.)

But for some reason I have a soft spot for local guys wanting help on the forums... Go figure.

[Stealthyfish]

Well, if you're willing (or able) to drive it out to Battle Ground, I'm sure you could convince my brother in law to look at it. He's the one that worked for Rassmussen for a few years as a tech. :buttrock

And if you brought it to me, I'd drive it for you. (But I'm not a mechanic, just a guy that has an E36 vert that's quickly learning some of the stuff to look for in these cars.) I work in Downtown Vancouver. (But don't have a TON of time.)

But for some reason I have a soft spot for local guys wanting help on the forums... Go figure.

haha. Well, that 77,000 mile car is gone now.... gone in 5 hours of it's posting. I don't know whether to be kind of mad or depressed, lol. Anyway, I'm now looking at another BMW 325is. 1993 BMW 325is with 118,000 miles on it. I haven't asked about the maintenance records on the vehicle yet, I just called to see if the car was available and some simple questions on how well the car drives. I'll ask the maintenance questions on Friday and am most likely scheduling the test drive on Saturday.

Thanks for the offer trayson, but the guy is in clackamas. I don't think you'd want to come down just to help a 17 year old try to buy a car :P . Come down if you want, but I think it's quite far from downtown Vancouver. I'll see if I can report some of the issues. I highly doubt I can get the car to a pre-purchase inspection on the same day as the test drive unless I manage to find a place that can do pre-purchase inspections without appointments.

Also, on that topic, how do you guys do pre-purchase inspections? Do you go with the owner to the shop or dealership and get the car inspected? Or do you give a deposit and bring it over to the dealership//shop, or what? And a question to 325i people. What does the sport package have over the normal package for the 325is? The sport package thing isn't a deciding factor, I'm just curious since this car is listed as having a sport package.

[trayson]

I have had 3 of them done on cars I've bought. However, all of these cars were long distance purchases... Because it was long distance, the owner had to bring the car to a shop of my choice, and I paid the money to the shop via credit card over the phone, and the shop reported the results to me and the owner had to go back and get the car when it was done and it was MY option whether the shop shared the info with the owner or not.

It's a PITA for the seller in my case.

Oh, 2 of the 3 cars I had this done on I bought. The other, I spent ~$100 to find out that I shouldn't go near the vehicle with a 10 foot pole. That was $100 well spent!

[Stealthyfish]

Just a little update: Well, did my first look around today. Also went to a bunch of different small used car dealerships to try some cars out. I'm not in an incredible hurry to get a car, but if I find a good deal... =). Found a 1997 BMW 328i which ran well, everything worked, except the leather was pretty scratched up, no rips, for around 8000 with a 2 year warantee. But it seems that there's a pretty big difference between the feeling for these cars. The '97 was the first one I tried and it ran pretty well, so I had a pretty good standard to go off of. But I'm still looking as of right now.