VIN Tag locations / Safe Buy? 2000 M Coupe with a lot of paint work, $9800, records

[manolis]

Cliff notes: I am looking for a list of VIN tag locations, and other ways to identify if a car has had serious body work done in the past, or if the paint work on the car is due to a few small parking lot incidents.

Unabridged version:
I went to look at a 2000 M coupe yesterday. The owner's parents bought it for him, and now are asking him to sell the car after a couple months. He is the third owner.

Initial impression was that the car was in 'good' condition considering its 135000 miles, but some doubts formed after poring over the exterior of the car for over an hour. Issues are as follow:

There is no sticker on the underside of the hood (--> hood may have been replaced?).

The front and rear bumper covers have been repainted (different orange peel, minimal / no rock chips on F bumper cover, with many on the hood)

Slight raised spot / dent in the hood about a foot in front of the windshield on the driver's side (as if a mechanic left a tool in the engine bay and closed the hood). This is very minimal - took close inspection to notice it.

Driver's door - repainted, color match ever so slightly off.

Passenger's door - must have been repainted, due to lack of orange peel and a 'dust nib' in the clear. The panel was very carefully rubbed out, and the color match perfect.

Hatch latch loose (just needs adjustment presumably?)

Right rear quarter panel has been resprayed, or at least rubbed out. The bumper line is ever so slightly off on this corner (see pics).

The access panel on the right side of the trunk wasn't sitting correctly, so I took it out and looked around in there. No visible evidence of prior damage, but the rubber mat was creased / had some tears in it.

Carfax clean, of course.

This would normally scare the hell out of me (and it still does...hence the post), but all panel gaps are PERFECT with the possible exception of the right rear bumper-to-fender gap, which might well be within factory spec.

The interior is in decent shape.

Car had the head gasket replaced at around 80k miles
clutch at 80k, and again at 120K (somebody couldn't drive...)

There appear to be camber plates on the front shock towers. The car is sitting on new bilstein shocks. brakes are fantastic with minimal wear.

The car drove perfectly - engine felt good, suspension was fantastic. transmission beautiful. Only rattle / noise appeared to be from the loose hatch (mentioned above).


Does this sound like a reasonable deal? I am OK with the small flaws, I just don't want to pick up a car that has been balled up then unwadded by some body shop.

Is there anything else I should look for? Subframe damage specifics? VIN Tag locations (worried about the hood, right rear fender,bumper plastics)

I would appreciate any help / guidance here. These cars are amazing - I'm worried I'm going to make an overly emotional decision.

[cngizbleevng]

If the head gasket was replaced, the car may have overheated at some point. All that repainting is a little scary. Owning a car for only a few months deserves a decent explanation.

[lokijibber]

There are tags on the inside corner of the front bumper with VINs. I saw one the other day when the headlight was out (right front). Not sure if there's one on the other side.

Price seems reasonable, but I agree the paintwork is a bit scary. See if you can get some more info around the head-gasket work as well as the quick sale. Good luck!

[916WI]

Cheap way to get into an m coupe, but the car could turn into a money pit. Did you have a chance to check out the subframe? With all of those panels being repainted and with mileage at 120K I would definitely get under the car and take a close look. I too would also ask why the car was being so quickly by the 3rd owner. The kid probably beat the hell out of it and the parents realized it wasn't the best car for him? If you're going to use it as a daily and aren't psycho about it being perfect, go for it......Good luck!

[CaliAgents]

I'd probably pass on the car you're looking at. Sounds like it's been wrecked and then some. It's just not worth saving a few bucks for a car that's been beat, neglected, and/or bapped numerous times you feel me? These cars haven't reached the point where clean examples are unobtanium, so keep on scoping out other prospective examples or go back with a fine toothed comb if this one meets the budget.

There are VIN tags on virtually every major body panel. These are the ones I am aware of on the Z3 and you can easily tell if they've been masked over in attempts to fool future buyers.

-front bumper
-rear bumper
-doors
-door jambs
-hood
-rear license plate frame
-front quarter panels
-rear quarter panels
-hatch door

Another thing to look for is factory bolts that have been removed for replacing that particular part. You will see where paint has been rubbed off due to sockets working them off. Also the paint on the interior of the panels including the engine bay is always flat. The radiator support is flat, the shock towers are flat, etc. etc. The exception is the doors and door jambs though.

[The ZED]

FYI any replaced panels say DOT-R on them. Unfortunately a lot of mine say that.

[manolis]

CaliAgents - thanks for the detailed pics! Looks like this car has had some panels replaced. I think I will leave it alone, finish the RX-7, and keep looking for a cleaner example.

Re: the quick sale; The owner's parents are forcing him to sell the car due to two speeding tickets in two months.

[jocko 1.2]

when i was shopping for a coupe, i noticed several COMPLETELY ACCIDENT FREE m coupes with slight panel misalignment. especially F bumper/fenders/hood.

unless you're buying the car for collectibility, $9800 for a good running, clean titled m coupe is a great price (provided you've confirmed the non-issues w/subframe and structural soundness of the car).

i'm still amazed at the premiums clean titled, high-mileage (non-original paint/body panels) e30 m3's command.

I think I will leave it alone, finish the RX-7, and keep looking for a cleaner example.

mind forwarding me the contact info?

[busterhax]

The carfax for my car was clean as hell. The car was clean as hell. It wasn't until after i got the car i realized that the passenger side had been repainted and the 1/4 was removed at one point. It more than likely was just swiped. It was a legitimate repair job. No problems with it at all, just anything could have happened. Carfax just gives you a vague idea of the cars life.

[bluefire]

I agree with CaliAgents -pass on this one and keep looking. There are better examples out there; ones that let you sleep at night.