New user to forum and new BMW owner would advice from community on 1993 325i

[bowton]

I recently inherited my grandmother's 1993 325i with 27,373 original miles.

She bought the car when she was 75 years old. Go grandma! She recently passed at 103. I hope I got her genes.

Car was garaged in LA it's entire life. It was last parked in 2016 and never started.

I towed car up from LA to Redwood City, CA and I have been restoring it to make it mechanically reliable and cosmetically beautiful. I would like to get an idea from those in the know what this would fetch in today's market? I've been told these are very popular especially in stock condition. I am 6'5" and 250 lbs. so this car is too small for me to be a comfortable daily driver and sadly I already have 3 cars and motorcycle. I just can't justifiy keeping it.

27,500 original miles. Automatic transmission. Color is champagne or whatever BMW calls it. VIN: WBACB4310PFL06882.

Since I did not have service history or repair history I just tore into it and here is what I have done:

- demounted tires, detailed wheels, and installed 5 new Yokahama tires. wheels are in great shape. minor curbing.
- full r&r on brake system. turned all 4 rotors, new EBC brake pads, new brake fluid and complete system flush
- full r&r of cooling system. new water pump w/metal impeller, thermostat housing, thermostat, radiator was already replaced so I pressure tested it and reinstalled, new upper and lower radiator hoses, new fan clutch, new expansion tank and coolant level sensor, flushed 3X with distilled water including pulling block drain. refilled with Valvoline G48 BMW approved blue coolant good for 150K miles or 5 years.
- new spark plugs (original factory Bosch plugs)
- new valve cover (aluminum) + all new valve cover gaskets including all mounting bolt grommets. A previous mechanic had f'd up the valve cover and buggered up the flange and just slathered RTV on it. I don't do half-ass repairs so I bought a brand new valve cover from BMW. Good as new.
- Bosch battery was almost new in 2016. It has been charged, recovered, and load tested and tests perfect.
- engine oil and filter change with Castrol 20w-50 oil.
- new fuel pump. I was told it was bad by my uncle but it wasn't. I had already bought new pump so I just installed it. I siphoned out all 7 year old gas and flushed lines before filling with fresh 91 oct fuel before my first startup.
- fuel filter changed
- automatic transmission serviced with a drain and fill.
- drained and replaced rear differential oil. It has an open differential not a limited slip.
- Air conditioner was serviced. Evacuated to 30inHg. and held overnight to check for leaks. No vacuum loss overnight so I filled with 3 fresh cans of R134a refrigerant (1000g) factory charge. It blows cold air like the Antarctic.
- replaced cabin filter
- replaced muffler as some baffels were bad and it had a drone.

Interior:
- rear seats were never used so they are mint condition.
- interior of car professionally cleaned. carpets shampood, leather cleaned and conditioned, all plastics cleaned and conditioned.
- new factory door speakers for passenger front door. midrange and tweeter. The originals had escutchen flanges break.
- factory radio has a dirty switch/volume potentiometer. So it need to be cleaned if you want to keep original or replace with modern radio. All original speakers work.

Exterior:
- car professionally detailed, polished and waxed. Paint is in excellent condition except on the hood where the engine heat has started to discolor the clear coat. It's not really bad but it is at the end of it's life and the rest of the car is perfect. So if you wanted a mint car you would want to repaint the hood.
- new windshield cowls and front grill under windshield.

I have driven the car now about 250 miles to break in the brakes, cooling system etc. and check on mechanical function. It drives awesome. I love this motor and I've never driven a RWD car and a straight 6. It is so smooth form idle to redline. This car looks beautiful and is bone stock. I would like to put it up for sale and have it go to an enthusiast that would appreciate it. Given the condition I described and all the work I have done what would be a good price to list it at?

Thank you in advance for any feedback or advice.

Barton Courcier
Redwood City, CA
(408) 529-2228

[Eric93se]

Car doesn't take 50w oil. You can use 0-40, 5-40 or 10-40.

You can try selling for $6k, maybe try an auction site like eBay and make the starting price $5k.

[scoobiedoo2029]

list it on bring a trailer. or cars & bids or ebay. might sell for more then you expect.

[bowton]

Thanks for your input. I was told $10-$15K by some local mechanics which got me super excited, but then I live near silicon valley where everything is overpriced.

Eric, btw on the oil weight the original owners manual calls for 20W-50 if temperatures are over 90F. I'm sure I could have run a lighter weight but since it's summer and hot I'd try it out. Should have the least oil consumption albeit sacraficing some gas. I believe that a lot of the modern German brands are using 0-40 and 15-40 in the current cars. Everyone has gone to lighter weights to save fuel. My Honda calls for 0-20. But my 1990 Honda motorcycle calls for 10-40 and 20-50. Times have changed.

[scooper]

fantastic! post some pics...what options does the car have?

[JDStrickland]

20w50 is a bit thick. I would not hesitate to use a 10w30 or 10w40.

[SilverPuddle]

Would really like to see some pictures...?

If pictures back up mileage and the amount of work you performed...then ask for more than you really want. You must be willing to allot more time and patience, because it might take longer to sell.

Always remember, they are not making them anymore!!!

[bowton]

I'm going to get it detailed next week then I'll do a photo shoot and post some pics.

[bowton]

Great question scooper. I have NO IDEA what options it has because I have no history on the car and I do not know bimmers. This is my first experience with one. If you know of way to find out let me know or if you write out a list of options I could confirm. It's got the automatic tranny but as far as I am concerned it seems pretty stock. Nothing fancy.
I forget how much car technology has changed in 30 years too. I was sort of surprised about how the car handles which is pretty underwhelming. The steering ratio is slow by today's standards. It's slow to turn in and doesn't hold a tight line. I'm comparing this to my 2016 Honda Accord Sport which has 235/45/19 tires and this poor thing has 205/60/15's but still the shocks and rest of suspension are bone stock. But on the plus side I love the tight turning radius which is far superior to a front drive car.

[Veleno]

Pull up the on the rear lower seat cushion and there is a sticker with the options on it. Hopefully it's still visible to read.