1994 325iC purchase Help

[LmtdSlip]

Ok so I go to look at this car and its OK.

It has Carfax documented 45K 2 owner miles but the guy dosent have any service records for the car. He claims he had the oil & plugs changed and guibo changed as well as new front brakes and rotors. Wheels have curb rash.

Has lots of small paint nicks (but no dents) all over the car, it needs a good detailing. The inside is perfect except for the drivers seat which shows some wear on the outside bolster where you get in and out. Trunk & top stowage compartment are dry and clean. Top looks good and rear plastic window is only clouding around the very bottom edges where it meets the fabric.

One major problem on the outside. Behind the right front wheel at the bottom of the fender on the portion that is crinkle painted, there is a dent from where the guy ran something over. This creased the very bottom. It is pretty noticible but dosent extend up into the normal paint. The fender damage could best be described as if someone misplaced the jack when they jacked up the front end. Damage is about 6" long by about 2" high.

He purchased it in Jan. at the local BMW stealer and has put 3K on it in the last 3 months.

Three questions
1. What would it cost to fix that right front fender?
2. What should I offer for the car? (he is now asking $13500)
3. Any other problem areas to look for when I see the car again on Thursday?

[G. P. Burdell]

If it were me, I'd do the following:

1. Call the local BMW dealer with the VIN and ask them to search their service records

2. Take the car to a qualified independent BMW mechanic for a thorough pre-purchase inspection

3. Get an estimate to repair the fender

You may be able to use the body shop estimate, plus any repair items the mechanic finds, as leverage to bring the price down.

Good luck!

[LmtdSlip]

The local stealer would not tell me anything about the car for reasons of confidentialty.

[G. P. Burdell]

That's strange. Other prospective buyers who have posted to this board have been able to get service records for a particular car.

Have you tried calling a different BMW dealership?

[2Questionable]

Walk away from it. Or take it to a non-local dealer/service mechanic for a proper assessment, which they might charge you for. The good thing about it, is if they can't show you service records for "confidentiality reasons" (which by the way, sounds like the dealer is friends with the seller and knows something is up with the car--the guy's only had it for 4 months, so think about that), they can tell you if there has been work done to the car.

Any decent BMW mechanic worth their salt can look at a car and see if anything has been removed, altered, adjusted, or replaced. Get an estimate on the car's damage from them if you can, and like people said before, use it as leverage to lower that insane asking price of $13,500.

I bought a used 1994 352iC this past January myself--only 43,500 miles on her and only two slight door ding dents that are barely noticeable, plus the wear on the driver's side seat where the seat belt wears down the bolster. But no paint wear/creasing problems, no rust whatsoever for a car kept in Connecticut (was garaged, obviously, and driven sparingly), brand new brakes/rotors and no tire rash at all either.

I paid $16,500 for it, and it also came with a K-40 360 degree radar detector and has the full on-board computer--no rollover protection though. But the top doesn't have a single crease in the thing and the back window is perfect--which you know is a hard thing to keep that way.

But there were a few minor things that were under the 60 day warranty I had because I bought it from a local mechanic/dealer in Greenwich, CT. I'd swear by that guy any day of the week.

What you're facing is a totally different situation where you will have no warranty whatsoever, and the car sounds as though it has above and beyond the normal wear and tear for a 9 year old car. Also, you'd be the third owner, and who knows how well the first owner treated it. Also, why is the second guy ditching it after only a short time? If he's in Florida, it obviously isn't because he's not getting full use of the to due to weather conditions, aka snow.

As it stands, you're looking at at least $800 to fix that fender (which can't stay that way), and about another $2800 for a decent paintjob after the fender is fixed. The seat you can re-dye and re-treat yourself with some leatherique products and there's a website where you can buy the dye that matches your particular seat leather--but that's going to be about another $100 in products. The Nadaguides.com site states this car's worth at $14,725 as low RETAIL before the low mileage factor, but since this is a private sale, I think the guy's trying to get more money than the worth of the car simply on the low mileage factor. I bet a dealer would only give him about $9K as the trade-in value on that car, so he shouldn't expect more than $11K as a private sale on that vehicle. It would have to be refurbished cosmetically for a dealer to even put it on their lot for a retail price of $15K-$17K.

Find a local independent BMW mechanic and have him look at it. But frankly, you can find a better car than that which won't require all the work and waiting for it, and if you're going to spend $13K+ on a BMW, you want to make sure it's on one that you'll love to drive home the day you hand over the check.

Sorry for the length--haven't had my morning coffee to filter out the jibberish yet.

[G. P. Burdell]

Very well said, 2Questionable!

To be fair, the dealer's confidentiality policy may not necessarily mean that something's wrong with the car. It could just be a blanket policy hatched by the dealership's attorneys. If the dealer had told LmtdSlip to go away after they looked up the VIN, then that would be a big red flag in my book.

[2Questionable]

Originally posted by G. P. Burdell
To be fair, the dealer's confidentiality policy may not necessarily mean that something's wrong with the car. It could just be a blanket policy hatched by the dealership's attorneys. If the dealer had told LmtdSlip to go away after they looked up the VIN, then that would be a big red flag in my book.

This is very true. They don't really give out previous owner information, and if the car wasn't serviced through them, they can't solicit the previous owner for the records.

Oddly enough, I found a service receipt in the manual of my car after I bought that indicated that it had the battery and alternator replaced back in 1999 because of the battery draining itself when the car wasn't in use. Useful information, but happened upon it by accident and would never had known about otherwise.

LmtdSlip--when you go back to look at it on Thursday, make sure to let the car idle while you check it out and listen to it idle. Mine was idling rough, and it turned out that the manual air flow wasn't functioning right. But the dealer/mechanic fixed it for no charge. Don't even want to think about how much that might have been if it wasn't under a warranty when I found out about it.

Also, run the A/C and the heat too--mine had a faulty temperature gauge. Not saying that the one you'll see is going to have it as well, but it's just what I can think of to look for that you can do yourself before dragging a mechanic into the picture.

[Janolaw]

I am also the proud owner of a '94 325IC which I bought 5 months ago. It had 34k miles and I paid $15,500. The car is in great condition but shows the same wear in the driver's seat bolster. I found one upholstry shop that said they could fix it for about $100. There's also a great product called leatherique for the do-it-yourselfer.

Anyway, I love my car. Get a carfax report. Also, why is this guy selling so quickly? That would be my biggest concern. I bought my car from the dealer which originally sold the car back in '94. They had all the records and were happy to provide them. Also, I bought a used car warranty for $1200 (3 year, 36k miles).

Take your time. If this car isn't the right one, you'll have no problem finding another. Good luck!

[Dinan330ic]

Low mileage vert owners UNITE!!! hahaa jk

Can't you get the owner of the vehicle to get the service records??? I'm sure that's legal.

Definitely get some pics of the fender. I can't quite picture what you are explaining due to my lack of imagination.

[2Questionable]

Originally posted by Janolaw
I am also the proud owner of a '94 325IC which I bought 5 months ago.

Anyway, I love my car.

I have to say, I've always admired the look of your vert in your sig. "Sleek" is the word that comes to mind.

Actually, when I bought mine, I was at the dealer's to see a supposed black '98 328i coupe that turned out to be a sedan, but I passed as I really wanted a coupe. Saw the Samoa blue vert with the navy top on the lot and took it for a test drive since I was there. Had no intention of getting a vert... until I drove it. It was all downhill from there.

But they have a way of suckering you in, and making you not notice. Now, every sunny day I think to myself, "Self, maybe you can tool around with the top down today."

But I've got to agree that this ones sounds fishy since this guy is selling so quick. Mine would have to have stopped running for me to sell it so soon, and even then, I might just let it sit in the driveway as a lovely lawn ornament instead a stupid lawn jockey for a few years...

Walk away. There will be another one. Seems to be that the 325i verts get babied the most--especially the '93-'95 ones.

[Carb_328]

I would be a little wary as the others have suggested. The price seems high to me esp. in the weak market. But I haven't been pricing out vert's that much. A new fender for me cost 200, then another 100-200 to paint and install, so probably 500-800 is a good estimate for that (Although I think the 94 fenders are cheaper than the 97 that I have). I would try to offer a low ball price if your will to live with the damage, but before you do that....take it to an independent bmw mechanic to check over. Use this info as your bargaining chip. Make sure the water impeller has been changed to a metal one too.

[LmtdSlip]

Thanks for all the input.

I have some more data and think I will make a low ball offer.

My wife called the same dealer and they told her that the car was serviced once since Jan. (so much for confedentialliaty) The dealer recommended 3 items to be changed. Power stearing hose, guibo disk and plugs. He did all three and changed the oil. Service total was $1300 (Ouch!).

If I got it for 12K that would be less that the sale price of similar cars with at least twice the mileage. This should take into consideration fixing the bottom of the fender.

Also need to get a set of OEM 17" type 44 wheels.

[Janolaw]

LmtdSlip:

If this car doesn't work out for you, keep checking the for sale thread of this forum. A nice convertible will pop up every now and then. Also, most of these people are maintenance freaks and have already installed the performance stuff you will want (and you will want them).

[Janolaw]

Originally posted by 2Questionable
I have to say, I've always admired the look of your vert in your sig. "Sleek" is the word that comes to mind.

Saw the Samoa blue vert with the navy top on the lot and took it for a test drive since I was there. Had no intention of getting a vert... until I drove it. It was all downhill from there.

Thanks, 2Q. Do you have any pics of your car? I sometimes wish that my car was blue. Blue looks very sharp, and black is impossible to keep clean. I also wish I had a black interior. Some bimmerforums guys have actually dyed their interiors black, with amazing results. I would never attempt it though. I'd only screw it up.

[2Questionable]

Originally posted by Janolaw
Thanks, 2Q. Do you have any pics of your car? I sometimes wish that my car was blue. Blue looks very sharp, and black is impossible to keep clean. I also wish I had a black interior. Some bimmerforums guys have actually dyed their interiors black, with amazing results. I would never attempt it though. I'd only screw it up.

No, no pictures yet, but I intend to put in a performance chip before the end of summer, so I'll probably take pics of it then. I don't drive to my job, so she stays under cover when not in use during the week as I don't have garage access for her. I highly recommend the Noah cover that BavAuto sells--it's great for those without a garage...

Yeah, the difficulities of the black paint is one of the reasons I didn't go for the black 328i sedan as well. My brother has a black '96 Beretta that he curses the paint on for being that dark. He had a bra on the car for a while, but it made too many noticeable scratches in his paint, that he had to stop using it. Now he has to deal with trying to buff those out at some point--and with the way cars get dinged in parking lots, I refuse to get a black car. I just ogle other people's.

I've got the black Vinyl interior with the dark blue, I think it's indigo actually, leather seats. Which looks great, when the bolster doesn't wear out the color and make it noticeable. I plan to re-dye that part as soon I can figure out if my seats are in fact indigo and not navy. But the interior of that car makes it feel like a pilot's quarters. Love it.

But I have to say, black interior in a black car makes things very sticky very quickly come the warmer weather. Hence why I like the light Samoa blue exterior with the darker interior. I've seen the Samoa blue with a tan interior and hated it! Looked ridiculous. But for humidity factor, I guess it actually probably cuts down on the baking of your interior during the hotter months, which in turn probably keeps the leather from drying out faster.

Curious as to how popular/common the Samoa blue paint is though--I don't see it in person very often at all--maybe about three times, and in Greenwich, where everyone, their mother, and their mother's poodle has a BMW, I thought I'd see more in that blue...

[Janolaw]

I don't see many Samoa blue cars here either. Its seems to be a pretty rare color. I like it a lot. I've seen it with a gray interior and that looks nice.

[2Questionable]

A grey interior I can see, but the tan looked weird. I like the tan better with the Boston Green, the Cosmos Black and the Avus Blue. But the Dove Grey is a great interior--and probably wears the best of all the available colors...

[Janolaw]

The gray wears pretty well but does take on a dirty appearance. Black wears best IMO.

[2Questionable]

Originally posted by Janolaw
The gray wears pretty well but does take on a dirty appearance. Black wears best IMO.

Even when the seatbelt starts to wear the bolster? That's what's driving me nuts about my indigo seat at the moment--the wear has taken off the dyed part of the seat. Of course, with black seats I could just use a black Sharpie to fill it in. :

I've noticed dirt more on tan leather for some reason. Guess it's because the leather oils turn a dark grey when exposed too much to other surfaces--especially black leather coats.

I just have to really figure out what true color my seats are before getting the dye. I could treat the leather anyway, but without the dye it's just going to look worn even if the leather ends up being supple.

[LmtdSlip]

Hey Janolaw

Nice ride.

2 questions:

1. are those 17" or 18"

2. Stock ride height or springs and struts

[Janolaw]

Originally posted by LmtdSlip
Hey Janolaw

Nice ride.

2 questions:

1. are those 17" or 18"

2. Stock ride height or springs and struts

Thanks! They're 17" Mille Miglias. I've got them on stock ride height but I'm considering lowering an inch or two (But not until after I buy a CAI )