Help on buying a car!

[McZachenF1138]

I sure hope this is a suitable place for this simple little thread, but I need some very serious advise on a car I found for sale.
But first, here are the specifics:

1982 BMW 633CSi (E24)
$3,700 (2,800 Euros)
136,000 miles (219,000 kms)
3.2L I6 (M30B32) - Bosch fuel injection
194 HP (197 PS) - 209 lbft (284 Nm)
5-speed manual

Webpage (Auto Trader)



I mainly want to know if it would make any financial and/or enthusiast sense to purchase this car.
i.e. Any known problems, expenditures, etc.

I know it's not in the greatest condition, but I would intend on fixing that with time and money. And money.

I have always been a fan of BMWs although never driven or owned one and the E24 has been one of my favorites from the company ever since I knew it existed.
What also doesn't help is that this particular car has my absolute favorite color scheme: black with red interior.

I'm poor and in college, so keep that in mind please.

P.S. This is my current car, so it will be quite the trade up!

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Your "current" car looks like it is in excellent condition. If you were the one to do all the work on that car then this new car could be a fun project. Price seems decent. Might not be so great in the winter. So keep that in mind since you live in Pittsburgh, USA.

 

[Zenith]

Always remember that people usually sell used cars because they believe that the car is about to break in a fashion that would be more cost to repair than the car is worth to them. If you're in college it is unlikely that you will have lots of downtime to constantly fix a problem car.

 

[Danny]

I'm poor and in college, so keep that in mind please.

Honestly, right now I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[McZachenF1138]

Your "current" car looks like it is in excellent condition. If you were the one to do all the work on that car then this new car could be a fun project. Price seems decent. Might not be so great in the winter. So keep that in mind since you live in Pittsburgh, USA.

Thank you, I do like to think it is in excellent condition.
I hear my dad regret all the time about selling his first car, a '70 Chevelle, and I just don't want to be singing the same song to my kids someday.
I love my car all the way up until I find a cooler one, then I am absolutely torn.

I wouldn't drive it in the winter anyway, my dad has an AWD Astro sitting around for that!

 

[ND4SPD]

Answer is always Miata.

 

[Beeblebrox237]

If you have the money to buy and run it, while paying for school, I'd do it. It's an awesome car!

 

[edawg456]

If you have the money to buy and run it, while paying for school, I'd do it. It's an awesome car!

This.

 

[McZachenF1138]

Paying for school isn't an issue, but I'm worried a high mileage BMW might be with a (most likely) minimum wage job working less than 40 hours a week.
But I've always wanted a BMW, and I've always loved this kind. I just don't want this opportunity to slip away.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Can't really make a judgment based on the pictures and the rather vague comments.

Need to look at service history primarily, especially with old Bimmers. Service history and log books are key. However the drivetrain is pretty robust, and there's few electrical gremlins reported.

Lucky it's a manual too.

Check this for some things to watch for. It is a UK-based article but should still apply:

http://www.alanbartlett.com/bigsixes/buyingbigcoupes.htm

 

[Celicaas]

I,d Recommend you check the car yourself Personally . Its bettter than the images, Images dont tell the truth BTW Awesome car highly recommended

 

[Bc4]

I think you should get a look at it up close.

And if you do buy it, i'd love to see some pics

 

[McZachenF1138]

A little update on the 6er.

I went and looked at it this morning and took a few pictures.


This here is just under the left sill.
Clearly, there is quite a bit of rust, although it is mainly surface rust.
Apart, or course from the fuel lines, which are looking like they will need replacing.


Here is the left side of the diff and rear suspension.
The rust seems fairly consistent with the other bits in the sense that it is mostly surface rust, but will semi-soon turn into the intrusive, problematic kind.
Through research I found out that the rear subframe bushings go out on these, but unfortunately I did not know where they were/I could not find them.
The halfshafts look pretty good, but I see new diff seals in the future.


The toolkit is all there, even with the lightbulbs!

And finally the engine:


I was told (through research) to "walk away from anything with the engine covered in oil."
There was oil on the engine as you can see, but I think that is just because it was not cleaned very often. Or maybe I'm just telling myself that to avoid walking away from it.
The wires and such under the hood were a little messy and out of their places, but could easily be straightened out.
The insulation at the hood was pretty worn (when isn't it?), but that's not anything to worry about.
I saw all the factory stickers under the hood and on the fenders, so it they don't seem to have been replaced as the result of an accident.
The hood shock supports worked.

Interior:
The interior was thoroughly worn, but it easily could have been worse.
All the gauges, switches, and knobs worked, but I forgot to check the air conditioning.
The dashboard had half a dozen or so cracks on it as a result of where the car was originally from (see below).
The seats were manual, so I won't need to worry about their electrics.
The steering felt great, no play whatsoever.

Exterior:
There were a few spots of external rust. One making itself known at the left corner of the rear window. The other places were under the paint where it was just starting to rust. Luckily though, there was not sever rust to where it was starting to rot.
There was moderate sized scratch on the hood and some strange smaller ones and the top rear of the left door.
There seemed to be an exhaust leak just before the catalytic converter. There was no ticking, but it was louder there.

Other information:
The car came from California and was traded on a new car.
Or at least that's what the guy told me.



Based on what I saw, all that would be needed to make the car look great would be a weekend of cleaning inside and out, very minor bodywork, and a respray.
To make it be a great car, the front seats will need replacing as well as the rear A-arms. And definitely a new set of wheels and tires.

 

[playnthru]

I'm doubting the California car claim. I would check the paperwork on that, the rust seems a bit much for a California car.

I think I'd pass or counter offer 1,500. tops.. If this is a new car trade in. They gave him no more than a 1000 for it anyway.

Just my $.02.👍

 

[Celicaas]

Awesome The car is not that Bad so Just buy it And take it To an inspection center BTW Have you test drove it ?

 

[Slash]

Quite a bit of rust????? That car is clean as hell!

 

[Crash]

Depending on service history, old BMWs can require quite a bit of maintenance. I'm going to be up front, if you aren't willing to spend money or don't have money to spend on possible repairs, I would walk away now. If maintained correctly, they are reliable. Doing it yourself can save you quite a bit; but that will depend on if you're mechanically inclined and if you have the time to fix stuff yourself. Key is getting as much of the service history as possible.

Need to look at service history primarily, especially with old Bimmers. Service history and log books are key. However the drivetrain is pretty robust, and there's few electrical gremlins reported.

This. Old BMWs are mechanically solid. When wear and tear items go wrong, they can be quite expensive to replace, but I can't stress it enough, as long as you are willing to pay for quality parts and fixing things right, the car will be reliable.

Electrically, the good news is that they don't actually have a lot of electronics in them, and whatever electronics there are generally are not absolutely critical to the car running. The car will still run even with a lot of the electronics not working, albeit not as well.

I'm doubting the California car claim. I would check the paperwork on that, the rust seems a bit much for a California car.

I agree with playnthru, this has too much rust to be a CA car. Pretty typical places for rust though.

Apart, or course from the fuel lines, which are looking like they will need replacing.

Yes, replace the fuel lines if they haven't already been replaced recently. They would be 30+ years old now.

The insulation at the hood was pretty worn (when isn't it?), but that's not anything to worry about.

Typical.

I saw all the factory stickers under the hood and on the fenders, so it they don't seem to have been replaced as the result of an accident.

Do all the panels have the correct VIN on them? You should be able to find the VIN number on bumper, hood, quarter panels, doors, body (somewhere), trunk and rear bumper.

If you have one, it's also worth using a paint metering tool to check for paint consistency on all the body panels.

Interior:
The interior was thoroughly worn, but it easily could have been worse.
All the gauges, switches, and knobs worked, but I forgot to check the air conditioning.

I wouldn't be surprised if the AC developed a leak somewhere and it now doesn't work.

The dashboard had half a dozen or so cracks on it as a result of where the car was originally from (see below).

Based on my E30 experience, cracking plastic dashboards are very common. So much so that people pride their cars in having uncracked dashes.

Other information:
The car came from California and was traded on a new car.
Or at least that's what the guy told me.

Check Carfax or Autocheck if you haven't already.

The car looks like it's in fair condition, however get as much of its history as possible. It is a little odd to be sitting on two different sets of wheels (previous owner too poor to afford a proper set of wheels? Was it tracked, so rear had different tires?). The Cardinal Red interior is fairly rare though.

Also, price is way too high. If you can't get it for under $2k, then I would walk away.

Also, talk to Dennisch. He should have quite a bit of experience with the E24s.

 

[Sertsa]

That's a tough one, especially given the poor an in college part. I would consider it, if:
- You have the skill, time and money to do the maintenance and repair yourself.
- You have a place to store it, mainly while you're ready to work on it.
- You love working on BMWs about as much as you love driving them (maybe more).
- You keep your other car. I don't think you want to rely on a 30 year old BMW.
- You can find parts reasonably easily. (I'm not sure about the availability, but I'd guess E24 parts would be harder to find than those for a 3 or 5 series from the same period).

If you decide you'd like to go ahead, I think it'd be worth arranging to take it took a mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection. They can put it on a lift and take a closer look. These typically cost about $100, but if you find someone who specializes in old BMWs it'd probably be worth more.

Have you found this site? http://www.alanbartlett.com/bigsixes/buyingbigcoupes.htm

Also, these guys may have some information, too (just ignore the unhelpful comments): http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=152

 

[motortrend]

If this will be your only car and you'll have to rely on it I would suggest going over it thoroughly and doing lots of preventive maintenance (Expect ~2K) if you don't want downtime later.

I'll give you an example, my E39 has been quite reliable even though it had some neglected items that needed to be adressed, but recently there was an unexpected failure with a VANOS solenoid an the car has been off the road for 2 weeks+. If I didn't have the corolla I would be car-less. (Unless I were to blow a few thousand on a completely new system)

This will not apply to you directly, but what I'm saying is that cars can be reliable and problem free, but you need to be ready and preventive.

 

[chrisjohny]

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