I found out a few things about the Beemer. It is:
1988 325i E30
Rear wheel drive
Gold colour
300,000 KM or 186,000 miles
The owner is back from her trip but the car isn't. It quit on her about 100 miles from home and she had it towed for repairs. This may be a good thing depending on what broke and who fixed it
My DIL asked her if the air conditioning worked well and she said she did not know because she had never used it... ??
This Beemer buying is a work in progress.
As Promised
2 hours ago
Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI'd put money into an old Honda before I'd put money into an old BMW.
ReplyDeleteThis of course is the dilemma. The A/C in the Honda is not working and the tires are 6 years old. The timing belt is overdue for replacement. These three things could add up to $2000. The BMW on the other hand has new tires and if it has been dealer maintained has probably had the timing belt replaced recently. This I have to find out. The A/C is another issue, we still don't know if it works. What a strange answer, "I don't know (if the A/C works), I have never used it".
DeleteI am not committed here. I have many questions.
I would very much doubt that the AC would work in a car of that age. Too many components that could spring a leak over the years. And, not worth fixing either. When the heck would you need AC where you guys are?? It might get a bit toasty, but I very much doubt you get the humidity that we get here.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking more of towing it south for the winter. Here you are right, we do not need the A/C often. However, if the car actually has been dealer maintained, why would they not maintain the A/C? Questions, questions...
DeleteMy son will be home tonight so maybe he can dig up more answers. I will have to drive down there at some point but no point in wasting my time until I have some answers.
And an email comment from Al:
ReplyDeleteJust a couple of comments. My belief is that 300,000 K is about the end of life for any vehicle. My brother has a Beemer, they tend to be expensive to repair. I don't have anything against them but you might want to invest in an "off lease" vehicle, more expensive but it will probably cost you less in the longer term.
Just my $0.02 worth!
Hard to argue with your points, Al. I will wait to see the maintenance records and maybe talk to wherever she has been taking it for service. If it is the dealer and it has had regular service, it may be worth having fun with for a year or two (or until it starts costing money).
DeleteOr make an offer lower ☟ than the asking price, mentioning your concerns. You could always flip it then for a tidy ☝ profit if it is at all presentable. Some Beemer enthusiast may see the value.
DeleteIf she has been maintaining it like she said, if the recent problem was minor and is repaired and if there is a recent timing belt in it I am sure it is worth the $1,000 if not...
DeleteYes, I would MUCH RATHER buy a used Honda and put a little money into it than a 1988 BMW. They are notorious for costing a lot to maintain. A new one is very nice but once you've got over 150,000 miles it's just asking for problems.
ReplyDeleteAt one point in the now distant past, I acquired a 1987 Mercedes 300SDL, beautiful car, great mileage and a true German Road Machine. It has about 250,000 on it when I got it and over the next 8 or so years I doubled that number. It had been well maintained before I got it and I had the same service place look after while I had it. The only thing that bothered me was it seemed like every oil change was a 5 or 6 hundred dollar bill. The price of keeping it in great shape I guess. I sold it to a friend of my brothers and as far as I know 8 years later it is still going down the road.
ReplyDeleteUntil about ten years ago I did oil changes in all our vehicles myself. I may have to start getting my back dirty again! $5 - $6 hundred for an oil change! That model must be a diesel to justify that.
DeleteI had 3 of the 123 series diesel mercedes (300D) and don't understand 5 or 6 hundred for service. I did oil and fuel filter changes for minimal cost. My friends and I rebuilt injectors as well. That 5 cyl diesel was about the best Mercedes put out and the 123 series was a war horse.
Delete"don't understand 5 or 6 hundred for service" - Canada ;)
DeleteMy sister has a 2006 Beemer. The headlight went out. Dealer says no problem $5000 U.S.
ReplyDeleteShe couldn't believe it and went around to half dozen private shops for the repair. Finally got it working at a small shop for $2500. Three days later the other headlight went out. So discouged she tried to sell it to CarMax and buy something else. They would hardly give her anything for it.
The high tech circuitry in new luxury cars is getting very problematic and almost impossible to fix BMW has one of the worst records on repairs and cost of parts. The car you are considering might be old enough to avoid the latest problems. These days everyone is leasing these cars and turning them in before warranty expires. My sister drives with only one headlight. BTW they offered her $6000 for the low milage X-5 but $5000 to fix headlight.
Ouch, ouch, ouch! I was gazing through a BMW forum and noticed instructions on modifying a standard headlight to fit a Bimmer. I wondered, why would anyone go to all that trouble? Now I know. I better bookmark that forum if I can find it again.
DeleteLuckily, we seldom drive at night. LOL. And you are right, with any luck, this one is old enough to avoid those problems. This may be a short lived experiment in Life On The Wild Side.
In a panic I checked one of the auto parts websites for 1988 325i headlights and they have them for $10 or so. Phew! I know what you mean though. A friend had an old Jag XKE and the engine had to be lifted part way out to get at the two rear spark plugs.
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