E36 328i sport buying advice...
Discussion
I've decided I definitely want one of these. I have a bit of a quandary though.
I have come across 2 that I really like the look of. The first one below, is very far from me, I would have to fly up to see it. The vendor is willing to meet me at Edinburgh airport.
He says the car is mint apart from some very small surface rust starting on the front arches. Plus points for that one are its low milage and under my budget. Do you think it is worth my effort to go all that way? (he is also emailing me some vidoes he took of the car to give me a better idea of what condition it is in)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
The second car is a lot closer, but a little over my budget. The seller also seems very confident that It is a very good car.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3158915.htm
What would you do?
One thought I did have regarding the one in Scotland, maybe I could ask in the Scottish forum for anyone that is near it to go and have a quick look over it for me and if they think its a good one fly up and have a look myself. Obviously I would paypal them some money as a thank you.
I have come across 2 that I really like the look of. The first one below, is very far from me, I would have to fly up to see it. The vendor is willing to meet me at Edinburgh airport.
He says the car is mint apart from some very small surface rust starting on the front arches. Plus points for that one are its low milage and under my budget. Do you think it is worth my effort to go all that way? (he is also emailing me some vidoes he took of the car to give me a better idea of what condition it is in)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
The second car is a lot closer, but a little over my budget. The seller also seems very confident that It is a very good car.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3158915.htm
What would you do?
One thought I did have regarding the one in Scotland, maybe I could ask in the Scottish forum for anyone that is near it to go and have a quick look over it for me and if they think its a good one fly up and have a look myself. Obviously I would paypal them some money as a thank you.
Edited by Mr Pies on Saturday 27th August 15:09
Prefer the ebay one myself, not sure why. However, I would want to inspect the history carefully as he states 'massive history file' not full history - he doesn't list the number of previous owners and the milage is suspiciously low IMO.
The problem is if you get all the way to Scotland you will probably end up buying the car even if there are warning signs of something being wrong or even if it isn't as described. I would be asking lots of questions prior to travelling and expect very detailed response before going that far.
The problem is if you get all the way to Scotland you will probably end up buying the car even if there are warning signs of something being wrong or even if it isn't as described. I would be asking lots of questions prior to travelling and expect very detailed response before going that far.
Edited by VolvoT5 on Saturday 27th August 15:30
They are both a decent price, do you want a standard one or a modififed one?
I would get the vosa mot history's for both cars to see what they've needed in the past 3 years.
Neither add says how many owners or how complete the history is, a lot of these cars will have reached 100k within their first 5 years so the mileage is only relevant with a full history.
E36 now starting to get rusty so I would be worried about buying a 1995 E36 from scotland, older cars from scotland tend to have much more corrosion from having so much more salt used on the roads (often oct - april). EG I have bought 5 yr old Golfs from scotland needing paintwork due to rust, I have never had to do paintwork on a 5 yr old Golf from the south. The years of salt corrosion makes a huge difference when working on them and having horribe rusty/seized bolts to deal with.
I would get the vosa mot history's for both cars to see what they've needed in the past 3 years.
Neither add says how many owners or how complete the history is, a lot of these cars will have reached 100k within their first 5 years so the mileage is only relevant with a full history.
E36 now starting to get rusty so I would be worried about buying a 1995 E36 from scotland, older cars from scotland tend to have much more corrosion from having so much more salt used on the roads (often oct - april). EG I have bought 5 yr old Golfs from scotland needing paintwork due to rust, I have never had to do paintwork on a 5 yr old Golf from the south. The years of salt corrosion makes a huge difference when working on them and having horribe rusty/seized bolts to deal with.
Lets Torque said:
wackojacko said:
I'm still flapping about what I want.
Skyline one day , Clio the next. Volvo T5 the day after.
Tommorrow there will be something else in 'What Car Have You Been Obbsessing About' thread.
I feel sorry for my petrolhead/PHer Facebook friends that get a new option almost daily
With a budget of 8k there are so many options it's rather hard to choose.
Spend 2K on an E36 or 6K on a 530D sport etc
HARD decisions !
wackojacko said:
I feel sorry for my petrolhead/PHer Facebook friends that get a new option almost daily
With a budget of 8k there are so many options it's rather hard to choose.
Spend 2K on an E36 or 6K on a 530D sport etc
HARD decisions !
Not a bad dilemma to be in though if I am honest.
Gaz. said:
Thanks gaz I had not seen that. A little over my budget but he says px welcome so maybe he will have my current car off me as well. I'll drop him an email now.ETA: Everyone I know that has owned a black car has said they would never have one again, due to how hard they are to keep clean?
Edited by Mr Pies on Saturday 27th August 18:40
Out of the two you selected, and going by the advert alone, the first one (red) is worth the effort without a shadow of a doubt. It looks a million times the car the silver one is, and we all know how cars repeatedly described as "the best you can buy" can turn out - guy selling the silver one can't even be arsed to take good photos, but the red baby is very very well presented.
Though, depending on your tastes, that black one is also most lovely
and it too sits well above the silver one, in my opinion.
Though, depending on your tastes, that black one is also most lovely
and it too sits well above the silver one, in my opinion.vit4 said:
Check the MOT history of the red one to confirm mileage; if it is legit and on inspection the structural hidden bits aren't rusty, then I'd imagine that would be worth the effort! The silver one seems overpriced?
The red one's owner tells me he has all the MOT's from new to back the milage up.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff