To buy or not to buy...that is the question

[martjob]

yay or nay? its a stage 4 dinan. '97 with 167k miles. Guy says it has a bunch of upgrades (injectors,throttle body,cold air,chipped,lowering springs,and exhaust).

[wheelfetish]

I say do it...if the price is right. You can probably talk him down a lot. Most people don't want to buy a car already built up performance wise. I wouldn't pay anything above $9k.

And if you do get it, please change those rims. They look hideous

[Steve]

price?

[martjob]

He wants $7550 for it.

[Stolzy]

idk sounds like a deal but i wonder what maintenance would be like for that???

[martjob]

thats what im afraid of, with it being a dinan and all. and its a bmw so its most likely gonna be butt secks for maintenance =(

[wheelfetish]

idk sounds like a deal but i wonder what maintenance would be like for that???

True, don't get it and slip up the routine maintenance. Make sure he did oil changes, spark plugs, ect. You also got to think about if he beat it or not. Most cars that have mods like that are built for one thing- speed. So theres a good possibility that he beat it like crazy especially if hes a kid (not ****** on all kids, im only 19 but most kids my age beat their cars).

Also, make sure you get it inspected BEFORE you buy. That way if theres a problem with it that you miss you don't get screwed in the end. Also keep in mind that you will very rarely get the price you paid for it when you go to sell it.

[martjob]

Yeah no doubt. I'm pretty sure he's older though. The pics he sent me of the interior are preeetty clean. But yeah im gonna give this bitch a physical when I go to look at it, since it'll be my money and not my parents.

[wheelfetish]

Yeah no doubt. I'm pretty sure he's older though. The pics he sent me of the interior are preeetty clean. But yeah im gonna give this bitch a physical when I go to look at it, since it'll be my money and not my parents.

Check ball joints, bounce test, and give it a good test drive. Check the handles too, if they feel stiff and hard to open, they're going to need replaced. (not sure if its all bmw but i've went through 2 driver and a passenger door handle). And they're expensive.

As far as maintenance, with all the mods its going to need a little more then a oil change every 3000 miles. Maintenance on a bmw is just like every other car. A good oil/filter change every few thousands of miles and spark plugs every other time. If you keep the car in mint condition, then you should be fine. But keep a few hundred spare if something would go wrong.

[martjob]

this will be my first go around with a euro car. does anyone have specs for a stage 4 dinan?

[FluffywhiteM3]

Don't pay 7500 for that. Buy my car with a little more than half those miles for 8k. Much cleaner too IMO.

[Richard_Gud.]

HAHA at fluffy.

[martjob]

well fluffy, i do like yours quite a bit, but the fact that you live far far away doesnt really help the cause

[akoehler]

meh.
built > bought.

[Morbid]

lol at all you guys saying you'd rather buy a stock car. That car is FAR from built, don't worry. You'll have a lot to do to that before it's hit anywhere near its max potential.

As for it being worth it, I would try to get a carfax first. Carfax is full of shit A LOT of the time, but it could serve as a good baseline on things to look for. For example, if there is an accident report, it will tell you if it was reported as minor or major damage and what part of the car was damaged. Other then that, just check everything over. Check for common problems, check if the motor's healthy, and look for paintwork. It's usually pretty easy to tell which panels have been replaced/repainted. Check if the shocks are blown, check if the diff is blown, check if the vanos is on its way out. Take anythign the owner says to a grain of salt and use your instincts to tell you if it's a good car or not. That car could be worth 7500, but only you will be able to tell from seeing it in person.

As for maintenence, e36's arn't too expensive to maintain as long as you're willing to do most/all of the work yourself. They arn't hard to work on either.