Should I buy this car???

Selik

http://www.cbg.ie/Car_detail.asp?CBGID=569688&ID=850061&NumPics=3&Make=BMW&Model=316i%20Coupe&frmFilter=All

Viewed it yesterday evening and all but agreed to buy it for €2050 although I've handed over no cash...

Pros
Good condition especially the body for the cars age
Half decent sound system (I like my choons!)
Alloys
NCT'd til mid to late 2008
Drives and handles well

Cons
Aircon not working (well not real aircon anyway)
No history
Re-conditioned engine put into car 4yrs ago (meaning the true mileage of the engine is unknown)
Tinted windows (too dark although I can easily remove them)
Owner immediately agreed to my first offer of €2050 although he was a complete stoner!

I've been stung before on used cars and I'm kinda sick of it at this stage. The owner seems like a sound chap and is a mechanic by trade. He told me he's serviced the car very recently and fixed up a few bits and pieces. Two things in particular are bothering me though, the aircon (fan really) is not working at all apart from a hint of air coming out. I told him I want this fixed before I buy it. And another thing is that the engine seems to be idling unevenly, as in the rev counter bobs up and down ever so slightly and the tone of the engine goes up and down slightly too.

So what do you guys think?

Dodgy as hell or a potential good purchase?

I just don't know at this stage but if it's not right I can hold off as I don't urgently need a car for anything in particular...

Jayrules

Hey well ta be honest dat seams to cheap and i dont like the sounds of it no idiling right that can be a big problem with them and not cheap ta fix and nobody ever takes the first offer just like dat so it sounds dodgyif i wer in your shoes i would get a mechanic ta look at it and if it was a young fella dat owned it he's probably railed de arse out of it so get the diff checked out and all dat yeh!! well let us no how you get on!!

Esel

He's asking €2,300. You should have offered about €1,300 for starters. Hate it when the first offer is accepted! He probably would have got a higher offer from you if he tried?

Your very first question should be "Hi, I'm calling about the car you have for sale". If he's a trader, he's now forced to ask "Which one?" or something similar. How many owners? Is it an original Irish car or an import? How long has he owned it? Why is he selling it? Etc etc. These are the kind of things you should be asking before deciding to go see the car. If the seller wants to meet in a carpark or something - be very suspicious. Also, always get an address and a landline.

If you really want to go for it, get it checked out by a mechanic you trust or who has been recommended to you by someone you trust. Worth the cost - cheaper if you get the seller to bring the car to the mechanic rather than vice-versa. A genuine seller should have no problem with this.

You say the guy seems to be a 'stoner' - I thought the car looked like a dealer's car from the pics! If this happens to be the case, and you buy it, expect a lot of attention from the boys in blue.

Selik

esel wrote:

He's asking €2,300. You should have offered about €1,300 for starters. Hate it when the first offer is accepted! He probably would have got a higher offer from you if he tried?

Your very first question should be "Hi, I'm calling about the car you have for sale". If he's a trader, he's now forced to ask "Which one?" or something similar. How many owners? Is it an original Irish car or an import? How long has he owned it? Why is he selling it? Etc etc. These are the kind of things you should be asking before deciding to go see the car. If the seller wants to meet in a carpark or something - be very suspicious. Also, always get an address and a landline.

If you really want to go for it, get it checked out by a mechanic you trust or who has been recommended to you by someone you trust. Worth the cost - cheaper if you get the seller to bring the car to the mechanic rather than vice-versa. A genuine seller should have no problem with this.

You say the guy seems to be a 'stoner' - I thought the car looked like a dealer's car from the pics! If this happens to be the case, and you buy it, expect a lot of attention from the boys in blue.

He's no dealer that's for sure!

I actually met him at his house and was even inside for a while... then HE actually drove me into town afterwards (where I live)! He seemed pretty straight up too and said if I had any probs with it feel free to give him a call...

neacy69

seems ok to me but you defo need to have it checked by a mechanic cos of the idling problem and to check if he has wrecked it from racing and not the original engine all that...the more i think about it defo get it checked before you buy it

i'd prob buy it but i might be biased cos im a big fan of the old bmw coupes...

Fey!

The car looks really well, and the best thing is that it doesn't appear to have been modified!

check out the http://www.e30zone.net/ website or the 3-series technical section on bavarian-board http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/forum_topics.asp?FID=47. Registration is free, and the people on both are very helpful. Just put in your op from here.

Hope this helps, and good luck with it if you go ahead and buy it.

AsphaltRisin'

Ok man, this looks half decent bodywise but can you tell me how much the revs are rising and falling by? And did you smell any weird smell off the exhaust? Like rotten eggs?

If just a bit of a rise and fall then that's not actually too unusual for those engines, 2 to 3 grand is around the going rate for a decent E30 316i with a bit of spec, however, get a GOOD mechanic to check it, if the dude who's sellin it is sure it's goo and is sure you'l buy it he should have no problem with lettin you do this.

Hopefully this works out well for you as these cars are fantastic little yokes.
If you really feel dodgy about buying it however, DONT. you'll always have your doubts about it as long as you own it. But of you can get it checked out by a decent mechanic and he says it's ok, then you'll probably be grand.

Vegeta

my brother has a mint e30 318is

and in comparison that car doesn't sound great

as everyone says get it completely checked over, don't take his word for anything

AsphaltRisin'

Vegeta wrote:

my brother has a mint e30 318is

and in comparison that car doesn't sound great

as everyone says get it completely checked over, don't take his word for anything

I used to have one of those (318is), cracker of a car. They're smoother running than the old 316i 8valve though, being a more advanced angine with a 16v cylinder head, the 316i and 318i e3o can often be a bit "lumpy" when ticking over, however if there's a lot of hoppin and jumpin around then there's probably a problem