This weeks Classic Irish bargains that I'm not buying

I know this car reasonably well. It languished in a shed in Ferns for a number of years before it moved to Delgany where again, it was in a shed for probably 5 years. I think it has had 5 or 6 owners, I know the last three anyway. Genuine rust free and mechanically sound car that hasn't been messed with.

Small detail I know,but it's missing the decal from the rear hatch.

Not really. Rust around the rear window is a big issue with these cars. Small bubbles mean big hidden issues. Neither the window glass or the seals are available anymore. Plus its got chrome arches which are rust magnets. The advert says its a 230CE so it isn't a facelift model but it has the facelift front. I'd be very careful with this one

Mercedes 200TE w124 estate for sale in Co. Limerick for €12,500 on DoneDeal

This used to be mine nearly 10 years ago and I noticed it for sale twice over the last 12 months where it eventually sold a few months ago for around 7k I'm told! It lost its original wheels along the way!!

Patina... The new buzzword for.... Oh yeah, rot☺️.

Hopefully it gets a good owner who'll keep looking after it, quite a small market for it I'd imagine.

Oh God the sweaty regret that wakes you up at 4am😞. Would it cost much to import to the UK?

According to Motorcheck, that Dodge is a UK import. That might make it easier to export to the UK.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/fiat-130-130-coupe-stunning-example-3-2-left-hand/40343376

It won't be a bargain of course, but just wow.

There's also a 2nd one (RHD)

As in all things old, rust. Check the jacking points underneath and the bottoms of the doors, including the inside.

The engine: a top end ticking noise can be just adjustment needed for the tappets. But also could be a camshaft. It's a head off job if it is. It's a BMW. It'll have oil leaks. Just don't need excessive ones.

Front suspension: If she has a tendency to shake the steering wheel under braking it's a sign of lower arms worn. The car should drive lovely, since it's a luxury motor, so there should be no bangs or creaking. I see in his ad he mentions it has work done to the front suspension.

Make sure the heater fan runs properly at all speeds. If it just runs flat out, it's a relatively easy fix, but still something to watch for. I noticed in his video the heater controls seems to be falling out a bit on the left. Something to look at.

She a "bottom of the range" E32. The smallest engine. No cruise control. The trip computer is the basic one. The head lining is sagging, but you can't pin that on the car. It's nigh on 40 years old after all, but you can use it as a bargaining chip.

It looks like a nice car, to be fair, but it's an odd one with the mileage. When the clocks are changed, the code plug or " chip" in the old clocks is just swapped over to the new one, which carries over all the information, including the mileage. I don't know why this wasn't done. I do know early E32's like this one have a fault that when the mileage reaches something like 300,000 kilometers, it stops counting. With the service history, if it's correct, it's hard to see that being the case here. But why didn't they swap the chip?

The MOT history for her is a bit hit and miss, but it's not a new car, so it's not going to be perfect.

I know some of the people on BR have no time for the seller at all. I don't know the man or why they have no time for him. Personally, I think that that's a lot of money for that car. I bought my one a few years ago, and it cost significantly less than that. I know things have gone kinda crazy since then, but they just struggle to make the kind of money an E30, for example, would make.

Either way, best of luck if you go for it.

Edit: One last thing. Make sure the wheels aren't metric. They're a very expensive tyre to replace if they are. I don't think they are by looking at the ad, but they'll need checking just in case.

Well, if the clocks were changed at 300,000kms , and now there's 73,000 miles, that's around 260,000 miles. Quiet a bit on any car. It does look clean but I'd be thinking closer to 8 or 9 thousand. If you had the time, it might be better to source one yourself from the UK, even with all taxes paid. https://www.carandclassic.com/list/10/e32/

Sorry, thought it was 300,000 kms when it was changed.

But wow! That's quiet the mark up. I'm not overly surprised, though. Like I mentioned, they just don't make the same kind of money as an E30. But that's what people want. A MK2 Escort will make more than an E30, despite it being a far inferior car, for example. At least here and in the UK.

Personally, I sourced mine in the UK myself. I had my eye on an E34 in the UK that was sold for £1700. About a year later it was for sale here for more than €10,000. That's when I decided to cut out the middle man.

No, i was meant to view it over the weekend but something came up and i couldn't make it. Still deliberating on whether to go and see it or not. It's a lot of money for an E32……

@User1998 - exactly. That's the very thing that doesn't sit easy with me. As @JabbaTheHut explained "When the clocks are changed, the code plug or " chip" in the old clocks is just swapped over to the new one, which carries over all the information, including the mileage"

It's the only thing which raises a red flag for me with the car - it's a bit strange that it wasn't done and could certainly scare off potential future buyers….

Ah lads in all fairness, with cars of that age condition outweighs mileage by a long shot, at least the speedometer change is accounted for. Rust rot and fillers covering previous bodges would be what I'd be looking for.