Need help choosing fun used car for $8000 Update: I bought it! Picture inside!

[halik]

I'm still looking for the perfect one, but I decided to go with the BMW 330i. You just can't argue with the straight six and RWD. I can do most of the work myself, so I'm not that concerned about maintenance costs. And from what I read they actually seem pretty reliable, and there are a lot of them.

Now I'm trying to decide between a high mileage 2005ish or low mileage 2002ish.

I think newer, higher mileage makes more sense?

I'd actually rather do lower mileage and bit older - my brother's is a 2000 and it had like 34K when he bought it in 06/07. My M3 is an 01 and I got it with 50K last year - the stuff that ages is cheap to replace, the stuff that wears with miles isn't.

Also cheapest place for oem parts (BMW dealer in nebraska):
http://www.bmwmercedesparts.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=215771

 

[Phanuel]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_9-2X

That article only notes the more aggressive STI steering rack, but IIRC there are also some suspension bits and front brake calipers that are basically STI parts rather than WRX parts. Of course they're all interchangable.

Learn something new every day. I always thought those Saabs looked exactly like the Scubies and wondered if they shared the same platform. Just seemed like a stretch for a Japanese company to make something for a European branch of a US company.

 

[alphatarget1]

maxima

 

[Fenixgoon]

personally i think a 15 year old german car is a terrible idea. there should be plenty of cars in the early 2000's available for $8k.

hell, you might be able to get a GTO for that much almost.

 

[DougoMan]

What is a fair price for this e30?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2783821595.html


I ended up getting an old Honda Odyssey from my parents, so I no longer need a daily driver. Instead I am going to get a fun semi-reliable project car that I can tinker around on in my spare time and hopefully drive most of the time too. Hence the E30.

 

[T2urtle]

its an old old car. While there is a decent following for bmw's i would only pay $2000, but a 200K bmw isn't worth anything to me.

 

[DougoMan]

Here is my new baby. 1992 325i.

Price: $1400

Believe it or not there does not seem to be anything wrong with it besides a small leak in the oil filter canister housing. Needs a new muffler but I was going to buy an exhaust anyway. It does need some interior work, but it's not bad. The seller had the last 8 years of maintenance documented and has taken good care of it.

It's so much fun to drive. I've never driven such a substantial feeling car. My old Protege feels like a cheap toy compared to this.


And yes, I will be supercharging it.

:biggrin:


I plan to modify and restore it in this order:

1. Refreshed interior (new carpet, headliner, needs some trim pieces and a tear in the drivers seat repaired)
2. Exhaust
3. coilovers and suspension refresh
4. supercharger and lsd

It's going to be a sleeper with no exterior mods. Stock wheels and ride height even.

 

[Arkaign]

LS1 swap!

I'm not sure the expense is worth it supercharging a 20 year old motor :\

 

[HAL9000]

I thought you wanted to spend 8k?

How many miles?

 

[Doppel]

Geeze for $1400 you've got tons of money for repairs, looks pretty good.

 

[HAL9000]

If you change the engine and do some other fun things to it, it would make a great "sleeper car" do that.

 

[Black2na]

the 2.5L motor is one of the most reliable motors BMW made. and parts are pleasantly cheap. http://www.bavauto.com/ these guys have awesome customer service. i bought alot of stuff from them when i had my 525i quality stuff

 

[Meghan54]

the 2.5L motor is one of the most reliable motors BMW made. and parts are pleasantly cheap. http://www.bavauto.com/ these guys have awesome customer service. i bought alot of stuff from them when i had my 525i quality stuff

While that may be true, he's speaking of supercharging an engine that's got 20 years of work and wear already on it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for performance mods on cars. And true, modding his car like he want will give him a nice, fast sleeper. But for how long?


To the OP: Nice find.

 

[JCH13]

While that may be true, he's speaking of supercharging an engine that's got 20 years of work and wear already on it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for performance mods on cars. And true, modding his car like he want will give him a nice, fast sleeper. But for how long?


To the OP: Nice find.

My 1991 Miata has been running a fairly aggressive turbo setup (10-12psi, sometimes more) on the original engine (now 21y/o) since 2007 when it was first a GRM Challenge car with it's previous owner. He raced GRM in 2007, 2008, and 2009 with it and DD'd it in the summers. He sold it to me in late 2010, and I've been driving/racing it since. Old engines might surprise you :biggrin:

 

[SpatiallyAware]

IMO you should keep it nice and stock. That's not a great platform to supercharge, and it's really cool to see the old e30s running around.

 

[DougoMan]

IMO you should keep it nice and stock. That's not a great platform to supercharge, and it's really cool to see the old e30s running around.

E36

While that may be true, he's speaking of supercharging an engine that's got 20 years of work and wear already on it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for performance mods on cars. And true, modding his car like he want will give him a nice, fast sleeper. But for how long?

I'm not too worried about blowing the engine, because there are tons of used cheap engines available for this car.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

My bad, e36!

 

[alkemyst]

I'd get that gray trim refinished and the exterior would look awesome.

 

[alkemyst]

REALOEM.COM is a great place to look up part numbers you may need.

 

[DougoMan]

I'd get that gray trim refinished and the exterior would look awesome.

For whatever reason I really like the gray trim. Maybe because it makes it look like an older model.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

wow. great buy. good price. now you have $6600 for upgrades! yay!

 

[DougoMan]

Day 4: Spun out and jacked the rear axle/suspension. And who knows what else.

Oh well. It was a wonderful 4 days.

 

[MagickMan]

Holy ****, that was quick. Anyone get hurt? You going to repair or just look for something else?

 

[DougoMan]

Holy ****, that was quick. Anyone get hurt? You going to repair or just look for something else?

Nah nobody got hurt, it was just my dumb ass in the car.

I was just starting to accelerate up an onramp when the rear got out from under me and it spun into the curb. I'm obviously not used to driving a powerful RWD car.

First rain of the season, crappy tires and about 200lbs missing from the back of the car probably didn't help matters. It was so slick that when I got out of the car I fell on my ass.

Still was my fault, should have been more careful.

No body damage, but the back right wheel is bent in at a 75 degree angle. I can roll it in neutral, but get a horrible grinding sound if I put it in gear.

I'll take a look under the car tomorrow. Though this is definitely not what I had in mind for my first repair job as an amateur mechanic.


Oh well, I'm glad I learned this lesson in a $1400 car and not an M3 like I almost bought. Of course I probably would have bought comprehensive insurance with the M3..

 

[Safeway]

Wow. Just. Wow.