Hi Everyone,
I need some advice purchasing my first E9.
Needless to say I have been in love with the E9 since I started tinkering with my father's abandoned E21 when I was a teenager. After 3 E21's I longed to upgrade for the desirable E9, but could never quite afford one. Living in a major metropolitan area for the last several years has dampened my grease monkey tendencies, but not my drive to eventually afford a "labor of love" E9.
With that said, right now I have the opportunity to fulfill my dream. I need to know if this opportunity below is a good one so I don't go making a mistake buying something simply because it is there and I have some cash.
The Opportunity: My neighbor of the past two years is in possession of 1973, 3.0 CSi. He is moving out of the country for a period of months and has offered the car up for sale rather than going through the hassle of storing it and his daily driver, an M5. He is asking $12k.
Background: He purchased the car on a whim 2 years ago here in the city and has since used it sporadically, but primarily he leaves it under the nearby overpass of the highway for days & weeks on end. It is currently left out in the snow on a side street and all of this breaks my heart.
Condition:
*The exact miles of the car are unknown as odometer is broken and has been since he purchased it. (50,000miles)
*The engine seems strong, but has a slight intermittent dip in power under 2500 rpm; I am not sure as to the cause, however no such problem exists above 25k-rpm. He claims the car is regularly cared for by a little garage I unfamiliar with but is happy to provide paper work. He had not noticed the loss of power previously. The head gasket was recently replaced.
*The body appears solid; however there is extensive cancer in driver side fender where it meets the quarter panel and down to the running board. It is not noticeable unless one looks under the car and inside the wheel-well or one merely has to grip the metal to feel how malleable it is. The running boards are deteriorating on both sides especially where they meet the front fenders and there are a few soft spots. The front quart panels both show signs of bubbling, the aforementioned front left has several larger dollar sized ones. Inside the front and rear towers seem rock hard, (which the owner claims as one of the car's strongest selling points, but I have my doubts.) The floor of the truck contains some visible rust with some pinholes through the metal.
*The interior is cloth and outside of a single dime sized tear in the driver's seat it's all there. Unfortunately the driver side seat can no longer adjust forward to allow access to the rear seats. The wooden panels are in decent condition. There is no sunroof. And there is lame repair done to the passenger door grip bar involving duct tape...
*The lights and the radio all work properly however the window regulators are broken.
*She is a manual stick and shifts without any problems at all.
She has her problems and I am willing to put in the time for many years to come...
My question is, $12k seems awfully steep for all of her potential problems.
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? All will be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!
Thank you again in advance!
I need some advice purchasing my first E9.
Needless to say I have been in love with the E9 since I started tinkering with my father's abandoned E21 when I was a teenager. After 3 E21's I longed to upgrade for the desirable E9, but could never quite afford one. Living in a major metropolitan area for the last several years has dampened my grease monkey tendencies, but not my drive to eventually afford a "labor of love" E9.
With that said, right now I have the opportunity to fulfill my dream. I need to know if this opportunity below is a good one so I don't go making a mistake buying something simply because it is there and I have some cash.
The Opportunity: My neighbor of the past two years is in possession of 1973, 3.0 CSi. He is moving out of the country for a period of months and has offered the car up for sale rather than going through the hassle of storing it and his daily driver, an M5. He is asking $12k.
Background: He purchased the car on a whim 2 years ago here in the city and has since used it sporadically, but primarily he leaves it under the nearby overpass of the highway for days & weeks on end. It is currently left out in the snow on a side street and all of this breaks my heart.
Condition:
*The exact miles of the car are unknown as odometer is broken and has been since he purchased it. (50,000miles)
*The engine seems strong, but has a slight intermittent dip in power under 2500 rpm; I am not sure as to the cause, however no such problem exists above 25k-rpm. He claims the car is regularly cared for by a little garage I unfamiliar with but is happy to provide paper work. He had not noticed the loss of power previously. The head gasket was recently replaced.
*The body appears solid; however there is extensive cancer in driver side fender where it meets the quarter panel and down to the running board. It is not noticeable unless one looks under the car and inside the wheel-well or one merely has to grip the metal to feel how malleable it is. The running boards are deteriorating on both sides especially where they meet the front fenders and there are a few soft spots. The front quart panels both show signs of bubbling, the aforementioned front left has several larger dollar sized ones. Inside the front and rear towers seem rock hard, (which the owner claims as one of the car's strongest selling points, but I have my doubts.) The floor of the truck contains some visible rust with some pinholes through the metal.
*The interior is cloth and outside of a single dime sized tear in the driver's seat it's all there. Unfortunately the driver side seat can no longer adjust forward to allow access to the rear seats. The wooden panels are in decent condition. There is no sunroof. And there is lame repair done to the passenger door grip bar involving duct tape...
*The lights and the radio all work properly however the window regulators are broken.
*She is a manual stick and shifts without any problems at all.
She has her problems and I am willing to put in the time for many years to come...
My question is, $12k seems awfully steep for all of her potential problems.
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? All will be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!
Thank you again in advance!
