Need help assessing value of a CSi

dealhunter0 said:
Wow, truly an eye-opener to see how much corrosion that sound dampening material can conceal. Very sad to see that kind of damage on what is otherwise such a well-preserved car. Kudos for your honest presentation. How many other very nice e9s are out there with serious issues hiding in this area?
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Mario's tidbits of wisdom
(1) "all un-restored E9 coupes have rust in the front fender seams."
(2) "restored coupes that didn't have their fenders off in the process aren't rust-free"

This is not the sort of stuff anyone wants to hear. But I trust him, and I'm sure the super dry/clean coupe I just bought has some degree of rust up in those same areas. The only question is whether I'm going to rip apart the front end to fix it now, or rust proof as best as I can and drive it for a few years first.

John
 
When to stop

Cougar (a real name would be my preference),

If you intend to sell the car you should stop now. Based on your shots of the exposed fender seams, I don't think you want to know what's under that outer fender. If you remove the little vertical piece that sits up against the edge of the outer fender, you might find a bunch of rust underneath. If so, then you might be tempted to strip the paint off the outer fender tops. The close up shots of the seam also show the U-shaped channel at the inner most edge of the outer fender. The bottom of that channel isn't clean and flat. That indicates possible previous repairs. When that area needs work, the tops of the fenders are often not far behind.

I'm seeing this less of a problem on the passenger side.

On the other hand, if you dig into it and fix everything properly, your coupe's value should be considerably higher because you have photographic proof that you found and eradicated the biggest rust concerns for an E9. It is probably cost neutral or even positive (profitable) if you can do some of the work yourself.

John
 
Trevor-

You should be commended for your open and honest presentation. One could easily have left everything intact and asked for 38k prox.

To state the obvious- how much would it take to fix the fenders, and would you recoup that money in a sale? Other factors, like how quick do you need to sell has a bearing on making a decision.

Path of minimal risk while leaving your options open would be- treat the rust with an arresting/converting agent like loctite "extend", and sell as is. Finding someone who can appreciate the overall condition of your ride should not be a problem.

In the meantime, investigate the cost of proper rust remediation and it's potential return. Payback in this area is risky, but you won't hit your initial valuation without undertaking a fix. Does Mario owe you any favors?

Best of luck!
 
Thanks for sharing and this makes me want to start digging. Good luck with your sale.
 
Thanks everyone, I greatly appreciate the advice. I'm going to have to talk this one over with my father to confirm, but I'm 90% positive he's going to say fix what you can (rust treat/encapsulate) and sell her "as is". I'm thinking she's only worth about $30K now, leaving the buyer the option of doing the work how they see fit with a savings of about 6-8K ... the cost of Mario doing the work from what I hear. I'd hate to hold up the sale any further. It saddens me to do this as I was really looking forward to inheriting the car vs. selling it.

Best Regards,

Trevor
 
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bfeng said:
Cougar (a real name would be my preference),

If you intend to sell the car you should stop now. Based on your shots of the exposed fender seams, I don't think you want to know what's under that outer fender. If you remove the little vertical piece that sits up against the edge of the outer fender, you might find a bunch of rust underneath. If so, then you might be tempted to strip the paint off the outer fender tops. The close up shots of the seam also show the U-shaped channel at the inner most edge of the outer fender. The bottom of that channel isn't clean and flat. That indicates possible previous repairs. When that area needs work, the tops of the fenders are often not far behind.

I'm seeing this less of a problem on the passenger side.

On the other hand, if you dig into it and fix everything properly, your coupe's value should be considerably higher because you have photographic proof that you found and eradicated the biggest rust concerns for an E9. It is probably cost neutral or even positive (profitable) if you can do some of the work yourself.

John
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I'm heartbroken enough as it is John, I don't need to see it fixed perfect only to get rid of it ... if only I could come up with the money to buy it from my father and sneak it past my wife ... on better thought, it's safer for my health to sell it ;)
 
Encapsulate?

Encapsulation won't work if you don't expose and eliminate all the loose stuff. And there's a pile of flakes inside those vertical pieces. So, I'd say sell as is for as much as you can get (<$30k) or ... pay to fix it right, do a great repaint, document the restoration, and sell it for $60k.
 
Contrast this w Other sellers

Contrast this w Other sellers Who say "no rust" beyond what they see. This guy is honest and the right kind to buy a car from.
In comparison, there's a car that just finished ebay unsuccessfully with rust front and back but who says there's unlikely any more beyond what can be seen.

I would consider buying this one as a needs tlc car but I already have one.
 
Thanks for the compliments guys. I strive to be as honest as possible and couldn't live with myself if I had sold the car as "nearly rust free" without knowing for certain.

That said, let's consider the car for sale for $30K firm. I have a full set of stock rims and lots of misc. trim & mechanical bits (gaskets, radiator hoses, overflow, etc.) that will convey with the car. The only "unknown" is what's under the fender flares and those aren't coming off now. I work from home and I'm not tied down to a rigid schedule, so if anyone is serious about buying and wants to test drive or inspect, just drop me a PM.
 
Other than posting on here, besides setting a reserve on eBay, where else would you guys recommend I place a for sale ad?

I'm thinking craigslist & possibly Hemmings ... any other suggestions?
 
could be the plan all along

echappe said:
You might have been better served to have left all that alone as you have created a high dollar remediation job and your 30K price just plummetted
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if he can get the value low enough he can afford to buy it from his dad!!!
It is obvious he loves the car
 
echappe said:
You might have been better served to have left all that alone as you have created a high dollar remediation job and your 30K price just plummetted
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No dought, but Karma has a way of working these things out better than the difference in price could have served me or my father ;)

Nobody likes surprises and someone buying the car for $35K-$37K and then finding it needs $6K in work ... that's just not right. I don't roll like that. Sucks for my pocket book, but like I said above, Karma has a way of working these things out.
 
Please paint all of the exposed metal with gray POR15 for now. Then sand it smooth and paint over it w/ a Fjord color matched paint. That will help it sell and it will also preserve the car as winter (and the associated condensation and moisture) is coming.

Some people don't like POR but I absolutely love it. It dries rock hard and converts rust. Also look at it this way, if you or the next owner are going to do a full restore it will all get blasted off anyhow.

Cheers
James
 
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