NPC - To buy a Bimmer or not?, I know very little about them... Options

[mike_the_man]

Hi all,

I know there are a few BMW guys here, and I need a little help.

I'm looking at a 1988 BMW 325. It looks to be in very good shape. It has 174,000kms, a 4 door, dark grey. I talked to the owner last night, and he said that it was imported from Germany around 10 years ago, so it's an actual euro-spec car. It has some sort of Sport Suspension package, and it's a lot lower than stock. It sounds like the suspension is stock, but I'm not too sure. The owner also tells me that he had the car dyno'd and it came in at 195hp, I'm assuming at the rear wheels.

There's been quite a bit of work done to it. New rad, all engine seals replaced, timing belt and water pump done, all new bushings in the front, new exhaust, and some other stuff that I forget right now.

It has no power options, I'm not sure if it has A/C or cruise.

He's asking $7000CAN for it. Would that be a reasonable price? Would it being a euro model make it more or less desirable, and would parts be tougher to get? Are there any trouble spots with these cars?

I plan to take it for a drive next week. I'll try and post some pics as well.

All thoughts appreciated.

[anthony]

I agree, it sounds like a lot of money. I saw a cherry '89 325is on craigslist a few weeks ago for $4K (US). I've always wanted to get a 325is of that vintage. If and when I need another daily driver and if I can find a lower mileage example I'd go for it. I think I'd avoid grey market cars as well. At least with 911s you always hear that mileage is undocumentable. It's theorized that a lot of those cars were clean but higher mileage cars with odometers rolled back.

I used to have a 320i. I found it easy to work on, well designed and durable, but at 125K+ miles you end up replacing a lot of small stuff. I drove the 320 for 8 years and 80K miles and probably replaced:

radiator, hoses, and thermostat
heater core (twice)
heater valve
heater blower motor,
voltage regulator
muffler (twice)
ignition switch
wheel bearings
brake cylinders (rebuilt)
brakes a few times
new brake rotors and drums once
brake master cylinder
clutch master cylinder
clutch
"horse hair" in seats was starting to deteriorate
fuel pump

I eventually got rid of it, not because it wasn't still a reliable car but because I was simply tired of working on my daily driver every other weekend. Maybe that's an exageration but a couple times a month I'd have to fiddle with something and then every 3 or 4 months I probably had an all-day Saturday project to perform on it. That included oils changes and maintenance as well but still I've probably had to spend a Saturday working on my current daily driver VW Jetta 3 or 4 times in 11 years.