bleucamaro

Hey Steve, Sorry to flake, but I'm kinda stuck in sac helping detali old cars today. Tomorrow I'm planning on going up to the Lincoln car show (town, not brand), but I'm not sure when I'll get back. maybe a sunday drive???

UDPride

Jeez this thread is right up m alley.

I JUST BOUGHT a 91 325ix. 4dr with automatic. 120,000 miles. Bought it for $3300.

The good:
- interior was basically mint. Like it was never sat in.
- tranny drove well, shifted ok
- cold A/C, hot seat heaters
- all electrics work (moonroof, mirrors, windows etc)
- undeside is pretty clean, no rust
- engine is strong

The bad:
- shocks on it were absolutely shot ($1000)
- needed timing belt and water pump ($350)
- oil change/filter/fluids ($40)
- tires were shot ($360)
- two rims were bent unbeknownst to me, ended up ordering new rims all around ($600)
- car will not stay in park. the pawl is broken. Otherwise ive felt no other tranny issues
- not sure on brakes -- shop will let me know Monday
- hood needs repainted

So right now Im about $6000 into the car that I bought for $3300 10 days ago. I sort of projected this and knew I needed some stuff done, but also $3300 isnt much for a AWD Bimmer. These care are hard to come by and the 91s were the last of them and had the airbag.

When I get the car back Ill give a better report. Im hoping after all of this work is done it will pretty mcuh run like the top for the next 2yrs.

KuHL 951

Is this the norm for the marque or based upon history? I haven't read that the manual trans is any worse than our cars and they run longer than 225k from what I've gathered from other BMW owners. The transfer case I can believe though, they are chain driven, chains wear out.

KuHL 951

Well it's done, I bought it at $3300 and now I'll find out if if I made a mistake or not. Now if I can sell the N/A with a new clutch and TB service at the same price I'm gold.
Thanks for all the input.

Steve

UDPride

I like those rims. Never seen them before. I paid $3300 too. Mine had same mileage thereabouts on the engine (120) and drivetrain. You seem to have more on the drivetrain. Other than that and the fact that yours is 2dr and stick and mine is 4dr and auto, they sound identical in terms of price and condition.

Ive found that these cars are somewhat desirable, especially in the Colorado areas. Wouldnt you know mine was purchased new in Colorado. Anyway, I think at the price we got ours at, we cannot complain. Ive seen them sell for the high $4,000 area and even those arent perfect. These are the last of the E30s (91) and pretty unusual.

I knew mine needed some work on the outside and under the hood. It had not been serviced in 5yrs because it had only been driven 20K miles in that time so I was going to have to fork over for a water pump and timing belt and new tires no matter what. Then after the shop looked at it, I was going to need new shocks on all four corners. I was okay with that because the car ballooned over bumps so I knew the shocks were toast. But I wasnt happy to hear a cpl of the rims were bent. That pretty much forced my hand to spend $600 I wasnt planning on for new rims to just go real safe and guarantee myself perfect alignment on all four corners. If would have cost $250 just to straighten the bad ones and all four had some road rash to them though they were others decent looking. At least it will look cool with new 16 inchers right.

A few other things Im getting. New spark plugs, oil change, maybe a window switch fix and a fog light bulb. Minor things. All adds up though.

All this in mind, I knew full well the interior was absolutely immaculate and I wasnt going to have to spend a dime on the inside. No tears, no cracks, no stains, no warping, no broken items, nothing. And I doubt it will need anything on the inside for a few years as long as I maintain it. So spending a little more to make sure the car runs ok is a bit easier to swallow.

The only reservation at the moment I have is the parking pawl. It would be a bitch to fix and cost an arm and a leg in the tranny. But the tranny otherwise runs smooth and the engine sounds fine. So Im cautiously optimistic its an isolated deficiency and is not a foreshadow of other things to come. My wrench basically said "use the parking brake and just live with it."

Man Im hoping I can get 5yrs outta this car and really cut costs compared to my lease. Thats the goal. So in thinknig I underpaid by about $1000-1500 and put in a quick $3000, means I really only put in $1500 were it another place and time.

If the car turns out to be a bucket of turds, well, lets just hope it doesnt come to that and my major expenses out of the way for the next 30,000 miles.

judd944

you guys should check out roadfly.org it gets much more traffic than bimmerforums.com. the interface sucks on roadfly but the knowledgable people are there. Most answers can be found right away using the search. I read the E39 forum every day. (rennlist 10x a day)

steve g

Congrats on the new car Steve !
I bought my 46K mile 2 door 5 speed 91 IX this winter for $5500 plus $300 for a one way ticket to Binghamton NY ! Before driving back the same weekend 800 miles to Illinois, I brought it to the local BMW dealer where it got a 1.5hr PPI $75, Engine and Differential synthetic oil change, transfer case fluid check - $78, Waterpump/timing belt/accessory belts/thermostat/coolant flush - $404. Went directly to Sears for a new Diehard - $103 and a set of Michelin XGTV4 205/55 - $545. I've put about 2500 miles on the car since January and its a fun daily driver. It has an aftermarket muffler which I intend to replace with an IE catback. I love the way it handles entering and leaving expressway entrance and exit ramps at speed with real great balance so maybe my shocks which look newer from the PO are ok. The car has ADS rear speakers and console mounted K40 radar detector. It has a few rust spots in the front fenders and should be easily fixable. After looking at UDPrides spectacular detailing job, I have a bit work to do on my car for sure. My car has the standard seats in pretty good condition although it would be nice to change them out for a set of sports seats. I have always liked these cars and after owning a 92 convertible for a few years I knew that the IX would be a great winter weather driver. Funny thing is, its become a fun daily driver in good weather and I dont have to worry about it.
Definately go http://home.earthlink.net/~wardellhix/iX/ and here too http://www.bmworg.ru/repair/digestfaq/faq.15
and http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/thebmw325ixclub/

KuHL 951

Thanks guys for all the support. I've never owned a BMW before so this should be fun. UD's detailing job is something to aim for. Here's what the car has going for it so far.
The Good: Tight drive train, aftermarket alloys (MAS Italy), good paint, repainted and clearcoated by a pro shop, doesn't run hot, AC blows cold, all trim intact, no tears in seats but pretty dirty, all electrics work so far, no oil leaks, all glass good, nice newer ANSA muffler with twin pipes, and two new Boge shocks for the rear..

The Bad: 50-55mph shimmy (either tire balance, ball joint, or upper control arm bushing), slight dent in lower rear valance piece corner, left low beam out, rotors at 50%, both right wheels slightly curbed, coolant leak at throttle body (will bypass with straight pipe connector), dirty engine bay, left fog lens has rock hole in it, right fog lense slightly cracked, buzz from fuel pump area with key 'on', battery looks like hell but starts on first crank, minor lifter noise, unknown rolling noise when coasting to a stop (possible wheel bearing?)

Other than that, it drives like a dream and revs to redline with no hesitation. I'll post some pics tomorrow before the 'Porsche only' boys here gang up on me
Again for all the help and for the other forum links, I'll check them out for sure as soon as I slip on some 20's and find a Folgers can for the tailpipe.

Steve

DDP

I would put money on the ball joints for the shimmy at 50.

I haven't heard much good from the old awd system. It was acutally a Ford awd system, IIRC. But I HEARD that, some of the guys here are speaking from experience so what I heard must be wrong. Good luck with it, I love E30s!!

UDPride

Kuhl-

I think Steves assessment and my assessment pretty much say the same though, though his car had a low fewer miles and I think overall he got the best deal out of all of us for a 41K miler. Hes about $7000 into it and Im at $6300 and we're both not long into the car. I think you easily be able to put $2,000 into the car to get everything straightened out. The key I think is getting these cars back in "game shape" so to speak. Takes some money and effort to get there, but all accounts Ive read indicate they run strong and reliably at this stage.

Unlike Steve Ive never owned a BMW so Im learning as I go. I took a chance on the car because everything says the M20 engine in the E30s are among the best 6-cylinders ever built and will run forever. I wanted a relatively cheap used AWD car too. My other options were Forester and 90 Quattro. Quattro would have been more expensive purchase cost w/same or higher maintenance, and Forester would have been $6-7,000 but lower maintenance.

So I rolled the dice and went real cheap on the purchase like you ($3300) and decided to fix the things that were old and decrepid.

If you dont know when the timing belt/water pump were done, or they havent been done in at least 20,000 miles, Id say just do it and know its been done on your watch and been done right. The $400 is money well spent. With interference engines if the timing goes to sheite, you can pretty much use the car as a paper weight at that point.

The paint on mine is great and terrible. Its great in the places the previous owner didnt try to touch it up, but horrible where the owner did. I think they took small paint chips and smeared paint everywhere with a putty knife. The hood has 80% of the worst. Im gonna get a cheap Maaco respray just do eliminate the eyesore. Here's how bad it is:



Why in Gods name did they do that. Why Why Why. Its a shame becaise other than a couple door dings the paint shines up extremely well everywhere else.

I just ordered some big heavy duty PIAA wiper blades from Bav Auto so Ive never been so excited about wiper blades. Those buttmunches screwed up my floor mats though because they arrived today and I ordered tan and they are some other color but not tan.

I REALLY like those rims on your 2dr. Those look very "period correct" so to speak.

CT944

good choice. i'm sure he'd ask $4000 nearer to winter. best to buy all things off season.