assess the damage....is it structural or not?

 

Agree. If it is just sheet metal damage and paint then have the guy get it repaired on his insurance - that way no skimping on the work. If the car was priced at an average number I would tell you to walk away and find another. But at >$8k you might want to follow through a bit more before giving up.

The situation sucks.

 

I am awaiting pictures of damage later this evening, I'll post them here.

 

Simplify your life. See what I mean?

 

Sorry, but I don't. Can you explain ?

 

walk away, there's a others out there...

 

Wow - I looked at that same car I am pretty sure. Guy was asking like $12,500 and had it for sale for forever. If its the same car and you agree'ed on $7750, you walked that guy blind.

As to it being wrecked, walk away. The body panels on the 968 never come out right. I looked at two cars that were previously wrecked and it was easily tellable. There aren't a ton of cars for sale, but there are some. Another $1500 or so will pick up my 968. There are even more if your willing to spend a little more.

As to the 99' M3, its a decieving car. BMW changed a lot in 1996 to make the car more user 'friendly'. They put a more restrictive manifold, bored/stroked it to 3.2L, added a 3.23 over 3.15 rear end, etc... In turn felt considerably quicker than it was. My 968 would hold its own/pull on any E36 M3 that I toyed around with, even ones with mods. My car never felt as quick, but wait until you pull onto a highway and do a 2-3-4 run then ask to drive an M3 again. E46 M3's are a lot quicker, but I chose my 968 over an E36 M3 because to me it offered more for nearly the same cost. I would never say it was going down a step, better staying level.

Wes

 

I got the pictures of damaged door panel, I just spoked to the guy, he was guessing a fix at ~$1000. Personally, for that much money I'll rather buy a door, have it sprayed to match the paint and install it...all for less money. What do you guys think ? Pics below.

 

Half of that damage on my 968 was $1448.67 to get fixed properly without a new door. Being Cobalt Blue as well, there is little to no chance of a good match with just the door, so the only correct way for it to come out well is to paint the entire side. Fortunately there are good cut off lines so a solid single side paint can be done well. Buying a new door is harder than you might think. You have to find a dismantler who is willing to take off the door (many won't because its not super easy..i.e. they can't get enough money for it to make it worth the time to pay someone to remove it), then shipping it, painting it, then fitting it is incredibly challenging. I thought about doing this and it was going to cost about $1000 more to get a used door painted and installed.

I would honestly say scratch it and look elsewhere. I am going to attach a bad picture of the damage that was on my car. I don't have any after pictures currently, but I would be glad to snap some.



Wes

 

You would not want to just paint the door, nor would you want to paint the whole side. A quality shop would blend the paint and the clearcoat on both sides of the door.

Now, if the guy drops the price a grand... and you just figure to do the paint right later, concentrating on mechanics first, this could be a great deal.

You can absolutely pick up a 968 door skin from dCAutomotive. They had several 968s in various stages of dismantle a few weeks back. Much of this depends on your mechanical abilities.

 

Well, my biggest concern is how good can the door be repaired so it won't be noticeable. Although I don't remember seeing a resprayed part of a car that I couldn't actually notice it was painted. As far as dropping the price, I think anywhere between 1-1.5k would be enough, that means if I pay as low as 62-6700 in this condition it is still a good deal. Or is it...?
My mechanical skills are somewhat limited because of the fact that I don't have all the tools, a lift and a heated garage. With that being said, I'm still on the fence here

 

damn... what luck. Sorry to hear it.
That picture is of the driver door -- what that damaged too? What about the fender?

Personally, I'd take the car into a shop, and get a real quote -- don't estimate it yourself. Then deduct that number from the sale price. If you can do it cheaper -- or not fix it at all, then that's your benefit -- no need to pass it on.

 

Actually the guy called me right after the accident, guess he freaked out and told me the door and fender were damaged, but seems like there's only the door that's affected. Guess I'll know tomorrow when I'll get a quote from a body shop.
Does this forum have a cars-for-sale section ??

 

It doesn't look all that bad, and I have seen doors being sold on EBay for under $300. Looking at that door edge it has paint issues already, so if you wanted it perfect it would need to be touched up anyways. A good paint should be able to blend it well enough. For the price of that car minus a grand or so, it's a deal.

 

Click on the classified link a the top right to get to the ads. However, I agree with JosepSC and disagree with most of the rest of the people. Have the car taken to a shop and have it checked out. Body shops can do amazing things with fixing cars and paint work. If you like the car and feel you are geting a great deal I would not walk away over this without getting more info.

Apparently I also agree with Stolarz