Automotive Chatting » BMW Cars » Would you buy this car? – Advice request.
Would you buy this car? – Advice request.
Question:
Thank you all for your advice. I’m still haven’t quite decided what to do, but you’ve given me food for thought. Thanks, Kylie
Response:
Hi kylie, I drive a 1975 BMW 3.0S which is basically a 3 litre version of the 2500. I love it. We know ours has a head gasket problem. Lots of steam comes out the exhaust on cold starts. Mechanic can verify using their special chemical check on the radiator. Cost for head gasket job on this car is about $1500. Get it checked before you buy. Obviously it will be a bit expensive to repair if things go wrong, that figure for the brakes sounds about right coz the same thing happened to ours. Make sure you get the car checked out by 2 different mechanics, preferably BMW specialists as they will know what to look for in that car. The reason i suggest 2 different mechanics is that then you will have a better base to work from when deciding. If you go to one, they may say the car is fine, knowing it will have problems, hoping you will take it to them for repairs. Lovely cars. Definitely look at something else too just so you can compare things like power, comfort, and price. Good luck.
Response:
I own a 72 2002 and love it, while my friends need to take their car to get repaired because of the new computerized fix by diagnostic test machines only, I for the most part can do it my self. I also have rarely had to fix any thing other than standard up keep, I think 2002’s are still great cars. — Sal Chavez Pegasus Sports International http://www.skatingaccessories.com http://www.bladeboots.com http://www.skatesails.com – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Kyle, Old high performance cars, ESPECIALLY old FOREIGN high performance cars, remind me of the movie "The Monry Pit". Just like that house, they have charm and class, but you have to know going in that - – - !) Maintenance will be a royal headache. Getting repair parts will be difficult, and the prices of them will make your heart stop! 2) Do NOT rely on your old high performance car as your "daily driver". Think of it more as a weekend warrior. To answer your question directly, NO, I would not buy that car. Yes, BMWs of that era where some of the neatest cars BMW has ever produced (I still drool uncontrollably when I see a Bavaria), but time is not kind to those cars unless they are maintained in the way BMW expected them to be maintained. Regards, Bill Bowen Daly City, CA Newbie here. I’m only here to ask for advice from you knowledgable car people, so if this post or the crosspost violates any auto group ettiquette, I apologise in advance. I need to sell my car, as I don’t have the time or money to look after it properly, so I want to get something cheap that I can look after more easily (not to mention insure more cheaply) before I ruin this one. The thing is, the guy who sold me my car was having trouble selling it (yes, that should have been a warning to me, and I’ve learnt the lesson), so I’m wondering how easy it will be for me to get rid of it. It is quite a good car. So here it is: It’s a 1973 BMW 2500, cream in colour. It’s in pretty good condition, especially considering its age. The body is in excellent condition and has only gotten a couple of tiny rust spots since I got it, as I have no undercover parking. It runs very well, although it takes a while to warm up on cold days, but I think that’s normal for older cars. It cost me A$2,650 (marked down from $3,500) and I’ve spent about $1,500 getting the radiator fixed and various pipes and hoses replaced. The mechanic said the brake booster/cylinder/calipers would need replacing at some stage and quoted about $1,200 for that, but that was an expensive BMW-only mechanic, so maybe less. So. Would you buy this car, and if so, what would you expect to pay for it? I’d appreciate knowing where you’re from (I’m in Melbourne, Australia) so I can make the necessary currency adjustments. Thanks in advance, Kylie
Response:
Kyle, Old high performance cars, ESPECIALLY old FOREIGN high performance cars, remind me of the movie "The Monry Pit". Just like that house, they have charm and class, but you have to know going in that - – - !) Maintenance will be a royal headache. Getting repair parts will be difficult, and the prices of them will make your heart stop! 2) Do NOT rely on your old high performance car as your "daily driver". Think of it more as a weekend warrior. To answer your question directly, NO, I would not buy that car. Yes, BMWs of that era where some of the neatest cars BMW has ever produced (I still drool uncontrollably when I see a Bavaria), but time is not kind to those cars unless they are maintained in the way BMW expected them to be maintained. Regards, Bill Bowen Daly City, CA – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Newbie here. I’m only here to ask for advice from you knowledgable car people, so if this post or the crosspost violates any auto group ettiquette, I apologise in advance. I need to sell my car, as I don’t have the time or money to look after it properly, so I want to get something cheap that I can look after more easily (not to mention insure more cheaply) before I ruin this one. The thing is, the guy who sold me my car was having trouble selling it (yes, that should have been a warning to me, and I’ve learnt the lesson), so I’m wondering how easy it will be for me to get rid of it. It is quite a good car. So here it is: It’s a 1973 BMW 2500, cream in colour. It’s in pretty good condition, especially considering its age. The body is in excellent condition and has only gotten a couple of tiny rust spots since I got it, as I have no undercover parking. It runs very well, although it takes a while to warm up on cold days, but I think that’s normal for older cars. It cost me A$2,650 (marked down from $3,500) and I’ve spent about $1,500 getting the radiator fixed and various pipes and hoses replaced. The mechanic said the brake booster/cylinder/calipers would need replacing at some stage and quoted about $1,200 for that, but that was an expensive BMW-only mechanic, so maybe less. So. Would you buy this car, and if so, what would you expect to pay for it? I’d appreciate knowing where you’re from (I’m in Melbourne, Australia) so I can make the necessary currency adjustments. Thanks in advance, Kylie
Response:
Would you care to eloborate?
I apologise firstly for insulting you. I did not mean it to insult you personally. Your choice of car is up to you. Individual as opinions is it not? I have driven this car – I felt it drove like a 30 year old car. Ok the chassis was fairly entertaining but then so was the handling vices. I could elaborate but why bother? We’re talking selling the thing aren’t we? With the price of maintaining this car made plain by it’s owner (a friend), it is my opinion that you would have to be an enthusaist to own one. Fair enough? ‘Idiot enthusiast’? (poor and wrong choice of words admittedly). ‘Sucker’ is also a poorly chosen word which why I use the inverted commas. You did read her entire post I gather? Please read it again. At best the purchase of this car was not an altogether thought out move IMO. But so what? The money gone is not a huge amount and first cars are often not the best (or incredibly life changing) decisions. Live and learn. A sensible and practicle Toyota Camry? Holden Commodore?
Whatever car I drive or you drive or what she should have bought is inconsequential. The fact is that she has a 27 y.o. BMW she wants rid of. What she buys next or what she should have is idle speculation. Why try to tell her what she should have bought? I think I gave her some suggestion of price and some factors that may affect this – which is what she asked for. If I was brusque I apologise. Maybe you think this car is worth much more than her buying price to an enthusiast? I don’t beleive so. If you do you may wish argue that point. Perhaps you can convince her to buy your sensible and practicle Toyota
Camry off you??? Whatever – I not selling anything and I never made recommendations because she never asked for one. This is your tangent. Whether she appreciates it or reads it I could care less – this is Usenet. It could go to /dev/null and ‘Sascha’ or ‘Kylie’ could have never existed as far as I’m concerned. I realise that my post has a certain ‘tone’ but however you interpret that (sarcasm or rudeness etc.) is up to you and I make no apologies for that. T.
Response:
Kylie, its really in the eye of the beholder with this sort of car. One person would love to buy it, purely because they love BMWs and this one is presumably at the lower end price wise. Others who may have limited funds would also look at it and worry about repair prices due its age, despite its reasonable condition. Best bet would be someone who is a BMW enthusiast, has money (for future repairs), and due to its good condition, would buy it. I’m sure someone would buy the car eventually. I’d place it in the Trading Post, with enough money to cover any repairs, but with a view to drop the price if you need to. James
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Newbie here. I’m only here to ask for advice from you knowledgable car people, so if this post or the crosspost violates any auto group ettiquette, I apologise in advance. I need to sell my car, as I don’t have the time or money to look after it properly, so I want to get something cheap that I can look after more easily (not to mention insure more cheaply) before I ruin this one. The thing is, the guy who sold me my car was having trouble selling it (yes, that should have been a warning to me, and I’ve learnt the lesson), so I’m wondering how easy it will be for me to get rid of it. It is quite a good car. So here it is: It’s a 1973 BMW 2500, cream in colour. It’s in pretty good condition, especially considering its age. The body is in excellent condition and has only gotten a couple of tiny rust spots since I got it, as I have no undercover parking. It runs very well, although it takes a while to warm up on cold days, but I think that’s normal for older cars. It cost me A$2,650 (marked down from $3,500) and I’ve spent about $1,500 getting the radiator fixed and various pipes and hoses replaced. The mechanic said the brake booster/cylinder/calipers would need replacing at some stage and quoted about $1,200 for that, but that was an expensive BMW-only mechanic, so maybe less. So. Would you buy this car, and if so, what would you expect to pay for it? I’d appreciate knowing where you’re from (I’m in Melbourne, Australia) so I can make the necessary currency adjustments. Thanks in advance, Kylie
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I’m wondering how easy it will be for me to get rid of it. That’s the problem. You’re selling an old, quite hard to insure and maintain car that you don’t want and anybody with some sense of practicality would avoid. I’m a terribly sensible chap, I check how much a car costs to run and insure before I buy it. Rare in this n/g but there you are. Is this an enthusiast type car? Like a BMW 2002? There are many idiots with rose coloured glasses who would buy something like this. I would try to sell it for $2,500 and see what you can get. Anywhere from $1,500-2,000 would be fairly acceptable if it was clear that you don’t want it. See some people couldn’t care less if they sold or not and they pick and choose the seller – that’s not you unfortunately. You could sorta take less – up to you but the car was clearly worth little when you bought it so basically get as much back as you can. I’m in Sydney so $1 = $1. Does it have decent rego? Like to the end of the year? That helps. It’s almost impossible to sell an unregistered car so thing about the time scale. Does it have some sort of service records for the 27 years it’s been alive? (I’m 27 btw!) You’re so polite that I couldn’t help but respond and sympathise. But face reality, this is an fairly expensive lesson. You’ll probably need to just get whatever money you can out of it. You need to find a BMW enthusiast or another person like yourself (I hesitate to say ’sucker’ but life is tough).
Firstly, I am keen to find out why you have classified BMW 2002 enthusiasts as "idiots". As a past and present owner and enthusiast of the 2002 model I am quite insulted. Would you care to eloborate? Does your experience with this car indicate that they are a car for idiots? I would also like you to tell me what type of car I should be enthusiastic about, so in future I can avoid being classiffied as an idiot with rose coloured glasses. Secondly, you call Kylie a "sucker’ for buying this particular BMW. Why? Perhaps she liked this particular car? And why is your choice of car any more valid than her’s? Ah yes, I see, it’s because you are a sensible and practicle chap, unlike (and regulars on the aus.cars newsgroup take note!) most other people on this newsgroup. Well tell us Mr. Sensible & practicle, what type of car would you hgave recommended she bought? A sensible and practicle Toyota Camry? Holden Commodore? But then it would have to be an old Camry or Commodore, because losing $5-6k a year in depreciation on a new car wouldn’t be very practicle and sensible, would it? Thridly, you do not seem to actually know anything about the particular car she is selling, yet you are willing to make judgements on its value. On what basis? I am sure Kylie, the sucker that she is, appreciates your sympathy. Perhaps you can convince her to buy your sensible and practicle Toyota Camry off you??? Sasha – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -T.
Response:
Newbie here. I’m only here to ask for advice from you knowledgable car people, so if this post or the crosspost violates any auto group ettiquette, I apologise in advance. I need to sell my car, as I don’t have the time or money to look after it properly, so I want to get something cheap that I can look after more easily (not to mention insure more cheaply) before I ruin this one. The thing is, the guy who sold me my car was having trouble selling it (yes, that should have been a warning to me, and I’ve learnt the lesson), so I’m wondering how easy it will be for me to get rid of it. It is quite a good car. So here it is: It’s a 1973 BMW 2500, cream in colour. It’s in pretty good condition, especially considering its age. The body is in excellent condition and has only gotten a couple of tiny rust spots since I got it, as I have no undercover parking. It runs very well, although it takes a while to warm up on cold days, but I think that’s normal for older cars. It cost me A$2,650 (marked down from $3,500) and I’ve spent about $1,500 getting the radiator fixed and various pipes and hoses replaced. The mechanic said the brake booster/cylinder/calipers would need replacing at some stage and quoted about $1,200 for that, but that was an expensive BMW-only mechanic, so maybe less. So. Would you buy this car, and if so, what would you expect to pay for it? I’d appreciate knowing where you’re from (I’m in Melbourne, Australia) so I can make the necessary currency adjustments. Thanks in advance, Kylie
Response:
I’m wondering how easy it will be for me to get rid of it.
That’s the problem. You’re selling an old, quite hard to insure and maintain car that you don’t want and anybody with some sense of practicality would avoid. I’m a terribly sensible chap, I check how much a car costs to run and insure before I buy it. Rare in this n/g but there you are. Is this an enthusiast type car? Like a BMW 2002? There are many idiots with rose coloured glasses who would buy something like this. I would try to sell it for $2,500 and see what you can get. Anywhere from $1,500-2,000 would be fairly acceptable if it was clear that you don’t want it. See some people couldn’t care less if they sold or not and they pick and choose the seller – that’s not you unfortunately. You could sorta take less – up to you but the car was clearly worth little when you bought it so basically get as much back as you can. I’m in Sydney so $1 = $1. Does it have decent rego? Like to the end of the year? That helps. It’s almost impossible to sell an unregistered car so thing about the time scale. Does it have some sort of service records for the 27 years it’s been alive? (I’m 27 btw!) You’re so polite that I couldn’t help but respond and sympathise. But face reality, this is an fairly expensive lesson. You’ll probably need to just get whatever money you can out of it. You need to find a BMW enthusiast or another person like yourself (I hesitate to say ’sucker’ but life is tough). T.
Response:
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