2003 ALPINE WHITE Sedan 6mt Alcantara/Silver Cube 132k miles, $13,000 (MA)

[E_Rak]

http://boston.craigslist.org/sob/cto/3951815945.html

I hosted the pictures for you boys.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/93742270@N07/sets/72157634900079217/

Drove this car Sunday. Here is a rundown.

Owner didn't seem very interested in selling it. The car was dirty inside and out. He seemed quite content to stay looking at his phone during the entire test drive. He only perked up when I mentioned the price, on which he was pretty firm and extremely defensive.

Things it needed:

Rear tires were on the CORDS. <<<--- .... Fronts not far behind.
Steering wheel completely shitted, two huge rips so conveniently hidden in the picture.
HUGE scratch in the front passenger door and another on the roof. Small ding in rear quarter.
Rear bumper was replaced after a fender bender, misaligned.
The back of the drivers seat was all torn up and needed replacement.
Power button on the radio was non-functional.
Pretty bad shifter slop, felt like it needed bushings all around.
The car had ZERO maintenance items completed. NONE. The kicker to this was that the guy insisted the car was in perfect mechanical shape.

Somebody with a decent budget who can easily swing the purchase price and the thousands of dollars needed to restore this car should pick this up, otherwise stay away.

[ELCID86]

Thanks for the lowdown. He does say " Price is negotiable". ??

[trancenation]

Keep in mind that you are looking at a 10 year old car and we can't expect things to be 100% perfect. Some folks that own these cars may not be aware of any issues as they are not so heavily invested or enthusiasts such as ourselves who have done our homework. Hopefully the price is negotiable after what you saw that needed some attention to. Good luck with your search and thanks for looking out!

[Avetiso]

Thanks for the heads up. What a shame.

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[E_Rak]

He was firm firm firm at 12, too much for my budget to justify performing the repairs on top of it too, but good for someone who wants the AW. Jay, of course cars this old won't be perfect, but this was almost unacceptable IMO, and I see a lot of crap cars come through work every week. The tires alone bring up huge red flags in my book.

[fredo]

Please be patient, my friend. If you are going to spend big bucks, you better wait for "the one."

[E_Rak]

Thanks Fredo, will do. I was just hoping this would be it! Just can't justify the asking price + an immediate $2000 in things it would need...

[Vas]

I would have given him $11k

[trancenation]

Patience is the key as Fredo stated. It took me numerous inquiries and over a year to find the right car. If you plan on keeping to the car for quite sometime, I'd consider lower mileage if possible.

[E_Rak]

Vas, I was thinking 10.5 or 11 on the high end. Jay, I do plan on keeping her for a while when I pick one up... I'm not too thrown off by the mileage. I would rather spend LESS up front and do the maintenance items myself afterward.

[trancenation]

Roger that!

[Vas]

I agree with Evan. And $10.5k would be ideal.

[ELCID86]

Perhaps an email campaign of interested but reasonable buyers could convince him to lower price..? Or let it sit and he sees little to no interest at that price... Any psychologists here?!?


Shawn in VA.
Via thumbs and Tapatalk.

[E_Rak]

Haha, he seemed pretty fed up even with just me! Imagine a barrage of lowballing emails lol. If it makes a difference, he is leaving for California by winter and needs to shift the car by then.

[illirep]

Damnit - a cheap alpine white sedan, with alcantara on top of it, and it is beat! Although if it wasn't rough, you would have bought it, so wouldn't matter to me anyway!

[JupiterBMW]

I looked at this car and talked to the guy before I bought my current car. I'm shocked to see he's still so firm on the car!

Such a shame to see the *almost* perfect AW sedan (let's be real, it needs NB and black cube) in such rough condition...

Also, my car is still for sale...


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[webster]

This car would need at least $5k worth of work to get it into decent shape. I would pass in a heartbeat.

[E_Rak]

I looked at this car and talked to the guy before I bought my current car. I'm shocked to see he's still so firm on the car!

Such a shame to see the *almost* perfect AW sedan (let's be real, it needs NB and black cube) in such rough condition...

Also, my car is still for sale...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk...

/shamelessselfplug :innocent How long ago was it that you talked with the guy?

To all above posts, agreed in full. Potential is there, but at a cost.

[BavarianZHP]

This car would need at least $5k worth of work to get it into decent shape. I would pass in a heartbeat.

Couldn't agree more. Took one short look at the ad and comments and wouldn't even look at it again. Not even for 8k...

[E_Rak]

Perhaps I should link him to this thread to show him the responses... :mob

[cakM3]

I think $12k @ 132k for a car in this shape is asking too much in my opinion. I wouldn't offer more than $7-$8k (if that) for this car and would state to the guy why. I think somewhere around $7k-$8k might be reasonable but what concerns me is the maintenance history of this car....whoever buys this car in this shape will end up putting in several thousand dollars in maintenance alone....probably more like $4k would be my guess....

"The car had ZERO maintenance items completed. NONE. The kicker to this was that the guy insisted the car was in perfect mechanical shape."

How can this be???? Clearly if the car has had zero maintenance items completed then this guy is dreaming... if he does get his asking price then he sold the car to an unsuspecting person....

Immediately after purchasing I would bet the following would need looking into and/or replacement...
- entire cooling system overhaul
- VANOS rebuild
- change out fluids (motor/tranny/diff)
- new bushings
- new control arms
- brake system overhaul
- clutch???
- new fuel pump/fuel filter
- new tires
- possibly new rims
- ZKW headlight rebuild
- new battery
- new steering wheel rewrap

Thats just what I could come up with from what I have heard....but then I could be wrong...

[illirep]

I could not agree more with everyone's feedback. Reality is, some 17 year old is going to have his parents pay $12k so he can have a BMW with a 'body kit' and 'rims' on it. We are educated enthusiasts. He is not marketing the car to us or other BMW forums (as far as I'm aware). He is marketing the car to craigslist. Much different audience.

[JupiterBMW]

My car has the same mileage as this car... The big question is, can you take this car to my car's condition for the $7k difference in asking price...

I spoke to him about 9 months ago, right before I bought my car... Christmas-time-ish of last year... Something like that, I don't remember exactly...

[trancenation]

I Re-read the cl ad.. Beware of when an owner says no major issues because it could possibly mean an large array or small things need to be fixed.. I would be comfortable paying low 7s for the car in its current state. Maybe 8.5 if things were addressed.

[E_Rak]

Phew I'm glad everyone agrees with me and I'm not being too harsh! His only maintenance was fluid changes and nothing else. I'm really appreciating the feedback guys. Perhaps I should link him to this thread?

Charlie, your post was exceptionally epic and hit the nail right on the head.

[Avetiso]

I think linking him to this thread would be a waste of time. He'd probably just get mad and think that this thread is just a way to try and get him to lower his price.

Or not. I wouldn't really care to do it. :dunno

[yura]

I'd be factoring in the cost of an engine swap into this car. With that mileage, condition and zero records, $7k max.

[Burrogs]

When you buy a used car you're buying the owner too. Steering wheel is a non issue. If you can live with the bodywork/scratches, then the other maintenance/upgrades is about $4-5k, but you'll be in great shape, with new maintenance, not 60k mile old maint. IMO, this car is worth about 10k as it sits.

[Vas]

S54 swap into this would be awesome.

[E_Rak]

Got him whittled down to 11k. Can anyone do better?

[JupiterBMW]

I had him down at 10k way back when I talked to him. But, I still didn't think buying a car with issues was wise. Its also a Northern car, and something in that condition has clearly been through winter and snow, so who knows what the underside looks like.

[E_Rak]

This is true... hard to come by an AW 6mt though.

[cakM3]

My car has the same mileage as this car... The big question is, can you take this car to my car's condition for the $7k difference in asking price...

I spoke to him about 9 months ago, right before I bought my car... Christmas-time-ish of last year... Something like that, I don't remember exactly...

Jon, I think in the condition your car is at... you could get more than this guy's asking price for that car. You sir have a very clean example of an AW ZHP. Yours isn't even in the same league as that guys.....just my opinion brother :thumbsup


Got him whittled down to 11k. Can anyone do better?
Evan, if this is the car you want then I would suggest you keep on him....eventually if he's serious about selling his car he will meet you on your price. :thumbsup

[ELCID86]

This is true... hard to come by an AW 6mt though.
Naah. http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?10606-04-Alpine-White-330i-6MT

[E_Rak]

36 hour Road trip :D

[JupiterBMW]

36 hour Road trip :D

I drove 21 hours each way for my first AW ZHP and then flew up and drove 13 hours back for my 2nd AW ZHP...

In the words of the boss man himself.. Dhu eeeeeeet...

[E_Rak]

Bit of a bump but I think this is the same guy:

http://boston.craigslist.org/sob/cto/4191199705.html