Guys just a little advice about buying an e30. I bought mine last june, from an ad on e30network classifieds. The car was in Philly. I asked all the usual questions, the carfax report was good no accidents, took the train to philly and drove the car home. After ripping out the interior found the car had been in an accident, new driver rear quarter was in place. My body shop sponser Scott See of See’s Auto Body, repaired the rust, he did a great job on that, we put better doors from a 89 is on but he couldnt get the door aligned. He had the car on the frame machine, and after a little more inspection, found this car had been in a major accident, the driver’s side from the A piller to the rear quarter had been hit. Whoever put it back together put enough effort to make sure you couldn’t tell. Thats ok, but it wasnt done properly and the strucural integrity of the body was compromised. It was so bad that he would not let me drive it until the cage is installed. If we had known before doing the body and mechanical work we would have scrapped the car. I was pissed that I bought a car that should have been scrapped. Carfax didn’t show any accidents, I couldnt tell, until the interior was ripped out. Lesson learned, have a expert inspect the body/frame before you buy. Sometimes these things are unavoidable. I paid $1k wouldn’t have lost much, but what if it was a $10 or $20 car? A good custom cage is getting installed, taking it Sat- by trailer.
Over inspect your E30 before Purchase
Working in the industry, I can tell you that CarFax should only be used as a helpful assistant and not relied upon as a be-all, end-all source. Particularly on older cars, as CarFax is a relatively new phenomenon. When that car was wrecked will remain a mystery, but it may very well have been before CarFax was born. These are old cars, so you can’t rely on that.
You are right that, if you aren’t skilled in looking at wrecked and repaired cars, then you may not see things like were issues on the one you bought. I purchased mine after a light front hit, but knew enough to determine if it was still ‘square’ or not.
As always, caveat emptor.
Thanks for the advice. It is well taken.
About a year ago I checked out a VW Golf GTI that CARFAX said had no reported accidents. Actually, the car was in an accident bad enough to set off the airbags and damage the front clip. The owner told me about it when I asked if the car was ever in any accidents. You just can’t go by CARFAX alone.
Today, I went and looked at a local E30 on a used car lot at the request of a future SpecE30 driver. It was pretty obvious from the gaps that the hood, fenders and driver’s door were not original. (Confirmed by the [color=#FF6600]DOT-R[/color] tags in place of the VIN tags.)
I walked back into the office and asked, "Do you know if it was ever in an accident."
The response, "I’m pretty sure it’s never been wrecked. I’ll show you the CarFax – it’s clean."
I walked out as fast as I could.
A cheap car may have a certain appeal, but I think it’s better to pay a little more and get a car with a documented history.
Several members have said pay a little more to get a clean car. I agree with that. If I had to do it again I would spend a 2-3k for a clean car.
Several members have said pay a little more to get a clean car. I agree with that. If I had to do it again I would spend a 2-3k for a clean car.